Sumac GunnaBeFlashy: Challenging the Status Quo
Image credit: Shane Rux photography, courtesy of GunnaTrashYa.
By Delores Kuhlwein
As Ranch events became firmly established as mainstays of competition, Sumac GunnaBeFlashy stood out as an exemplar of the discipline. Now he’s setting the tone for versatility in an era of specialization, breaking down the stereotype of the ranch horse as a step down from reining.
The ranch horse that’s won it all and made history is now making waves in reining. At the 2026 Cactus Reining Classic this week, Bud Lyon piloted Romeo to win the L2 Open Maturity, and co-champion of the L3 & L4.
Watch his winning Cactus Reining Classic run by Classic Video courtesy of Bud Lyon Performance Horses:2
Image courtesy Bud Lyon Performance Horses.
Ranch Exemplified
In 2023, Sumac GunnaBeFlashy made news as the first horse shown exclusively in Ranch events to be named NSBA Horse of the Year.
The same year, the Canadian-bred 2017 gelding (by Gunnatrashya and out of Chics Graceful Whiz), owned by Leslie Lange, set an arena record of 252.5 in Senior Ranch Riding at the AQHA World Show with Professional Horseman Bud Lyon.
In 2024, he was honored at the AQHA World Show as the first Ranch horse to win the AQHA Superhorse title, then he came back in November 2025 to become a two-time Superhorse. At that World Show, the eye-catching gelding bested a class of 84 to win Senior Ranch Riding again with Lyon in the saddle, crushing their previous record score with a 257.
Watch their winning 2025 AQHA World Show Senior Ranch Riding run:
Setting the Tone
What was quietly happening in the relatively new discipline of Ranch involved much more than titles for Sumac GunnaBeFlashy, however. “Ranch classes were relatively undefined by some standards, and the standard of excellence had not been clearly defined in some cases,” explains Bud Lyon. “I think Romeo has been able to become an example of our standard of excellence. That’s what we’re looking for. That’s the horse we want. A horse that covers ground, that can lengthen his stride but also has great self-carriage. He’s got great legs, great expression. He’s got athleticism. To me, he’s the total package.”
Romeo’s phenomenal career in ranch events allowed him to reach a pinnacle in which he had nothing left to prove, explains Lyon. “We say that with the utmost humility and we’re so grateful for him. He’s in an interesting spot because he’s accomplished so much in his short career. But he’s still relatively young and very fresh and sound and happy.”
So Bud and Leslie came up with a plan. “Leslie and I have a great relationship, and I’m very grateful for her trust and confidence,” Bud notes, and together they decided to give Romeo something different to do and a bit of a break from ranch events other than the majors.
Not a One-Trick Pony
Lyon says Romeo had been shown sparingly in the reining over the years, which kept him fresh in the ranch events, and resulted in making him a better ranch horse. “I don’t think the reining is any harder on them physically than the ranch events are,” reveals Lyon, “but I do think that it requires a bit more psychological intensity and focus. So when we went back to the ranch events, he sort of took a deep breath and appreciated the ranch a bit more, and it brought out the best in him in the ranch events.”
Romeo’s biggest reining accomplishment to date is his Reserve Championship with Kim Lyon at The Run For A Million in the Rookie Division. Bud explains, “He has not shown the reining a lot in the grand scheme of things, but it certainly wasn’t wasn’t for lack of ability. We used it selectively for a certain purpose, and now that we’ve accomplished so many of those other goals in the ranch, I think we do get to go back and enjoy the reining a little bit more.”
His versatility, including his physical tools and mental capacity to do both disciplines at a high level has not only been fun for both Bud and Leslie, but perhaps even more importantly, Bud says it speaks volumes about what our that horses are capable of in an age of specialization.
“I think it’s really fun to be sort of an outlier, but to also maybe prove to people that we don’t have to necessarily be so specialized and have tunnel vision,” he reveals. “There is an opportunity to cross over and do multiple events and enjoy your horses. And I think that’s something that our industry currently is saying–that they appreciate and value it and would like to see a return to it on some level.”
Nothing is further from the truth of the narrative that ranch horses are all reining horses that flunked out, he adds. “The ranch events have been great for horses that need an additional job or a secondary job, maybe after their reining career, whether it’s because they’ve gotten a little age on them or because they need a refresher. But we value a lot of the same attributes in the ranch classes they do in the reining and or the cow horse. We need that athleticism. We want a handy horse with the ability to guide and steer. I don’t think anybody on a true working ranch would want a horse that doesn’t have some athletic ability, whether it’s to work a cow, or to move cattle, or to cross a big section of land. It’s fun for me and personally rewarding to see Romeo break those stereotypes and to prove that in this age of specialization, you don’t have to be specialized; our horses can be more than one thing.”
The fact that the industry and judges have rewarded Romeo has indicated that he’s the standard for the modern ranch horse, and Bud says they’re very grateful for him. “We love the fact that he can do multiple events, and we’re looking forward to the next challenge.”
