~ Updated for Your Benefit 4/8/2021 ~
My Beloved Horse Sunny & widely respected partner, ushered me into an NCHA Cutting Horse Career March 2, 2002 (on Texas Independence Day from Mexico, y'all, Woo Hoo!) .....helping us win 2 Buckles & 1 Check with Heart, Soul, Grit & "Try" for Me, for the job that he loved till the very end. This is my Tribute to him plus messages he wanted to impart to y'all about our connections with treasured animals after passing on / from The Other Side.....
Tribute & Background: I chose Sunny Intuitively over another horse recommended to me..... A vet check yielded a "lame in 3 out of 4 legs" diagnosis & the designation of "Being a TANK!" by a Trainer friend initially helping me. Others would go on to remark similarly, with my proud retorts of "Yeah..... He has great heart & great lungs!!!! He'll hold a cow under the toughest conditions as long as he needs to & beat out lesser horses....." I stuck to "My Intuitive Guns" from the beginning & Sunny became my profoundly trusted, unbelievably kick ass partner in the show pen; plus super cool, sometimes cranky & sometimes comical pal!!! We started with a bang at our 1st Show (see picture down below) despite my unexpected fever / precarious physical state, freezing temperatures & long day / late night..... we pressed on together with a knowing sense of purpose & timeliness, nonetheless. In the beginning, Sunny graciously carried me then quickly forced me to rise to the occasion of our potential together & earn his respect..... Once he knew I would absolutely "GO FOR IT FEARLESSLY!" with him, he pulled out all the stops & often earned cheers, praise from strangers & random prior owners we ran in to at shows who regretted letting him go. We went on to qualify for 4 different classes at The Western National Finals our first year, without me even realizing it. He carried us to 3 out of 4 Finals while there plus grittily earning 2 checks & a coveted Top 10 Buckle together. He also helped save the day wrangling with gathering / moving cattle in large pastures one particular day doing some ranch work..... beating out the professional day help repeatedly & jumping a stream full tilt to catch a renegade herd at the last second & very end of a very long day that would have gone much longer! He KNEW what he needed to do. He KNEW what I was going for. We were partners. When it came time to retire him for physical reasons, he would pitch a fit if the trailer left without him. Haul him along to a show for convenience & NOT compete with him, he'd rock the trailer going home over leaving "before HE could show 'em ALL what HE had!" Very well mannered, he did have some attitude & a temper when he thought it was valid, all of which served him well in the cutting pen!
He certainly proved out his initially suspected specialness & strength of character in the show pen even more by the following..... 1.) Physically knocking a cow with his shoulder to make a super tough cut one night, yep!! 2.) Performing perfectly despite an accidentally dropped rein while working a cow during competition one day, 3.) Garnered shouts of approval from the crowd at one of those finals in Utah mentioned above when he refused to stop doing his job, even though our rebel cow managed to COMPLETELY leave the pen & high tail it from sight, literally..... He remained in perfect position looking for our missing cow to come back & did so all the way to the buzzer, NOT wanting to let me down. Pretty stunning :D 4.) PLUS a 2nd similar type situation (as if that wasn't enough!) to earn our Top 10 Finals Buckle!!
An extra tough, smart horse that I consider a once in a lifetime type horse. Saying "Thanks" is not enough which is part of why I'm Honoring him here.
Sunny Says..... Regarding "important things to mention to you people folks about The Journey we (animals) take while here, when we pass over & maybe more information I think is pertinent later on..." he says. "Love is eternal for us (here on the other side.) We never leave you behind completely. We carry you in our Hearts & often come back in other lifetimes to be with you once again. While staying on the other side (before/in between reincarnations) we may very well watch over you, as well as, other animals we are fond of... to make sure their Journey is a good one while still there (on Earth.) We want our people to be Happy & Safe, well regarded by others (for Support, Respect) & Proud of the Journey Path they are on, what they are doing with it. We want you not to be so sad, but proud of what you learned from us while we were there & afterward, after leaving our bodies behind. Don't think of it as the ending, but as an Expansion to The Journey for us both. We can still communicate with you. Listen!! Expand your Mind, Mindfulness & Awarenesses..... We can help you even more than you think!! Thanks for taking this in. Thanks for being more aware for all of us here waiting to reconnect & for continuing to enjoy our relationships from the beyond... If we've reincarnated back with another, not (with) a prior partner that wanted it, then that person (prior partner) should know we are with another for a purpose that really needed filling there & to continue Honoring ALL we taught you, gave you & may do so again..... REMEMBER the Feelings of Love. That's important to carry with you to tap into from time to time to remember things in a good way for yourself, to know your life has been changed for the better. APPRECIATE IT..... whether we get together again or not."
Proud Boy!!!! Our First Show. 2 Buckles & A Check!! March 2, 2002 Gainesville, TX. Woo Hoo!
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Staking Our Claim to The $50M Amateur Finals of The 2002 Western National Finals!! May 2003 Ogden, UT
☆ Sunny / Sunnys Pinoakio ☆
$30K+ NCHA Career Earnings ☆ May 5, 1990 - August 18, 2010
By Doc's Oak & Out of Mr San Peppy Grand Daughter, Pava Eighteen
See some Sunny Videos with Back Stories Here: Horsey Intuitive & Healing Energy Good Stuff!!
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Remember... Real Deal Love never "dies." Ever!! Although the ones involved may change form, the Love doesn't cease on either end.
Click podcast link below for more on that, Sunny's story & even more!!
Almost every great thing, if not every great thing, some how some way ties back to horses for me & my life..... Sunny was a horse that contributed immeasurably. Thank you, Sunny, for then..... for now being with me in Spirit..... for what's to come..... See you soon! 💚 ~SA~
