St.Clair Red Mule Farm -Mule & Donkey Adventures

High Cotton Obstacle Competiton

2012-01-09T16:11:00.016-05:00

The adventure began at 5:30 that morning (1/7/2012) I loaded Seven and headed over to get Christina and Oakley (Poco King Cloud). We left Zebulon at 6:45 and headed to Fuquay-Varina or so I thought. I some how missed the road and ended up in Lillington. So with a call for new directions we got Reed and her horse Fortune packed onto the trailer. Ok, now we could start heading south! We arrived at Lake Waccamaw at 11:00. I spotted Aimee and her group and we got to park next to them for more fun! Aimee had brought her mule Henry, Tollie her husband brought Flash and Caroline, Aimee's daughter brought her big horse Mike! They also had another two friends with them and another horse.
We all walked over and got signed up, watched Mary Miller Jordan and her Mustang perform. Her mustangs name is Magic Carpet Ride so she dressed as a Gennie! They did some neat tricks and she rode well for a mustang who only has 90 or so days of training. Mary will leave in about two weeks to go to Texas to compete in the Extreme Mustang Make Over Competition!
Soon it was time to warm up and for the In-hand class to start. There was a mix up in my numbers and they were still calling my old number until it was time for me to go into the ring, all of a sudden it was, Shannon Hoffman and Seven, please come in the ring. So in we went, cold turkey. I would have loved to have worked with him and warmed him up a little so we just made do!
We had to do all sorts of things like step over poles, cross bridges, go through curtains, but the worst on was a Water Box. A short 2 x2 foot square with sides and about 2 inches of water. The horses were to step into the box of dirt colored water to cross it. Seven was not really sure about all this and only stepped on foot in but at least he tried. I was not too happy with our go and I was hoping that it would not set the tone for the rest of the day. The classes too a while to get through because she had some many entries! Once the Novice class was done, there were only 4 youth kids to go and then they would start the Open. I was second to go in the Open so I wanted to be prepared! I warmed Seven up and he seemed to be listening well and being soft! I had hopes....... Right as I was standing at the gate all warmed up and ready to go they announcer someone else's name to go in next and had moved me back. Oh no, I was all physically and mentally ready. The lady who went in before me thanked me so much and said something about having to go home early, ugh. So I fidgeted around and finally it was our turn to go! The two who went before me did the pattern wrong so Mary was telling everyone to check their patterns. I said, "shh... don't tell them all the secrets." We just laughed and then she was ready for me to start. Seven did well with the plastic bottles and then it was on to that Water Box again. I had counted on just having him sort of skip over top of it, since that would loose less points that fighting with him to get him to walk into it. He stopped, put his head down and to my amazement walked right into it!

The Super Scary Water Box! (Sorry for the Blurry Photo)

Then it was time to weave through some poles at a jog, dismount, fly spray his shoulder, pick up his right hind foot and then remount. We walked quickly over the bridge and nearly picked up a trot over the exercise mats. We got through the curtain and I stopped him to try for extra points! We proceeded over the mixed up poles on the ground and I don;t think he even touched them! He walked quickly through the pool noodles and we turned left and picked up a nice jog. The Halt at the cone was not a smooth as it could have been but was still ok! So now it was time for the Money Shot as they say! Seven had to put his left front foot into a round circle a little bigger than the size of a dinner plate on the ground. We had practiced till I thought we could do it. I asked him, held me breath and BOOM, just like that, in that foot went! I was so excited! The crowd clapped and Mary gave me a big smile!

Seven with is foot in the Orange Circle!

Mike and Caroline placed 2nd in the In-Hand Class
Seven and I placed 4th in the In-Hand Class
Oakley and Christina places 5th in the Novice Class
Fortune and Reed were overjoyed just to make it through the water box and the Pool Noodles!

Seven Won the Open Class out over over 30 participants.
Boy was I proud of him! We won a $25 gift certificate to The Celtic horse, a local tack shop, a nice embroidered Cooler, a hand made rope halter from www.Catstack.com and a bunch of other neat stuff!
I had a great time and the win just added to the fun! I met a lot of new people and ran into some buddies from showing! Everyone was so nice and we all had a good time visiting and riding with each other! Seven got lots of petting during the day and I answered many questions about mules!
Thanks Mary for putting on a great competition that really did accomplish what you intended. Mary said at the beginning of the competition, "this is about your relationship with you horse!"
So we packed up and headed home! After stopping to pick up dinner and dropping off everyone, Seven and I got home at 12:30AM!!! WoooHooo that a day!

Christmas Break 2011/2012

2012-01-09T11:06:00.010-05:00

I returned home late Monday night and got up early Tuesday morning to put Navarre in the stall, just before the big rain came! It was a cold, wet rainy day so I took some naps and got a lot of things done in the house! Wednesday I had planned on riding but it was still cold and a nice stiff wind came in too! So the mules got another day off and lots of extra hay to say warm!

Thursday it was nice and I was going stir crazy! So Seven, Sadie, Jesse and I headed over to the Track to work with Lawson. Seven worked with several race horses till he as tired, Sadie was ridden by Katie and Jesse got to watch all the goings on from the outside of the round pen!

Friday was another big day! I dropped Levi off at the Vet's to be neutered. Then Seven and I headed for Peppertree Farm for an Open House, free lesson. We got there and checked out the nice barns and indoor arena. We found my friend Reed taking her lesson.

Reed and her horse Fortune

There was a huge hill covered in grass near the arena, and you know me! I never saw a hill I did not like to climb so up we went! It was a nice view of the facilities and we sure had a lot of horses looking up to see what Seven was doing up there! (It was a lot bigger than it looks in the photo!)
Soon it was time to warm up for our lesson. Bill Garvey gave me a great lesson in jumping. I learned to trust Seven more and he gave me some great things to work on, plus it was great fun! Bill even thanked me for bringing him such a well broke mule!

Shannon needs to work on her crest release!

We rushed home and I put Seven out for a rest and went to pick up Levi. He did well with his surgery but they had to do on large incision because he is a Cryptorchid. He has to wear his special collar for two weeks so that he doesn't rub out the stitches and let things heal! He was so tired I just gave him a little to eat and a pain pill and he was soon asleep on his bed!
I went out and tacked up all three mules again and took off to ride with Lawson at the Track! Lawson rode Jesse in the round pen for me. He did really well for a mule that has not been ridden in a long time! We got home about 8:30 and Levi was still fast asleep!

Saturday I went back over to the track in the morning and we rode with the race horses. Seven was tired, mmmmm, not sure why...hehehehe.....Katie rode Sadie around the track a few times and then we went for a short walk about. Then Lawson rode Jesse again for me. Jesse was twice as good as the night before and Lawson even rode him out into the outdoor ring to help use him to do some distraction training for another horse. While Seven rested, Sadie Mae was ridden by me to help put too! It got to be 12:30 and I told Lawson that the mules had to leave for their next appointment! I loaded them on the trailer and got to my house right at 1PM to meet Patty for a trail ride! Patty has corgi's and a photography business at the dog shows. She used to have her own horses but has not ridden in years. She helped me get the mules unloaded and Jesse untacked. Then poor Seven and Sadie, who thought they were home and done for the day, got to go on a trail ride. We took a nice relaxing ride for about 2 1/2 hours!

Patty and Sadie Mae at the lake behind my farm.

