Sunny Skies on My Darkest Days

By Desiree Riniker

In the month of February, we are celebrating all the flashy-splashy colored horses on #YourDressage! Whether your horse is a registered Paint, Appaloosa, Knabstrupper, or Gypsy Horse, sports a patched or spotted coat, or wears lots of chrome, this month is for you!

Dressage enthusiasts who ride colorful horses have the opportunity to earn special awards through the Adequan®/USDF All-Breeds Awards as the Official American Paint Horse Association, Appaloosa Horse Club, Knabstrupperforeningen for Danmark (KNN), Gypsy Horse Registry Of America, and The Gypsy Vanner Horse Society are all Participating Organizations. There are also plenty of organizations that include horses with all sorts of interesting cost patterns.

In this story, a Region 3 adult amateur shares how a flashy Dutch mare, who was everything she wasn’t looking for, helped her through her husband’s deployment to the Middle East with the US Air Force, and subsequent health difficulties, becoming her sunshine during some very dark storms. 

Sunny Skies is a 2014 Dutch cross, and how she came to me is a special story. 

Sunny was not what I was looking for in a partner. I had originally been shopping for a Pura Raza Española (PRE) gelding, and Sunny couldn’t be farther from that! When my trainer and I were looking, I rode several horses while my trainer and I searched for my next partner, but was met with a lot of disappointment. It did not help that I had a limited budget. 

On a whim, my trainer asked me to go ride a “black mare” that she really liked and felt might be a good match. I hesitated because she was not what I was looking for, but I agreed to try her out. When I met the mare, I found her to be sweet, but she had a huge hay belly and wasn’t necessarily the “picture” I was looking for. However, the minute I sat on her, that all changed – away we went, and my heart was hers. I did my very first flying change on that mare, and at that moment, I knew she was supposed to be mine. 

As it turned out, Sunny’s asking price was significantly over my budget. I did not know how I was going to make it work. But thanks to some amazing trainers, and a wonderful previous owner, they all saw how truly magical our connection was right away and agreed to find a way to make Sunny mine. 

And so, she came home on a dreary November afternoon. To this day, I cannot thank her previous owner, Samantha Spitler, and her previous trainer, Susan Novotny, along with my trainer, Iris Eppinger, for doing everything they could to make Sunny mine. These ladies will forever have a special place in our hearts because of their commitment to helping Sunny and I become a pair. 

Little did anyone know I had a very dreary secret hanging over my head when we purchased Sunny. Several months before Sunny’s purchase, we found out that my husband, Ryan, was going to be deployed for six months to the Middle East with the US Air Force. My heart had been filled with dread and sadness for months; needless to say, Sunny came home at the perfect time. I needed her more than I – or anyone – could ever know. She was most definitely the sun in my cloudy world during those months, and the months that followed. 

In April 2023, just six months after Sunny was purchased, my husband deployed. I found myself paralyzed with fear and sadness, struggling for days just to get out of bed. It took me about a week before I could get myself to the barn, but what happened that first day I got there was a wonderful testament to how much horses really understand and fill our souls. 

When I got to the barn, all I could do was hug Sunny. My husband’s love language is hugging, and we hug a lot in our marriage. When he left, that feeling of safety and being loved in his arms disappeared, and it took a huge part of me with it. Sunny immediately went to work, filling my heart and my soul. 

When I finally got to her and buried my face in her shoulder, she bent her head all the way around my body, “hugging” me as if to say, “It’s ok, I got you, I am here.” I stood there and cried and cried, and that mare did not let me go until I was ready to stand up and face the world around me. And suddenly I felt as if, for the first time in weeks, “I could.” 

Right after Ryan left, it also became difficult for me to sleep. I went almost six weeks with only two to three hours of sleep a night, and it became increasingly difficult not to come apart at the seams. Despite feeling like a zombie, I would still drag myself to the barn most days because Sunny gave me a reason to hang on through the major depression I was trying hard not to sink into. 

During our rides, I always felt her give just a little more, look at me a bit more intently, and even keep her eye on me when my trainer was having a session with her (noted by people, both visitors and boarders). They would tell me, “That mare always has one eye on you, there is no question she is your horse.” Not only was she my horse, but Sunny was my guardian, my protector, and my best friend. 

As the months wore on, Sunny and I began to have the best time together. I still had a deep ache in my heart from the temporary loss of my husband’s companionship, but she really helped fill that hole. We doubled down on our dressage education, working hard and playing some on the trails between schooling sessions. I found myself laughing and having a good time with my friends. One day, I woke up and realized I had slept through the entire night. And while my dog was also a big piece of that puzzle, Sunny filled my heart in ways only she and I will ever know. 

That summer, we went to a show together. It was our first one without the best horse show husband ever, and I felt that missing piece. Ryan went to our first few shows in the months before he left; he would work hard, help take amazing care of Sunny, cheer us on, review our tests with us, help the other ladies with their horses, and wipe boots, bridles, and bits before we went in the ring, etc.… he was really part of team Sunshine Dressage, and we were so lucky to have him. 

He and Sunny became fast friends during those months, and to this day, she is still so fond of him. When he left for the Middle East, the entire team felt the loss of his presence. It was hard on me, to say the least. Despite my sad heart, Sunny gave me 1000% and we won all of our classes at that summer show. It was as if she was telling me the entire time, “YES, Ryan makes it easier and more fun, but YOU are more than capable. I got you, Mom!!” I am so grateful for those months, and that summer horse show. It really cemented the strength of our relationship even more than it already had been. 

Sunny and I have faced some other tough challenges along the way. Several months after the summer horse show, I fell ill and couldn’t get out to see her for weeks. My heart began to ache even more from the separation from both her and Ryan, but my friends and teammates looked after her while I could not get out to see her. When I was finally well enough to visit, she looked me in the eyes, sighed a deep breath, and suddenly my heart was full, and I knew everything would be ok. 

Unfortunately, I battled that illness for several months, and the military sent Ryan home six weeks early. There was some permanent damage to my hearing and my balance, so Ryan stepped up right away and became the best horse dad ever. Sunny was an important part of my recovery; I had become weak and unfit after so many weeks of battling illness and being unable to move around much on my own. She was patient with my slow return to riding, being the perfect caretaker and ever so careful with me. 

Over the following year and a half, we have had more battles, and many ups and downs. All throughout it, though, Sunny continues to show up and take care of me to the best of her ability. I do not care what anyone says about mares; I have found this one to be extraordinary, and she would give me the world if she could, or if I asked. But in my humble opinion, that is just the heart of a mare. 

This year, we won our Group Member Organization (GMO) bronze medal, awarded by the South Carolina Dressage and Combined Training Association to riders who earn six scores of 60% or higher at Introductory and Training Levels. Additionally, we are preparing to receive second place in our GMO’s year-end awards program. Sunny is extraordinary in so many ways, and she has changed my life for the better. She shows up, works hard, and has made me a stronger and a better rider; she is a caretaker and a friend. She is indeed a superhero in horse clothes.