Anna Rose Erickson wasn't looking for a five-star horse. She was looking for something she could afford, a horse that would help her earn her Pony Club A, and maybe, if things went well, take her a little further than she'd been before. What she got was Unmarked Bills: a bay Thoroughbred with a five-star resume, an enormous ego, and absolutely no interest in being anyone's backup plan.
Before he became Erickson's unlikely partner for the 2026 USEF Eventing Young Rider Championships, Unmarked Bills, a 2009 Thoroughbred gelding (Posse x Red Ransom), owned by the Unmarked Bills Syndicate, had already lived several lives. After a moderately successful career on the racetrack – 24 starts and roughly $67,000 in earnings – he found his way to Chris Talley's program. Talley saw something in him immediately, and within a few months, “Billy” had discovered his true calling as an event horse and never looked back.
Under Talley, Unmarked Bills rose steadily through the levels and eventually became Talley's first CCI5* horse. He made his five-star debut at the Kentucky Three-Day Event in 2019, finishing in the top 30. That fall, the pair traveled to England to take on Burghley, one of the most formidable cross-country tracks in the world, before a minor setback led to a withdrawal ahead of show jumping. By any measure, it was a remarkable journey for a horse who had started life on the backside of racetracks like Santa Anita and Hollywood Park.
Erickson never set out to partner with a horse of Billy's caliber. She was looking for something rideable on a modest budget when Talley mentioned he had another horse at his farm in Virginia, one that had been sitting untouched in a field for a little over a year and a half; shoes pulled.She hadn't even sat on him before he was loaded onto her trailer.
It turned out to be the best decision she had ever made.
The partnership that followed was, by Erickson's own description, immediate and uncomplicated. "We got along amazingly." Billy carried her to her first rated training event, her first modified, and her Pony Club A rating, a milestone that left her in tears. "I cried the whole time," she explained, "because I never thought I would have ever been able to achieve this, or have the horse to do it." When she completed her first FEI event at Tryon last year, Talley marked the occasion with a Facebook post welcoming her to "the FEI Club.” It’s a moment Erickson still beams about.
In the barn, Billy moves through the world like a horse who knows exactly what he's accomplished. "He has a huge ego," Erickson said, laughing. "He walks out of everything like he's just won it. You go in the barn and he's like, ‘I'm pretty sure I'm the coolest thing on this planet.’" Erickson thinks he is. His confidence shines under saddle, where years of upper-level competition have left him with an encyclopedic knowledge of dressage tests and warm-ups require careful management. Erickson explained that when you pick up the reins in the walk, he's already planning the canter, executing the test he remembers rather than the one being asked of him.
With people, Billy takes his time. He can be reserved at first, sizing up anyone new to his orbit. But once he decides you've earned his trust, the warmth is unmistakable. "When I walk into his stall, he'll just come and put his head on my chest," Erickson said. "He's the biggest cuddle bug, but it has to be his idea. Everything has to be his idea."
His competition day rituals are a study in self-awareness. He naps between cross-country and show jumping, drinks plenty of water the night before, and saves his appetite for the final phase. "He just knows," Erickson said. "He acts different every morning depending on which phase is coming."
As for treats, Billy's preferences are specific and non-negotiable. Pumpkin-flavored treats and fancy molasses cookies have his full endorsement. Apples, however, are another matter entirely. They are a ‘no’ from him, regardless of how enthusiastically they're offered. "He really wants the food that you have," Erickson said, "but then he tries it and immediately finds it disgusting." His celebrity counterpart, she decided without much deliberation, would be Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. "He'd have a smolder," she said.
This weekend, the horse who once jumped CCI5* cross-country tracks takes on the CCIYJ2*-S at Loch Moy Farm and the rider who loaded him onto a trailer without ever sitting on him first wouldn't trade the partnership for anything. "It just ended up working really well," Erickson said. "And I've grown so much because of him. I’m so grateful to have Billy in my life. He’s made my dreams come true."