Later that night I met up with my mule riding friend Debbie and we went into town for a nice New Years Eve dinner at Chillies! It was nice to catch up with her as he both have been so busy we have not even seen each other in over a month!

Sunday Seven was really starting to wonder when I would go back to work, because he needed a break! But, I had been invited to ride with the Guys from Pilot. I rode with them all last Winter and had a great time! They ride smart, but also fast! Since it was going to be a warm day and fast riding I decided to take Seven because, even though he was tired, he was more in shape than Sadie Mae. We had another great ride. Rode for about 4 1/2 hours and got to do some really fun riding! We took a short break at a nice over look and on the way out, we spotted this SNAKE! It is unusual to see a Black Rat Snake in a tree but it looked like he was just trying to get some sun! He did not even move till someone touched him with a stick! He was right elbow height, while sitting on a 15.1 hand mule! We had a great ride, what a good way to spend New Years Day! HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Christmas 2011

2012-01-05T16:29:00.015-05:00

I headed to my parents house for Christmas this year! Already there was my sister Cynthia and her Daughter Robin, aged 2. Levi was of course over excited by all the action and wondering what this Christmas thing was all about! Christmas Eve we attended Church and got to see Dad perform with his Choir. They sounded great! "Past three-o-clock, on a cold frosty morning," We did some sugar cookie decorating and Mom cooked a wonderful Christmas Dinner. We had a Roast and I brought some lamb chops.

After Christmas Mom and I took Levi over to visit with Cricket and her family! Levi was terrified of Cricket's sweet German Shepard but absolutely loved her two kids, Charlie and Joe! Levi got to play in the ribbons from all the presents! I so enjoyed spending some relaxing time with my family but headed home late Monday night, trying to get home before a big rain storm set in!!

Mule Club Christmas Party

2012-01-05T16:29:00.008-05:00

A fun time was had by all! Thanks to Jay and Annette for hosting our group in their beautiful home! The Pot Luck dinner was wonderful as always. I got several great gifts stolen from me in the Dirty Santa game. Finally ended up with a neat wreath made all of horse shoes. I can keep it up all year long and put different ribbons and decorations on it! It is great fun to be able to catch up with all the Mule Skinners before Christmas!

Two pretty photos!

2012-01-05T16:26:00.002-05:00

With my new point and shoot camera I took these two pretty photos! The Sun Rise was on my way to work one morning and the Carmelia bush flowers were in the parking lot at lunch! Beauty is every where!

Tired Old Ass Soak

2012-01-05T16:22:00.003-05:00

My friend Reed got quite a few laughs from giving me this present for Christmas!!! I in turn gave it to Lawson, as he needs it way more than me. He said, "Don't laugh, I'm going to use it!"

Merry Christmas & Wishing Everyone a Happy New Year!

2011-12-23T09:27:00.003-05:00

Many Thanks to Mom for taking this photo, to Dad for popping up and down in the flowers to get that expression on Seven's face and to the Farmer who let me ride in between the rows of Sun Flowers to get this shot! Seven did not damage a single flower but they sure did tickle him a lot!

Beneift Trail Obstacle Race Day

2011-12-19T14:27:00.007-05:00

Seven and I left for another Trail Obstacle Race Day, with our friends Christina and her horse Oakley. This event had gone from being just a fun day to a Benefit, raise all the money you can day!
About 1 month ago Brock Griffith had an injury while training a horse and had to have surgery on his neck. His wife Leisha Griffith was able to step in and train the horses while she was laid up. But then BAD Luck stuck again! Leisha was stepped on by her horse in a freak accident and she had a compound fracture in her lower leg. She had to have emergency surgery on it and will need two to three more. I have not known Brock and Leisha for long but I have been so impressed with what great people they are and also great horseman! www.brockgriffithhorsemanship.com
Tons of people came to watch and to compete so we had 33 adults and 6 kids in the Trail Race. There was also an auction of donated items, items and bakery for sale and a Christmas money tree too! There was a lot going on and it was great fun. Everyone one was so nice and it was fun to walk around and meet so many new and nice people!
Seven and I signed up for the race and we went first! Oh boy, talk about some pressure! Seven crossed the water willingly, jumped the banks with lots of forward motion, but seemed to me he needed a little more steering than normal, then he pushed the ball very well, came down to the logs and through the cowboy curtain quickly.
When we came to the three jumps be started out at a trot and took the first one well, he landed and picked up a nice canter, so I said to myself, ok lets roll with this.
Well with each jump he built up some speed and when we landed he took off! I picked up the reins and "No Body Was Home!" so I relaxed and let him run a few more strides and then got him stopped. Boy was I embarrassed!
I got him turned around and he worked the Mail Box, big tire and Teeter Totter bridge well too!
I was not too please with our run and assumed in this competition group we would not even be placing, but everyone said it looked really good. Well I learned I am way to critical of my mule! We ended up in second place and won a nice fleece blanket too!
Christina, Reed, Mary, Lareen and lots of other friends all went and had a good time too. Christina had so much fun that she wants to come back for the next one!
My new friend, Mary Miller Jordan was also there with her Project Mustang Magic Carpet Ride, she has only had her for about 60 days and she did a great job going through the course. Mary and her other Mustang Lindsay's Faith were 2011 Winners of the America's Favorite Trail Horse Competition which was seen by millions! She is very talented working with these mustangs and she will be taking Magic to a mustang competition coming up in January, in Texas!
The great news was that $3,700 was raised in that one day! Along with lots of other things that the Griffith's needed being brought for them!! We all need to send prayers that Brock heals quickly and Leisha's surgeries go well!!!

The winner of Best Christmas Present of 2011 Award!

2011-12-19T14:20:00.005-05:00

My Friend Bev Duval had this wonderful plate painted for me for Christmas! It was painted from the great photo I have of Reuben! I was so happy when I opened it and loved it so much that I cried! Her friend Trisha is so talented and Bev is so smart to know just what I would like! It even has texture to it where the leaves are on the ground and the trunk of the tree!
Thanks so much for the loving and thoughtful gift Bev!

Worth His Weight In Gold???

2011-12-14T14:22:00.003-05:00

So last night, after another uneventful workout, Lawson Walston said that my mule Seven was worth his weight in Gold! I agree, so I thought it would be fun to look it up.

Gold is measured in Troy Ounces, which is 12 Troy Ounces per Troy Pound. Seven weighs 1250 pounds, converted to Troy ounces equals 15,000 Troy Ounces.

So with Gold selling today at $1,664.00 per Troy Ounce, Seven is worth $249,960,000.00 (at least today)

Lawson Commented:
Seven and Shannon have been such a confidence builder for a nervous, I want to send Lawson into the fence, type of thoroughbred. Nice looking horse but a strong fear motivated horse. Thanks

Corgi's in the Middleburg Christmas Parade

2011-12-05T15:46:00.011-05:00

For years the Middleburg Va. Christmas Parade has a Corgi group show up and march in the Parade together. Everyone dresses up their dogs and wears a sign around their neck with their dog's name on it! For years I have wanted to come up and join in on the fun with Mom and Dylan!
On Friday Mom's dog Dylan got sick and she had to take him in for a surgery to remove his spleen and a tumor on Saturday. So Poor Dylan had to miss the Parade this year! Mom and I went to go and visit him Saturday morning before his surgery and we waited to hear how things would go.
We got to Middleburg and it was over run with people as expected. We found the drop off place and Mom stood with Levi, while I went to go and find a place to park. As I arrived back to the drop off place, more and more Corgi's were arriving! What fun to be in such a group! Levi was running around and meeting all the dogs he could. He found several that were willing to play with him too. We even found another Corgi who had one blue eye too!
My friend Amy got there with her dog, Tony "two toes" and it was so nice to see her and visit for a while. Mom walked down ahead of the Parade to get a good spot for photos and soon it was our turn to go. Levi did really well, he was not afraid of anything, not even the loud Bands and crazy floats. We walked along the side of the people and tons of kids reached down to pet him! One time he got a Butter Scotch in his mouth and I had to stop and get that away from him! The Parade was soon over and so began the long hike back to the cars! Amy has a baby carriage for Tony because of his bum foot he can not walk that far on concrete, so she had to push him!
Mom and I got in a line to get out of town but it never moved! We sat and sat and finally had to just turn around and go out another way. I really surprised myself and remembered all the old back roads to get through Middleburg and even took us past the farm where I lived one summer with my horse trainer! We also go great news later that day that Dylan's surgery had gone well and he was recovering well!

