Our Story

Big Bay Ray is a nonprofit in honor of my horse Ray. Our family met Ray in Milpitas, California in 2008. While my mom was visiting a ranch to lease a friend’s horse, I saw a beautiful Bay (Dark Brown) Thoroughbred out in the pasture. The look in his eyes was majestic and a bit wild, having been abandoned by his owner at the ranch.  Instantly, I fell in love with him and asked the ranch if we could turn him out (exercise him) and groom and care for him. They said that would be fine until they were able to successfully lease him.  After a year, we had grown very close, and he would lift up his head the minute we drove up to the pasture.  Despite our loving care for him, he was leased out. A firm believer in God, I knew that we could be connected again if it was meant to be.

 About two years after I left Ray and said the hardest of goodbyes, I found out that he was looking for a new home.  Financially, I had no business getting a horse, but I couldn’t say no. So, with Ray in tow in a trailer, we headed North so that he could be closer to me. Ray was my best friend and the best horse I could’ve ever asked for. Like most rescue horses, he loved me and trusted me when he had no reason to trust anyone after his abandonment.  He loved his grandparents (Paul and Gretchen) and my sister Stephanie.  And everyone loved Ray.  

Ray passed away in 2017 during my first year of law school at Cornell and I was devastated.  The loss of any animal is incredibly tough, but horse owners will describe a very deep pain that lasts for months or years after the loss of a horse. I still grieve the loss of Ray. I hope that this non-profit is an honor to Ray’s spirit and encourages others to support horse rescues, whether it is by buying our merchandise or making private donations to Big Bay Ray, Inc. in support of horse rescue organizations. 

God Bless You, Jenna Kyle