By Laura Scaletti
Portraits by Melissa Fuller
Television star, entrepreneur, model, attorney, equestrian, FEI Certified Coach, marathoner, blogger, wife and mom. These are just a few of the roles Brianna Meighan has had over the years.
Brianna has traveled the world for these roles; however, there’s one role that always feels like “home” to her—equestrian. Today, Brianna is passing her love and passion for horses and equestrian sport to her two sons: William Hanna, 12, and Julian Hanna, 10. This pony-mom era may just be Brianna’s favorite era yet.
“My fondest childhood memories are of my sister, Megan, and I growing up together as the ultimate barn kids. We played in haylofts, groomed our horses, mucked out stalls, rode bareback, built jump courses for ourselves out of broomsticks and buckets, grazed our horses and of course spent weekends away at horse shows,” Brianna said. “These memories are so precious and dear to me, I always knew that I wanted to create the same memories with my children one day.”
Love At First Sight
Growing up in Asheville, North Carolina, Brianna and Megan followed in their mother’s footsteps, riding at the Biltmore Equestrian Center. “We were always hanging out at the barn with my mom and going to horse shows on the weekends. Even if I try really hard, I can’t remember a time where horses weren’t part of my life,” Brianna said.
Thankfully, both of Brianna’s parents totally supported her horse obsession. “My dad even bought a truck and matching trailer so he could take us to horse shows on the weekend. When I turned 16 and got my driver’s license, he taught me how to drive and pull a trailer with my horses by myself,” she said.
Brianna explored as many disciplines as possible as a kid. “I rode hunters, jumpers, bareback through mountain rivers, we rode Western on trails, did Pony Club, fox hunted, participated in gymkhana games and 4-H. I competed in dressage, eventing, hunters and jumpers,” she said.
When Brianna was a senior in high school, she was trying to decide her next path. A visit to Sweet Briar College, where she met Paul Cronin, the director of the riding program at the time, helped her make the decision. Paul asked Brianna what she planned to study in college; she was waffling between physics and pre-law. While she didn’t know what she wanted to study, she knew she wanted to continue riding while in college.
“Paul suggested I come to Sweet Briar to ride and compete while I decided what I wanted to major in. I loved every minute of my time there. We went to all our classes in Tailored Sportsman breeches, riding boots and our pearls! We looked like a page right out of ‘The Official Preppy Handbook,’” Brianna said. “In between classes, we rode all over Sweet Briar’s spectacular 2,800-acre campus and were able to clinic with Olympic riders.”
It was during a trip to Panama during Brianna’s sophomore year at Sweet Briar that she met her husband, Jon Hanna. “It was love at first sight, so my sister and I devised a plan to move to Panama for a six-week study abroad program. Luckily, my parents agreed to our proposal and we had a magical time living there and learning how to surf from Jon in the summer of 2003,” Brianna said. “The scheme really paid off, because Jon and I got married after I graduated from Sweet Briar in 2005, and I’ve been splitting my time between the U.S. and Panama ever since.”
Entertainment Era
When Brianna was 14 years old, she had her first on-camera movie experience when she was cast in the movie “Patch Adams.” The youngest person on the set, Brianna was thankful for the kindness of everyone involved in the movie.
“The film director, Tom Shadyac, and I both had long ponytails and as he walked past me he would give mine a playful little tug, I would giggle and then later reciprocate by giving his ponytail a little tug as I walked by. I also had the opportunity to work with Robin Williams,” Brianna said. “He was such a beautiful soul to be around and we had lunch together on the set while filming.”
After graduating from college, Brianna had parts in the James Bond movie “Quantum of Solace” with Daniel Craig and “Hands of Stone” with Edgar Ramirez and Robert DeNiro. She also worked as a commercial lifestyle model for more than two decades and has been featured in numerous magazines and billboards across the world.
These on-camera experiences opened the doors for Brianna to become the host of “Hot Properties” on E! Entertainment Television. “I had so many extraordinary experiences during that time, including sitting front row at the Chanel Fashion Show during Paris Fashion Week, filming a James Bond chase scene in a dilapidated ruin with Daniel Craig and browsing through Mariah Carey’s Aspen ski house refrigerator while filming ‘Hot Properties,’” she said. “My all-time favorite TV interview was with Ivanka Trump; family politics aside, she’s absolutely stunning and brilliant.”
Brianna worked in front of the camera until she had her son William in 2012. “Being on TV and working as a model is extremely demanding and didn’t really align with my vision of motherhood. We’d been married for seven years by the time William was born, so when he was born I decided to step away from the cameras to dedicate myself exclusively to being a new mom,” Brianna said.