Helping out at the Race Track

2011-12-02T11:55:00.009-05:00

Lawson called me and asked if I could come on Saturday to help out with a few of his horses in training. One young horse is ready to start training for speed but had not been in the company of others on the track. Cara and her horse Ribs came and Kassandra rode the barns pony horse. We got out on the track and Lawson had us move around, in front, behind and side to side of him. He also moved the horse near and away from us. It was important that our horses not make aggressive faces at the new horse, nor turn our rear end at him. This could cause the horse's first experience to go badly and cause him to be unsure about being bold in a group of running horses, which is not good for a race horse. The horse did great! Never acted troubled by the other horses and mule on the track with him! Mission Accomplished!
Seven very tired and also, because of the warm weather, soaked in sweat. I caught him several times wanting to lay down!!
Then Lawson said he had one more that he wanted to ask me to try with Seven to work with.
Uh oh! What does that mean?
He explained the one of his customers had bought a well bred race horse but it was started under saddle incorrectly and it gets very scared. Oh, by the way, it likes to stop, pull back and then flip over! First we started in the round pen with me just ponying the gray around. That was going well so Lawson got on. Things got a little hairy and the horse tried to push Seven around as it got scared. But Seven just listened to me and pushed back. He never got an ugly face or mad at the horse, which is what the poor scared guy needed. Soon we were doing so well Lawson suggested that we go out on to the track! We took our time and tried to pretend we were about to go on a trail ride. Seven stayed relaxed and then so did the Grey horse. We went the whole way around and then another 1/2 way before turning around to come out. Lawson later told me all the problems they horse has had from being started so badly.
I got off and Seven got a much deserved roll in the stable dust and then a bath with warm water!
He sure earned a Gold Star today!

Levi and the Leaves

2011-12-02T11:35:00.011-05:00

During leaf clean up at the St. Clair Red Mule Farm, Levi got involved! He attacked the leaf blower like crazy the whole time and chased the rakes too! I got a big pile of leaves put together and then threw his big green ball in to it! To my surprise he jumped right in and disappeared for a while! He loved it!

A RED MULE FARM Thanksgiving!

2011-12-02T09:45:00.010-05:00

This year for Thanksgiving we were treated by a visit from my Aunt Cherie and Uncle Ken from California! Ken arrived on Monday night. I asked him if he would be interested in riding Sadie Mae on a trail ride and you my surprise he said he would love to! On Tuesday I got home from work early and we took a 2 1/2 hour ride! Ken even rode Sadie up and down the sides of the dirt hill that seems to scare most people! At one point I asked him if he was ready to go back or wanted to ride some more. He said, "Oh I can ride for as long as you want to!" I laughed and told him I would ride for 8 or 9 more hours if I could and I did not think he would want to do that. He agreed, so we took a trip around a few more fields before heading in! The weather was very pretty and no bugs either! Both mules were really good and the only trouble Sadie gave Ken was her usual, "Time for a SNACK" move!
Later that evening Ken helped me with some of the leaves in the yard, there were a lot of them too! We took several tarp loads of leaves out to the burn pile! Then while I used the leave blower he cleaned the gutters! Awesome! I thanked him and told him he was earning his Thanksgiving dinner! The next day is was very cold and super windy! Guess what, all the leaves that I had blown to the front were now back all over the yard! Oh well!
On Wednesday Cherie and my parents came down from Virginia. We settled in and later that evening went to Chilli's for dinner! Thursday we visited and took lots of photos! I started cooking about 11 AM! I had some Turkey breasts and a shoulder of mutton for dinner! Ken helped by making a great salad and some of the most wonderful mashed potatoes! It was such a nice day that I suggested that we eat outside under the oak tree! It took a few minutes for everyone to get used to the idea but soon everyone was on board! I set up the picnic table with an extra chair and a mule table cloth. I put it right in the middle of all the leaves too! I set up an extra table to put all the extra dishes on. Soon the food was all ready! Everyone took one trip out with hands full and we had a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner outside! I heard more than one person say,"I don't think I have ever had Thanksgiving dinner outside before!" The sky was so blue with not a single cloud and only one fly came to dinner. Hardly a car drove by and no dogs even barked during dinner! Definitely one to remember!
After Dinner I got the mules out again. Cherie rode Sadie around and we even herded or at least tried to herd the sheep around! Ken rode again too!
We were sad to drop them off at the airport in Friday morning. They were headed to New York to meet their daughter for her Birthday!
On Friday Mom, Dad and I went to the North Carolina Museum of Art to see a showing of Rembrandt. The paintings were amazing but I was not happy with the show because they let in so many people that is was hot and hard to get up to see the paintings!
But all in all a wonderful Thanksgiving Holiday!

Bye Bye Tracker!!! Welcome Annabelle!!!

2011-12-02T09:13:00.008-05:00

Well the time came to replace my daily driver. I hated it because my Chevy Tracker has been a great vehicle! 10 years old and 207,000 of safe and dependable driving. It was very handy and I was able to pack so much stuff in it!
So the test driving and research began! It came down to me being like Goldy Locks. This one's to small, this one's too BIG, but finally, this one is JUST RIGHT!
The Winner was the Nissan JUKE! Most if the time I get the response of, "What's a JUKE?"
It is little smaller than the Tracker but with a wider stance and all kinds of fun features, Blue Tooth, Moon Roof, etc. I got a bright Silver color with a rear spoiler too! Since Juke is so hard to say, I gave this vehicle a name, Annebelle seems to fit! Many Thanks to my parents who gave me money toward a good down payment!! I held my ground on price and then the dealer beat that the low interest rate, I got in advance for the financing!
I just love how it drives and it gets great gas mileage too! I just hope it is as dependable as the Tracker was!! Keep your fingers crossed!

Two short videos!

2011-11-21T11:01:00.004-05:00

My Farrier and Friend Kevin showed us just how dirty my donkey Navarre is!

My Cousin Billy came for a visit! Seven was not sure about who the intruder in this pasture was!

Work Day & A Birthday Party

2011-11-20T00:24:00.007-05:00

Worked a little too hard today in the yard. Started early and went too late! Pressure is on for our Thanksgiving Holiday. I have my Uncle flying in from California on Monday night. Got one more day to do the shopping, cleaning of house and organizing...... My Quota 2 High!!

