Sonny Dee Bar’s flashy appearance attracted judges and mare owners throughout his career as a show horse and a successful stallion.
Sired by racehorse Win Or Lose and out of Chigger’s Baby by Chigger, Sonny Dee Bar was bred by E. V. Roberts of Ardmore, Oklahoma.
The colt was born in 1965. Roberts wasted no time in entering the blaze-faced, stocking-legged colt into his first show. Accompanied by his mother, Sonny Dee Bar walked away with a local county fair win and a crowd of admirers.
Between 1969 and 1977, owner Bernie Marks bred Sonny to produce some of his most successful offspring, including world champion Sonny Go Lucky, AQHA Champion Reynolds Rap, world champion sire Red Sonny Dee, and high-point Western pleasure stallion Sonny Deluxe.
After living in numerous states, Sonny Dee Bar made his final home in Loachapoka, Alabama, under the care of owners Joe and Iris Beacham. He spent his last days turned out in a paddock, traveling pleasure trails on the farm and breeding a few mares. He died August 20, 1994, at the age of 29.
Sonny Dee Bar’s offspring have earned more than 35,000 points in four different breed organizations. The stallion sired 1,068 foals, including 409 point earners that garnered 24,106 points in AQHA competition. Several of his sons went on to become leading sires of performance horses themselves, such as Scotch Bar Time, Reynolds Rap, Sonny Go Royal and Sonny Go Lucky.
Sonny Dee Bar was inducted into the American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame in 2003.
Biography updated as of March 2003.