Pony Mom Era
William and Julian have the best of both worlds, sharing their mom’s passion for horses and their former-professional-surfer dad’s love of catching a wave. “Horses and surfing have helped keep Jon and I balanced regardless of what’s happening in the world around us. I hope these two activities can be North Stars for William and Julian as they grow up,” Brianna said.
Although Brianna tried to make hunter riders out of her sons, that dream was quickly dashed. “I was hoping if they rode hunters they would develop a proper riding position and learn important fundamentals, but it was impossible to keep them from racing around the hunter ring and making tight turns on their ponies. You should have seen the judges’ faces watching these two surfer dudes from Panama tearing up the hunter ring like bandits,” Brianna chuckled. “I had no choice but to take them to the jumper ring. They were so happy knowing they could ride their ponies as fast as they wanted in the jumpers.”
Now that the boys have the fundamentals down, Brianna can relax a bit knowing they can handle most anything that comes their way. “Having my favorite mini humans on the planet ride with me and join in on all my shenanigans is the most magical thing ever for me. We hack in the fields together, race our horses and make bets to see who can gallop the fastest and win, ride our horses on the beach and watch the Pacific Ocean together at our home in Santa Catalina, Panama, and show against each other in the jumper classes,” Brianna said.
As William and Julian have moved up to the 0.75m to 0.90m jumper classes, Brianna has joined them on one of their jumper pony prospects. “It’s so much fun now that we get to do our course walks together to plan out turns and strategize how we’re going to ride the course and, of course, my sons both love telling me how they’re going to try to beat me and win. It’s so cute! It makes me giggle thinking about it because it’s so fun for us,” she said.
Until recently, Brianna and the boys were only competing in Panama; however, now that they are moving up in levels they’ve started competing internationally. The boys have competed in El Salvador and are looking forward to competing at the Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF) in Wellington, Florida this winter.
“My business, FORTE NATURALS, is based in Florida, so we’ve started riding with the Duffy family at Little Brook Farm in Wellington. They have an excellent children’s jumper program, so we plan to spend a few months in Wellington so William and Julian can see what it’s like to show at WEF,” Brianna said.
At their Panama farm, Finca Hanna, Brianna currently has eight jumper pony prospects she’s developing. “I just love being part of their transformational process. It’s so fulfilling to take a green bush pony from the fields in Panama and transform it into a talented and flashy blue-ribbon-winning show pony,” she said. “We plan to bring the really magical ones to Wellington to show and sell in Wellington and Ocala.”
Next Act
In addition to developing young jumper ponies, Brianna is the founder and CEO of FORTE NATURALS, a vitamin supplement brand. “While working on-camera, I struggled with embarrassing skin rashes and red, puffy breakouts all over my face. I tried everything and consulted with countless medical professionals; then the boys and I were diagnosed with severe gluten and dairy sensitivity. I tried out a gluten elimination test and saw health improvements, including perfectly clear skin within six days,” she said.
Brianna realized that not only did she need to eliminate gluten from her diet, but she needed to ensure her daily vitamins were also gluten-free. “When I launched FORTE NATURALS in 2015, we were one of the pioneers in the gluten-free vitamin supplement industry. We are entirely family owned and operated, and we intend to stay that way,” Brianna said.
After nearly a decade of developing vitamin supplements for adults and kids, Brianna decided to create a line of glucosamine for horses and a glucosamine hip joint supplement for dogs and cats. “The glucosamine joint support formula has been a game changer for my horses, especially for my retired warmbloods who suffer from stiffness,” she said.
It’s the power of positive thinking and a focused mindset that allows Brianna to be successful at all the roles she has today in Panama and the United States. To memorialize this time in her life, where she’s juggling kids, ponies, private school, homeschool, traveling around the world and more, Brianna is creating weekly vlogs on her YouTube channel.
Fully embracing her role as pony mom is what makes Brianna’s heart happy today. “I enjoy watching my sons develop their skills and talent as riders, and their passion and love for horses in general. They’re beginning to understand, for themselves, the wisdom that horses and equestrian sport can teach us all,” Brianna said. “To witness that, and be beside them for the ride, is something truly special for me.”
Follow Brianna on Instagram @BriannaMeighan
Photos by Melissa Fuller, melissafullerphotography33.mypixieset.com
Special thanks to Little Brook Farms & Ponies and Palms Show Stables, in Wellington, Florida, for the location for the photo shoot.
