Sunny Side Up is, without over-exaggeration, the focal point of my life. He is my personal sun, the reason I get up in the morning, my best friend. I love this horse to pieces. Sunny is a 16hh (approximately) chestnut Thouroughbred gelding, with looks and talent to die for. He loves to be groomed and loved, and especially being fed, and doesn't like rain, being bitten by Darcy, or being ignored. He has a million different quirks and preferences, and it would take me five years to list them all. He is truly the most talented, intelligent, funny, sweet, beautiful horse I have ever laid eyes on, and the most unique horse to ride. How I acquired the luck to be able to ride such a marvellous crature is a mystery.
Sunny and I first met in June 2009. He was my friend Hannah's pony's field mate, and I was Hannah's horse crazed friend. I would accompany Hannah on her trips to see and ride Pippa, and briefly encounter Sunny as we caught her, but that was the extent of our relationship. He was just a horse, me a human. But things soon changed.
Debbie, Sunny's loaner, became pregnant near the end of that year, and Sunny had no-one to ride him. He lived in his field, and became bored, and seeing this prompted an idea to strike me: I could exercise him. With the all-clear from my parents, I asked Sue, his owner, if I could ride and lunge him for a few weeks while Debbie was unable to. My heart exploded with delight when she told me I could.
On March 26, 2010 I got to catch Sunny and groom him for the first time. I was smitten. His coat was velvety soft, and he stood quietly and calmly, because he knew in his special Sunny-ish way that I was nervous and inexperienced. Looking back, it was stupid of me to assume I could handle such completely new, powerful creature, but I was immensely lucky that he wasn't just a thoroughbred - he was Sunny. I lunged him and even got to trot him bareback, being led by Hannah's dad. Sunny was an angel the whole time. I'll never forget that first day with him.
We fell into a pattern of visiting, grooming, lungeing, and parting. He would be kind and overlook my novice mistakes, and I would do my best to please him. It occurred to me, however, that even though he was the perfect gentleman, he was still a powerful horse. I was nervous, but still eager to ride, but because of this realisation, I put it off. One weekend the weather wasn't great. Another, I was too busy. The next, my cousins came to stay. These minor things prevented me from riding, or rather, were the excuses, but eventually, the time came for me to clamber into the saddle I wasn't worthy of.
The first ride was, quite honestly, scary. He trotted too quickly as he sensed my nerves, and he took hold in canter. I was now fully aware of what my horse could do, and I felt slightly over-faced. I would usually just trot around the arena in a ride in lessons, transitions, turns, exercises and the like quite impractical in the group setting. But on my own, I had to do these things. Sue and Debbie coached me, telling me how I should turn my toes in, relax, make nice big loops. I was just concerned about not hitting the ground. He was no bombproof schoolie, and me no eventer, and we were an odd couple. I deemed the ride was eight out of ten, fun but ultimately terrifying. But I still wanted to prove myself, and be able to show his and my full potential.
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