I have been helping a friend with her show horse. She has brought him over three times and worked really hard! She has done a great job following though and working with her horse, so I don't mind helping her! Christina told me she would come over with Mark her husband and help me do some projects in exchange. Well they came over today for 3 1/2 hours! We got SO much done! Mark re-hung the mule head signs on the big barn with new ones, and an old road sign Holly gave me with a carriage horse. We took a marker and made the horses ears bigger and added a shaved looking mane!!

Then we hung three small signs on the front of the house that spell RMF but we hung the R backwards so that it matches my brand. Then Mark re-hung the large star on the front Oak tree, it had blown off in the hurricane from Sept.

Then the big project was, that he knocked out some shelving in one of the little covered barns and we cleaned it out so my new JUKE can fit in it! So excited about this! I can now leave early for work like I do and not have to worry about scrapping ice or frost off the windows! A Major pain at 6:30 in the Morning!

Before they got there I had had gardened and taken three wheelbarrows out to the fire pile. I also had driven 1/2 hour each way to pick up the Lamb meat that Tara and I had processed.

So then I took a quick shower and got the mules ready (Seven and Sadie) for my neighbor to bring his daughter (turning 12) and 8 other kids over for a Birthday Party ride.

Finally that Sadie Mae was doing something to earn her keep!

The Birthday party went well. I used Sadie and after getting her going with the kids I just turned her loose with the kids. I kept my hands on Seven and after a few times around with the kids he was cool with giving pony rides! One of the guests takes lessons and rides Hunter/Jumper at a local riding school. I let her ride Seven on her own and she did so well with him, she even got to canter a bit! One of the other girls tickled me so much, when I got Seven to jog for her, she just giggled and giggled!!

Good Ride and a Good Shot?

2011-11-14T14:49:00.015-05:00

Yesterday Seven and I traveled back to Denton to Brock and Leisha Griffith's place to compete in their 2nd Trail Obstacle Race. My Friend Reed came along with me and she brought her horse Fortune. We had a great time. They had a kids group along with the adults.
Right as I was getting ready to go on course some asked Leisha if this was the mule, Seven that I had brought last time. I told her yes it was and she laughed and turned to him and said "Sorry, it is Seven!"
Seven did the course very well! He jumped the banks, went through the cowboy curtain and was the only equine to get bonus point for putting all four feet on the platform at once! The most interesting obstacle this time was when you had to shoot a 22 rifle with a sight at a target about 30 feet away. Everyone dismounted to do this but had Brock hold their horse or tie it to a post. I decided to go for extra points and hold Seven myself. I don't think I have shot any kind of rifle in over 20 years so this was going to be interesting. I also have never used a sight.
As I dismounted all I could think of was breath slowly, slow down. I remembered watching the Winter Olympics several years ago, there were competitors who had to ski as fast as they could, then stop and target shoot. They had all these techniques for slowing their heart rate down and getting still. I wished at that point I knew some of their tricks! I stood up to take the shot, forgetting that Brock had said we could use the chair to sit in or hold the gun steady. I lined up my shot, said "Whoa" to Seven as I squeezed the trigger, Seven never moved! Then I had to jump back on my mule and finish the course! YAHOO!
Off we went down the hill of grass, Seven really got into it and I had to slow him up a bit! We then did the tire obstacle and tried for extra points by keeping his front feet on it and moving his hind end around the tire. Then it was on to the Teeter-Totter. No Problem. Reed caught a great photo Seven in a close up as we were riding in! He has a look of pride from doing a good job, and I think just a little smile!
We ended up in First Place! Won $80 in payback money!
The thrill of my day was when I asked Brock were I was on the target. He said I had the best shot of the day! Got 4 out of 5 in points on the target! Now I just can't get over that!
The lady who got second place told Brock that she was "Coming back next time to get that damn mule!"
I say bring it on Sister!!! ; }

St. Clair Red Mule & SHEEP Farm???

2011-11-07T11:46:00.008-05:00

Here are the 7 Painted Desert Sheep that my friend Tara is loaning me! We are doing a test to see if, 1. I like having the sheep around and 2. how they do eating my pastures down! They are supposed to be little lawn mowers! These are what they call hair sheep so they don't need to be sheared and they can be processed for meat too. The males grow big twisted horns like the Big Horn Sheep they hunt out west. This is a relatively new breed of sheep. Most of them are all different colors, like paint horses and have wild markings! So that are neat looking too! Tara bought me two other sheep that I took to the slaughter house so both of our families can have lamb during Thanksgiving and Christmas! This group has two rams whom are brothers and then five ewes for them to breed. Guess I will be learning a lot about sheep, and quickly!

Trail Obstacle Race in Williamston

2011-11-07T11:36:00.014-05:00

Molly came up for a visit and we headed to Williamston, NC for an Trail Obstacle Race. I had rained the day before and things were still very slippy but we got the truck and trailer in to the field to park and then promptly got it stuck! No worries, we will get it out later!
I tacked Seven up and when to go and walk the course with the host. It was a fun looking course but would have to be done with care as there was standing water every where. Not many people came and so Seven and I started everyone off! He did really well, dragging a log, carrying water buckets, pushing balls, trying to rope a practice cow head. We also got to move some cows from one side of a pen to the other. We loaded into and then back out of a horse trailer and then headed off to the second field to finish the race. We walked though a very large tractor tire, turned a 360 in a sand box and then headed for a deep water ditch to cross. I could tell Seven was wondering how deep it was going to be as we slid down into the muddy water!
Then we ran through some flags, over a bridge and through a cowboy curtain. The last thing to be done was to climb the tire mountain! I thought this was the coolest thing I have ridden over yet! See photos below! I think I need to build one of these at my house!
We met lots of new people and Seven and I ended up winning. They are trying to raise money to start the Mid-Atlantic Chapter of American Ranch Horse Association so I gave them by $27.50 of winnings back to the club. We did get some great door prizes too! Best part of the whole day is that I got to school him on some of the course and practice the jump several times!

CMA Halloween Uwarrie Ride

2011-11-07T11:35:00.011-05:00

Everyone on the farm, but the Cat, came with us to Uwharrie with weekend. I arrived Friday night after driving through drizzling rain the whole way! Got Seven, Sadie and Navarre settled in their corral stalls. Then parked the trailer, hooked things up and then got Levi walked and fed right before the rains came in! It rained and rained all night, in heavy down pours. The mules and Navarre were very happy that I put their blankets on!
The next morning it rained until about 8AM. I fed the mules and walked the dog in the pouring rain. After it stopped we decided to head out about 10AM. Wendy arrived and helped me get Sadie tacked up and our lunches packed! Karen and Dave led the group on a great ride. They kept us off the high hills which would have been slippery and also away from the river that would have been really muddy! By afternoon the sky was clear blue and you almost did not need a jacket! At our second break I saw something weird in the woods, I called Teddy over and we brought it up to the group. It seemed to be have been made of Styrofoam and some how a plastic bag was in part of it. Weird, why would it be all the way out and whats is for???
Upon returning home I was so happy that I had started up my crock pot, because dinner was ready to eat as soon as we got the mules taken care of. Navarre spent the day with a new friend named Pete, a small driving Hinney owned by a friend of mine. He was happy to see Seven! That night was the group meeting and dessert time! We went ot bed early because when the sun set it really started to get cold out!
Sunday morning was cold but so pretty! Carolina blue sky, warming up fast! We tacked up and also decorated the mules for Halloween, since it was the next day! We had a lot of spray painted and glittered mules! Teddy and LuAnn painted Virgil to look like their old mule Charmin. Too funny! She has some white in her tail so it was easy!
Sadie wore a princess crown and had a wand, I also sprayed her with Pink hooves and big pink hearts all over her! Seven wore two large 7's on his rear end, he had blue hooves, blue mane and a giant spider on his britchen. Both mules also had spiders clipped into their trails! We had another great ride that took us down by Baden Lake for Lunch!

