Bulli celebrity returns home

Samson Bright Timbertops, Sammy to his friends, is a lovely big sook, a labrador in a 21-year-old, 900kg Clydesdale body and a very much-loved member of the Bulli community. After a brief stint away, he’s back in his usual paddock, and once again happily accepting the adoration of his fans. Oh, and carrots and apples, he’s happily accepting those too.

Samson’s start to life sounds a bit like the plot of many a Disney movie, with him being orphaned at an early age. Thankfully for Sammy, the rest of his life has followed the perfect fairytale trope and he’s now very much living his best life here in the Illawarra where he has resided since 2005.

Owner Amanda says, “I drove down [to Moruya where he was living] and it was love at first sight. We've been blessed to call him ours for 17 to 18 years. His original owners said as soon as I got there they knew we were meant for each other.”

Standing at about 17 3/4 hands tall (according to Equestrian Australia that’s close to 175cm!), he makes quite the impression. Don’t let his towering stature fool you, though. Samson is a big scaredy cat. He’s not a huge fan of other horses, or dogs and Amanda says, “He thinks there's sharks in any and every tiny little puddle and will do a giant leap over them! He also detests getting his feathers (fluffy feet) wet.”

For all his prima donna ways (you'd be a prima donna too if you'd been painted by famous local artist Robert Howe), he can be brave when needed. After recently being moved from his paddock to a smaller one while Transport for NSW completed works, he was faced with severe flooding, gale force winds and storms. As Amanda noted, he took it “all in his giant stride”.

Now that the works have been finished, you’ll find Samson back in his home paddock at the top of Hobart Street, where he belongs, ready to be visited and pampered by families throughout the Illawarra once again.