The Pony Tail Bows/USEF Medium Regular Pony Hunters wrapped up on Wednesday with more than 130 entries contesting the over fences phase. Sienna Rossano (Fishers, Ind.) and High Tops (*Telynau Royal Anthem x Claire), a 2009 Half Welsh Pony gelding owned by Cumberland Acres, had the top round, propelling them from sixth place overnight to overall champion.
Rossano has been riding “Cosmo” for two years and says it has taken some time for their partnership to reach the level of success they have reached. The athletic pony has impressive gaits, which Rossano says can make him feel “like a pogo stick sometimes” when he gets himself too collected. Back at the barn, “he likes to eat people.”
Sienna Rossano and High Tops
Even with his outwardly challenging characteristics, Cosmo has proven himself to be a show-ring superstar thanks to Rossano’s skilled riding under the direction of her trainers, Stephen Long and Cara Cheska.
“Stephen and I have figured out his exact program,” said Cheska. “Every jump has to be calculated, every single turn has to be calculated, every ride has to be calculated, and then you can go and win at Pony Finals. He is definitely the fanciest, but it takes a lot from everyone involved. Sienna has to put the jumps together perfectly, and she does a great job with that.”
Rossano is a veteran Pony Finals competitor now in her fourth year at the show.
“At my first Pony Finals, I got third overall on both my ponies. My favorite part of Pony Finals is riding in the Rolex Stadium. My other favorite thing is the golf cart parade,” she said, adding that her barn has a Taylor Swift Eras Tour-themed golf cart planned for Thursday evening’s big event.
Rossano’s victory with her superstar pony is a milestone that happened to take place the day before their two-year anniversary as a partnership. It was at the 2022 Pony Finals that Cosmo came into her life.
Overnight leaders Currie Cooper (Point Clear, Ala.) and Paris Charm (Halifax x Telynau Dawn Chorus), added an excellent over fences round to their model and under saddle scores, placing second in the over fences and reserve champion overall for their section. Cooper and the 2008 Welsh Pony mare owned by JJ Torano have been a partnership for about a year under the direction of trainer Richard Cunkle.
Currie Cooper and Paris Charm
Cooper said that she wasn’t nervous for her ride today, despite the pressure of coming in at the top of the class. Now in her fourth Pony Finals, she said that her trainer’s last piece of advice to her before she entered the ring with “Paris” was to “have fun.” It was advice she successfully employed.
“My favorite part of Pony Finals is seeing all my friends and having fun,” she said.
“Paris is pretty easy to ride,” Cooper said. “Sometimes she takes a lot of leg. Sometimes you have to remind her to keep going when she’s quiet.”
In the ring, Paris is a total professional who rarely puts a foot out of place. In the barn, she can be a bit of a diva. But that part of Cooper and Paris’s partnership has improved over their year together.
“You can hug her now,” said Cunkle. “You couldn’t hug her before!”
“I got a photo last week of me hugging her, and she lets me pet her while I’m on her now,” Cooper added.
Emi Richard (Middlefield, Conn.) and Play Date (Holyoake Czar x Goldengrove Petals), a 2015 Welsh Pony cross gelding owned by El Manto LLC, finished the large and competitive division in third place.
Watch Sienna Rossano and High Tops over fences round