NC Corgi Picnic

2011-10-18T16:15:00.023-04:00

Saturday Oct. 15th, Levi, Dylan, Mom, Dad and I headed to Wake Forest to Teamworks Training Center for the NC Corgi Picnic! We got there in time to help Judy set up the big play pen for Levi's brother and sisters to play together. (Puppies are 14 weeks at this point!) Judy still has one brother and one sister from Levi's litter and Rhonda came with her litter mate Harley. Levi and Harley pick up right where they left off, playing hard with each other! First was the herding test! All four puppies showed some signs of interest in the ducks and the tester
recomended that we re-test when they were a little older. The it was time for more playing for the puppies and watching things like Dock Diving, Agility and inspecting the items for the drawings. We went down to the pond and Levi got his toes wet but Dylan went for a little swim!
Lunch was ready and we had a great selection. Many people came up and watched the puppies play. One lady came up and asked, "Oh are there the door prizes?".
Rhonda, Mom and I signed our dogs up for the games. First was Hot Dog Bobbing. Levi and Harley really did not get it and only ate one while I held it up out of the water. Then it was Dylan's turn and he ate 10 of the little pieces of hot dog. I think the winning dog ate 21 in 30 seconds!

The next game was Musical Mats. Kind of like Musical Chairs except you have to get your dog to get on the mat when the music stopped! Harley and Rhonda won!!

The final game was the Corgi Dash! You would call your dog from a starting point to you and the time was taken from the start to a line the cross! The catch is there is a plate with a piece of hot dog on it in between! Several of the dogs hit the scent and went right for it. I took Levi down to the start and showed him a liver treat, then I ran down and started calling him! It took him over 8 seconds to come but he came right to me! He got a lot of "Ah how cute!" from the crowd! The winning dog did it in less than 2 seconds.
We headed home, all of us tired! Best thing that happened all day was that Levi was so tired he fell asleep on my lap! So sweet! He was also a little tired on Sunday and needed an extra nap! He did get to play with Sparky from next door! Dad and I celebrated our Birthdays together with some ice cream cake and Mom brought me neat flower arrangement with a puppy in it!

Levi's Sister Harley and her owner Rhonda.

Sparky and Levi playing! See puppy made of flowers?

The BIG Weekend!

2011-10-11T14:09:00.010-04:00

Friday night I headed for Flintrock Farm with my newly washed and clipped mule Seven. Levi was also along for his first big adventure! We camped for the night and then got up early to get ready for the show.
On Oct. 8th, the Carolina Mule Association held its Fundraiser Horse/Mule show. Aimee and Tollie showed up to volunteer for the day and brought their daughter from college, Caroline. She was to show Seven in the English Classes for me! She made friends with Seven and took a short ride to get to know him. She started the day with Halter and then moved into the riding classes. Seven won quite a few classes and got many seconds! She and Seven just clicked and rode so well together! Everyone was asking who she was and was amazed when I told them that she had just met me this morning and had never ridden Seven before!
Then it was time for Western division. I rode him in these classes and he did really well. We did well all afternoon and the competition was close for the High Point Mule Belt Buckle. We got Reserve High Point Mule! Wow what a show! Seven was so good all day! Levi had a great time too! Several kids walked him around and he never met a single stranger. He also got braver being around the horses and mules! He was a good traveler and slept all night in his crate too!
I had dinner that night at Jay and Annette's house with Holly, Linda and Barry! We had a great time and ate left overs and desserts! I was so glad to get a nice hot shower and climb into bed that night.
Sunday AM was another beautiful day! I got up early, packed up and off we went on our next adventure! Just an hour away was a Trail Obstacle Race at Brock and Leshia Griffith's farm in Denton, NC! After we arrived and got settled, we got tacked up. We met some new people too! We warmed up in the ring and then everyone road over to the hill side to the area where all the obstacles were set up! Then the order of go was read and we got picked to go 7th.........
It was soon our turn! Seven seemed ready to do something different from yesterday! So I charged at the course! 1st was opening and closing the arena gate, then a trot down the hill and road to a teeter totter, no problem! Then we had to climb up onto a tractor tire that was filled with dirt. We showed off and did a spin on the tire! Then ran over to the bottom of the hill and up three bank jumps! Seven did this like it was no problem! We then crossed some logs on the ground, through a cowboy rope curtain and on to a ride over a dirt hill. The next thing we were asked to do is ride a circle at a canter to the right. Seven collected up and stayed between my hands and legs the whole time and let me guide him around. We then moved a shower curtain from one barrel to another, dragged a barrel with a cow head in it. We dragged it from behind and then also turned and dragged it again! Then we took off across the field to a spot where we were to stop. I also did two turn arounds there too. Next was a steep hill, where we halted several times on the hill to show control. At the bottom we were to go into a tight trail cut into the woods, it was tight and it had logs to step over and wind around but Seven did it in a smooth manner! As we came out of the woods we jumped three black barrels, cantered to the road, I then stopped and dropped the reins and walked the rest of the way to show how broke and quite he is. I was so happy with his performance! He did everything I asked, how and when I asked! Can't get much more than that! Several people came up and told me they really liked our run! The other guy there with a mule came over to shake my hand! Boy was I proud!
We ended up winning the Race out of 13 people! I won $90 in payback money too! Leisha and Brock Griffith who judged the race said that I had 50 points more than everyone else. Most people rode the course in 10 minutes or more, one rode a little too fast at 5 min., I rode it in 7 minutes and something........
We headed home very happy! Really could not have done any better than we did and had two fun days with some wonderful fall weather too!
Got home and met my Cousin Billy at my house. He lives in Alabama but was in the area for business. So we visited and went to dinner! Billy walked out to see Seven out in the pasture. He tried to video him while he walked up to him. He said "I hear to won a big competition today!" as he said that, Seven's head popped up, he wheeled around, bucked and took off! I can't wait for Billy to send me the video post! It is too funny!

Mule Rider Boot Camp at the RMF!

2011-10-11T14:03:00.002-04:00

On Sept. 24 and 25th I have several friends come over for the first ever Mule Rider Boot Camp! We started the day with all mules and one short-ear! We did some ground work and some showmanship. Then tacked up to ride! We had multipable problems that needed working on but everyone worked hard. I started out by giving away my Julie Goodnight reins to some who had snaps on their reins, then my bridle to another lady who's mule needed my Gag Bit! I was stuck riding Seven in a halter and lead rope! Ha! He was good though.
We broke for a late lunch and then rode again in the afternoon.
Sunday I started up with just one mule rider and we did ground work, she and the mule showed much improvement even from the day before! We also did a Make-Over clip job on his face and mane! He looked like a new mule! Later some others came and everyone showed improvement, so you know me, I gave them more to work on!
A lot of fun and I enjoy helping people out. Sometimes just small changes in how things are done or how a rider things about things can make a big difference!

