Tanya Tucker's pet and farm animal situation is well documented, with dogs Stella and Ricky Ray building social media followings of their own. The freshly-announced Country Music Hall of Famer loves horses, as well, and she even rode one on stage recently at the Grand Ole Opry— which in all likelihood was a first in the radio show's 97-year history.
On Monday (June 19), she announced the death of Ginnin Jessie, a chestnut horse.
"I lost my sweet ol' man tonight," Tucker wrote on Twitter. "Ginnin Jessie (Jessie Rey's son) a piece of me went with him and what remains will never be the same. His daddy Jessie Rey left me [in 2019] when he was 31. So I think they're both together and will be waiting on me. You're free now to run like the wind!"
I lost my sweet ol man tonight. Ginnin Jessie (Jessie Rey's son) a piece of me went with him and what remains will never be the same. His Daddy Jessie Rey left me when he was 31. So I think they're both together and will be waiting on me. You’re free now to run like the wind! ❤️ pic.twitter.com/LBM1Y6f9E3
— Tanya Tucker (@tanyatucker) June 19, 2023
Tucker imagined being reunited in the afterlife with Jessie Rey in the lyrics of Grammy winner (Best Country Song, 2020) "Bring My Flowers Now."
"I said, 'I want to write a song about him' and I never could do it. And then when [co-writer and producer Brandi Carlile] and I were finishing this, I had this idea when we started writing it in the studio that day," Tucker told Sounds Like Nashville. "And the last day in the studio, right before we recorded it, Jessie Ray came in, he just showed up. One day, me and Jessie Ray, we're going to ride again."
In April, Tucker rode what looks to be the same horse from her Opry appearance through downtown Nashville. The Tennessean reports that the horse is a black Stallion named Lauwe the Magnificent. Tucker's recent horseplay promoted her election into the Hall of Fame and the June 2 release of new album Sweet Western Sound.