Blue Eyed, Lucky Three 7's Puppy Named LEVI

2011-09-19T15:02:00.008-04:00

In my search to find another Corgi friend, I went to go see a rescue, and the mother of some puppies who might be re-homed. The breeder showed me one puppy that she thought I might be interested in. He was one of a 7 litter of puppies and born on 7/7/11. If that is not a Lucky Dog I don't know what one is! He was her pick of the litter and was disappointed because one of his eyes had turned blue over the last week. So he is not eligible to be in the conformation show ring.
The eye that turned Blue is his right eye, the same side where Reuben was missing an eye. I had some strict tests that the puppy had to pass, which he did with flying colors! He is a calm and confident puppy! The black on his head with turn red, as he is a red headed tri-color. So he will not look quite so much like Reuben when he is grown. I was in love! Of course!
I was so excited that I went out to all the pet stores to find him the perfect leash and collar, ended up with 18 toys and had to puppy proof my house. I also bought a book about puppies written by Cesar Millan.

It is weird how some things just work out! All the 7's in his life, the blue eye being on the same side as Reuben's missing eye, the breeder lives just a few miles from my house, I found her through work of mouth, and not an advertisement. When I did my tests with him and later spent time visiting him, I realized that he was the only one out of the group that I would have wanted anyway, because of his calm and confident nature!

I brought him home on Sunday Sept. 18th and have been having great fun with him ever since! It is funny to me how young he is and how easily he gets distracted. I also keep forgetting that he has not seen a lot of things, like cars driving by, plastic shopping bags, mules, cats, toes. So it is great fun showing him all this new stuff! I also brought him a new lunge whip to chase, which he took to that game right away! Good way to get a puppy tired.
The other night the girls next door came over to see him. They were so excited when they saw him that they started running at him making all kinds of noise. Levi was so funny, he took one look at them, barked once and then ran back to the porch. I got the girls to sit and then call him back over. Once he met them, they all had great fun!
Many Thanks for Mom and Aunt Cherie for my early Birthday money to help buy him! What a great present!

Levi at 8 weeks.

South Mountain State Park CMA Ride

2011-09-19T15:01:00.005-04:00

Tara & Seven!

Teddy the Lipstick artist at work! How did he get so good with that Lipstick anyway?

Sadie Mae's fancy make-up job!

I picked up Tara at the Truck Stop at 7:30 AM for a ride and a break from life we both needed! We headed off for South Mountains State Park and got so involved in talking that we drove right by the exit for the new way to South Mountains, so we just laughed and went on to the other exit! We rode out with Holly, Max and Lu around 12:30. It was the first really cool day we have had all summer and as we neared the ridge we found that non of us had brought enough clothing for the nearly 30 degree drop in regular temperature. Everyone but me put on their rain slickers and that cut the wind and kept them warm!
Once we returned a warm soup, grilled cheese on sour dough bread and a warm blanket was the end of Tara for the night! I went over and enjoyed some desserts and a warm camp fire.
The next morning we tacked up and Tara complained of a tendon in her thigh that was hurting. So I told her to give Seven and his saddle a try and see if that felt better. It did and so we decided to ride that way the rest of the day. Little did I know that this would cause such a stir in the group. When we rode up to join in, everyone commented on Tara riding Seven. Saying, "What's going on here?", "You mean Shannon is not going to ride Seven?" Who knew? Funny!
We had a great ride that day. It was chilly but we enjoyed the nearly 15 or so mile ride! Tara did a great job with Seven or was that Seven did a great job for Tara, but both did well together!
On top of one of the overlooks Teddy found some lip stick that someone had dropped. He was so excited when he opened it and it was nearly full! He stared by drawing with it on Jane's horse Val but he is black so it did not show up too much. Then he went to write something on Holly's mule but she lifted her leg each time he got near her. So I offered up Sadie Mae and her Mealy colored nose! He draw a circle around one eye, lighting bolts down each side of her nose and then the head of a mule right on the front of her nose. Then with just a little left he wrote CMA on Lu's appaloosa mule's white rear end. We never know what Teddy is going to do next!

Bruce and Holly, hosts of the ride had stew and dinner for everyone. We had a great warm dinner and sat by a big camp fire till I actually fell asleep in my chair! After a warm shower, more hay for the mules it was time for sleep!
The next morning we decided to skip the Sunday ride. In all the years I have been with the mule club I think this is only the second Sunday ride I have missed. The first was to go to Tn. to buy Navarre! Tara cooked a great breakfast with eggs, hash browns, sausage and tea. It was almost worth not riding for that good breakfast! We waved the mule riders off and headed back to town! I wanted to go home early and pick up my new puppy too!

Rest In Peace Sweet Little REUBEN

2011-08-25T23:38:00.015-04:00

My dear Friends and Family,

Yesterday, 8/24/2011 I had to say goodbye to my sweet little Reuben.

During a two week hard battle with pancreatitis, after getting into some food, my wonderful Vet Team and I elected to have surgery on Reuben to see if his problems could be relieved. Unfortunately the surgeon found something unexpected. A mass or tumor the size of a baseball on his pancreas. He had been in so much pain and nothing could be done so I let him go.

My heart is broken.

Reuben was 11 years old but I only had 9 years with him. The day I went to meet him it was like he knew I was there to get him. He ran to meet me and was so excited that he crashed into my feet. On the drive home I had to tie him to the passenger side door because he kept trying to leap on my lap while I was driving!

He was as beautiful on the inside as he was on the outside. Between loving every equine, dog, cat or human that he met to chasing that horse toy ball around the yard like a manic, he lived life at one-hundred miles an hour.

But Reuben knew how to relax and snuggle too!

He would jump up out of a dead sleep if I said, "Let's go feed the Mules!"

He had a bouncy little trot most every were he went.

He went from an untrained stray on a friends farm, to a registered therapy dog with both Therapy Dogs International and later on Wake Med Hospital.

He loved to go and visit the patients and never ran out of love, giving or receiving.

How did he know that the older lady, he was visiting, meant when she said, "Give me some sugar!" that she wanted him to kiss her ears? Some how he did.

How did he draw a young teenage girl, who had not spoken to anyone since her accident, out of her shell?

He always brought smiles to the patients and nurses alike.

I was lucky to have him, some say he was lucky to have me.

Funny, Lucky was his name when I found him.

He had a huge heart of gold and my friend is horribly missed.

Many thanks to my wonderful and supportive Mother!

Dr. Creech and Dr. Peters-Creech at Eastern Wake Veterinary and

Dr. Galllagher at Veterinary Surgical Referral Practice
for their kindness and wonderful care of Reuben.

Donna's Visit To Grayson!!!

2011-08-19T16:08:00.019-04:00

October 2011 edition of Mule & More, By Donna Taylor

I left Colin in charge of my pony, three donkeys and my tortoise whilst I set off on my two week holiday to America. My itinerary was as follows: fly to North Carolina and catch up with my friends Joel and Nicole Robinson for one night. Then the following morning, Joel would drive me to Grayson Highlands State Park in Southwest Virginia to meet up with Shannon Hoffman and the Carolina Mule Association.

I was to camp in the mountains for four nights, then drive back with Shannon to her house in Zebulon, NC. The following day I would fly out of Raleigh Airport, NC to St Louis, Missouri where I was to meet Sue Cole, Editor of Mules and More and her family. I would stay with Sue for three nights and then finally fly to Las Vegas and then onto Tropic, Utah to meet up with Pete and Keela Mangum, who run the Red Rock Ride, for three days. I would then fly back to France via the United Kingdom.

It was going to be a crazy two weeks, taking nine flights altogether, but having the opportunity to see old and new friends was going to be a very exciting trip and one that I was looking forward to. I was also going to spend the majority of my time around mules which, as all you know, are so special for me.

My first night was very enjoyable. I got to see Joel’s horses and spend some time with him and Nicole which is always a great pleasure. The next day we drove to Grayson Highlands State Park, where Shannon was waiting for me with her two gorgeous mules, Seven and Sadie Mae. This was going to be my third consecutive year riding with Shannon and I was really pleased to have Sadie Mae to myself for the duration of my time at Grayson Highlands.

The Carolina Mule Association had organised this ride and I knew that I would get to see some of the members that I met last year at South Mountain State Park, NC.

Grayson Highlands State Park is located in the Blue Ridge Mountains and there are many horse trails. The elevation is around 5,000 feet so the weather can change very quickly from blue skies and sunshine to stormy rain clouds. At the campsite, there are 67 stalls for the equines, 38 covered and 29 uncovered. The Park is home to deer, wild ponies, bears and many other animals and birds.

My first day’s riding (Wednesday) was a gentle visit to the Park’s gift shop. It’s only about a 40 minute ride from the horse camp, so we tacked up our two mules and headed out with Tony and Brenda McMasters.

Shannon had told me to bring warm clothes as well as T-shirts due to the variable weather. Well, she was certainly right. Within 15 minutes of starting the ride, the blue sky disappeared, the heavens opened and it just poured with rain. Shannon is ready for any occasion and Sadie Mae had my raincoat securely fastened to my saddle ready for me to put on.

Luckily the rain had stopped once we reached the gift shop. We tied the mules up and bought ourselves an ice cream. Whilst looking around, two ladies walked in with their dog. They looked rather concerned and told us that they had just seen a mother bear with her cubs along a trail. They said they had abruptly turned around and headed in the opposite direction.

I have no idea why, but I have a huge fear of bears and I was starting to imagine that I would be coming across them on all the trails. I mentioned my fear to Shannon, but she said I probably wouldn’t see any.

This did not help me in the slightest on my first night in Shannon’s trailer. At 1:00am, we could feel the trailer gently swaying and something was scratching on the outside. Great I thought, there is going to be a bear outside, that’s just what I need. Shannon got out of bed, found her torch and opened the door. I was not even considering accompanying her and stayed firmly in my bed.

To her surprise, there was a raccoon trying to get into the back of the trailer where it could scent some food that we had left there. A huge look of relief came over my face and after Shannon scared it off, we went back to sleep, only for him to return at 04:00am to have another go at getting some breakfast. We didn’t enjoy the best night’s sleep, but at least it wasn’t a bear that woke us up.

The next day, we were up at 06:30 (Thursday) feeding the mules, cleaning the stalls and then getting ourselves our breakfast. Five of us headed out that morning. Tony and Brenda were with us and also another member of the Association called Barry Greene. The weather was perfect and we had a lovely ride along the Wilson Creek Trail.

Because Tony and Barry knew my fear of bears, they thought it highly amusing to tease me throughout the day about the bears in the park. We went through a gate that read “Bear Pen Trail”. Well, of course, you can guess what they said to me next. Did we see a bear? Not one I am pleased to say, although there were some beautiful deer.

After a good night’s sleep undisturbed by raccoons, we set off for another day’s riding in the mountains. This time there were about 20 riders, but after a few miles, we split into two groups. Shannon and I rode with Jay Lankford. He knows the area very well and took us on some fine trails.

After a while, I was starting to forget about the bears as I was more concerned about the Yellow Jacket Bees that live in the ground. Shannon said that this was one of the worst trips she had experienced with these ground bees. There were many mules and riders that got stung including poor Seven who was stung just above his eye. So, if someone shouted “BEES”, then we had to lope away as fast as we could to escape.

Saturday turned out to be a very long but enjoyable day’s riding, led by Teddy Royale. When we were at South Mountain last year, Teddy had to endure my moaning and groaning about how sore I was. Well, I hadn’t ridden for quite a few months before that trip, but now that I had Tina, I was riding regularly, so my muscles were stronger.

This time, there were nine of us and we rode on several trails heading towards Buzzard Rock Overlook. On the way, we met around 25 cows and their calves on the same path. These cows had extremely long and wide horns, and as some of them were directly on the path we had to be very careful how we approached them.

Some of the cows started to panic and went running along the trail. Great I thought, what do I do now? Shannon told me to keep Sadie as close as possible to the edge of the path to keep away from the cow horns. Sadie kept as calm as ever as they sped past. She is such an perfectly behaved mule.

When we finally got to the rock, we took a group photo, had our lunch and enjoyed the amazing views of the countryside and mountains.

We rode 18 miles that day and as we were heading back to the campsite, we decided to stop at the gift shop for an ice cream. It was also a chance for Shannon and I to do a bit of shopping and buy various gifts for our families.

I found it rather amusing that we had covered 18 miles on our mules, moved cows, dodged bees, looked out for bears and then went shopping and had an ice cream. What a great day!!

On the last day (Sunday) everyone packed up and headed home, except for Shannon and me. Even though we had a five hour drive ahead of us, we decided to go out for one more ride which was so enjoyable.

I was told before I got to Grayson Highlands that it was a beautiful park and I would love riding there. This was certainly true. I had such a great time and would like to thank Shannon for letting me ride Sadie Mae again and also for getting her in great shape for me to enjoy. I would also like to thank the Carolina Mule Association who are all so kind and friendly and have made me feel such a part of their family.

Donna and Barry Greene hit off a great friendship!

Sadie Mae trying to get more than her share of lunch!

Long Horn Cows that Seven and I had to herd down the trail!

Donna and Sadie Mae!

On the last day when Donna and I rode out with just the two mules, this Chocolate Palomino Stallion (Who happens to be my Mom's favorite) just walked up to Seven and they began to nuzzle. I expected at least one of them to squeal but neither did, Seven even rubbed his wither at one point! I could not believe it!

Jerry Tindell Clinic

2011-08-19T16:08:00.013-04:00

Shannon & Seven drifting the hindquarters!

Jerry watching as Seven & me work on new skills!

Debbie & Jack get some instruction.

Debbie and I headed down the road with our two red mules towards Holly's place. We got in late and once we got the mules settled it was off to bed. We had an early morning ride with a Clinician named Jerry Tindell. I had heard good things about him from Holly. She and her lady friends had met him at Bishop Mule Days in California, where he is from. They were so impressed that they went to everyone of his demonstrations during the Mule Days. Holly decided that she would like to host him coming to North Carolina. She got a small group together and Jerry flew out for the week to do some riding and teaching. By Saturday we were the last part of the group to have a chance to ride with him. I was really impressed as we started off with ground work in the round pen and him showing us how important it is to get the mules feet moving and going forward. He used Debbie's mule who has probably not had anything done with him like that in a long time. I liked how he made many analogies to drive his point home and used the mule and rider, no matter what their skill level to teach the whole group. We then worked on getting the mules to do a true, one rein stop, something I had always thought I understood, but he took it to a new level! Jerry rode Brodie, one of Holly's mules and talked about getting them to be soft to the bit and bend. He then gave Holly and me an exercise to practice, to start working towards a lead change, something that has been on mine and Seven's list for a long time! He told me to "Ride him like I stole him!" which gave me new confidence to push Seven for faster, quicker and more response to my aids. Jerry also kept reminding us to let him know if we feared something or did not feel safe about doing something. We rode out on the trail for about half an hour after the ring work and had a great time, but boy was it hot that day! Later that night everyone from the clinic met at Holly and Bruce's house for dinner. We all brought something and it made for a great meal! Best thing was Jerry was willing to sit and talk with everyone and answer questions about mules and riding. He said all day, "How can I help you!" This is a rare find in deed. I was excited to find someone, so willing to help, teach and explain things, but also teaching the Ray Hunt style of horsemanship which I have been looking to learn. He is coming back in November and I am hoping to ride with him again!
The next day Holly, Debbie and I went on a relaxing trail ride, were Debbie got to try out some of her new Jerry Training Techniques!

Check out his Web Site at: www.JerryTindell.com

Debbie & Jack with Holly and Pearl!

My Mules Confirm that I am truly CRAZY!

2011-08-08T13:13:00.008-04:00

Tara riding Sadie Mae, Diane driving Pearl in the Parade!

Diane driving Pearl in the show!

For years the mules have thought that I am Crazy, but now it is confirmed for them!

Got up at 5:30 AM and washed them both down in pouring rain and a thunderstorm. Loaded them on the trailer, ran in the house and took a quick shower and then off we went driving, huh, I mean swimming to the Robbins Farmers Day Fair!
Drove out of the rain that dumped nearly 2 inches on Raleigh just 15 miles south.
We had a good time at the Parade. The mule number was low so I was glad that I went! My friend Tara met me in Robbins and rode Sadie through the parade. I had Seven with his Mexican Mule outfit (Sombrero and giant bandanna to his knees) on and Sadie with her Sunflower hat, necklace of sunflowers around her neck and some in her tail. You could just hear all the people getting excited when they saw us. Kids would say, "Mom look at that one!" and adults were trying to take our photos!
After the parade, we went to the awards and Todd won Best Mule Team, with his Mammoth Donkey team, Sadie and Katie. He was happy to win but also a little perplexed that the Judges did not know there where Mammoth Donkeys. He said he is going to get a sign for his wagon next year!
My friend Diane came with her Donkey Pearl and drive her through the parade! Pearl did so well for this only being her 2nd parade being driven in! Diane was dressed like a country lady with a straw hat with flowers and Pearl had one too. She had flower all over her cart and a basket with fruit and flowers in it. We was surprised and also a little dismayed to win Oddest Hitch.
We started the show and I convinced Bobby to show Sadie in Halter, Western Pleasure and Coon Jumping. We also showed in Pairs Class. Unfortunately in most of the classes we were the only two. There was several driving mules and donkeys though. Several people asked, "Why don't they do this in October or something!" I agree!

Todd's Wonderful Donkeys Sadie and Katie!

Here is a great photo show of Robbins Farmers Day Fair from this last Saturday!

Here are also some time markers to be able to watch for me and some of my friends!!!

Link or put into your web search to play:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=BIFSZp2ugQM

Todd Barfield Mammoth Donkeys Sadie & Katie at 1:26 & 1:41 &

11:48

Wayne Hussey 4 up hitch

2:40

Sadie Mae & Tara and Seven & Shannon at 4:33 and 4:41

Pearl and Diane 4:45

at the end is Odell Hussey, in his late 80's doing demo of stacking logs with his horse Johnny!

Also a photo of my mule doing something kind of neat! The ladies driving Donkey, would not get on the trailer. She had pushed herself to the side and two big men could not get her to go straight again! I brought Seven over and lined him up, drove his shoulder over and told him to push the Donkey over!! And he did it!!! Wow, MULE ARE SMART! I was so amazed that he understood what I needed him to help with!!!

Hot Trip To Leatherwood!

2011-07-26T15:01:00.010-04:00

The group coming down part of Frog Pond Pass!

Shannon and Seven, Tollie and Sadie ready to ride up the Tom Seay Trail on Sunday!

Sadie ready to ride, hanging out in her stall!

We had the trip planned for weeks and as it approached the temperatures just kept climbing! We decided to go anyway and just ride out as early as possible! Bob, June and her sister Carol all came with three short ears on Friday. It was really hot so they just cooled off by the trailer for the rest of the afternoon. I raced home from work on Friday and found Tollie and Amiee waiting with everything loaded. The mules loaded well and with a quick stop at Toaco Bell we were on our way. We arrived at 9:30 pm and it was still hot! Cooler than where we left but still very hot. We set up the mules in their stalls and then went over to set up camp next to Bob and June's place. We all hurried to get to bed because we were going to get up early to ride out before it got hot!
We were in the saddle and riding past the Leatherwood's on-line camera just before 8AM. We took it slow and steady, stopping to give the equines many breaks as we climbed the hills. The cool canopy was so nice. A light breeze would brush by us every now and then. As we climbed up Tricky Creek, a beautiful bird broke the quietness. Bob told us it was a Wood Thrush, so pretty sounding, like a flute! We climbed up to the Daniel Boone trail and took a long break at the over look with the picnic tables. Sadie and Seven both got to hop around and eat grass with their hobbles on. We talked to a few people who who rode by. It seems others also had our idea too!
We rode back going down the easy trail called Ramblin. About 3/4 of the way down the trail our group stirred up a very angry nest of bees. Bob and June got caught in the worst of it, as they were in the back. We got their horses caught and moved everyone way from the area, but then had to move again because some of the bees followed us! After two doses of Benedril each for them, we regrouped and quickly rode through the meadow to get back to the barn. Poor Bob and June. They both got stung over 10 times each! They said they felt hot and stinging all over. We sent them back to the trailer to clean up and try to recover while we took care of their horses.
By late afternoon and everyone having a nap, some snacks and a shower we headed over to the restaurant. Bev showed up to eat dinner with us too! I was so nice to see her! We all had a great meal! The food was good and Carolyn, our waitress was great, keeping all our glasses full! After dinner we all stopped at the barn and got the mules and horses out to hand-graze them for a little while. Then we headed back to camp. Being as it was too hot for a nice camp fire we took two of our box fans and made an L shape and put a lantern in between them. So we gathered around the Fan-Fire and enjoyed the evening!
The next morning the short ear riders decided to head back home. (Can't say as I blame them) so the three mules headed out for another early morning ride! We took Tom Seay trail to Rainbow up to Eagle Eye, to the look out at the top. It was very pretty and clear and only 9AM in the morning! We took some photos and then headed off to ride the rest of the loop. As we rode in we met up with Bob, June and Carol just about ready to drive out! We said our goodbyes as they headed out. We packed up, took showers and had a nice lunch in the restaurant while a big thunderstorm dumped rain and rumbled a lot. We then headed off for home! This was Amiee and Tollie's first trip to the mountains on mule back and it was fun to hear their first impressions of things like steep hills, bridges and Leatherwood. Amiee was very impressed with how well her mule did in the mountains! He did do very well, but I do not expect anything less from these wonderful long ears!

Bob and June Hogan and June's sister Carol in front of Keys Cabin!

Amiee and her mule Henry, Tollie on Sadie at one of the great overlooks!

The Flies Didn't Get The Memo

2011-07-15T10:26:00.010-04:00

Shannon and Seven, sporting his riding fly mask.

Debbie and Jack

The memo the flies did not get was that, Debbie, her mule Jack, myself and Seven were going on an early morning trail ride at Medoc Mt. State Park! We took off on Saturday July 16th and we were in the saddle by 8:30AM. We had a good ride, ran into just a few other riders. The bugs pretty much left us alone so for this time of year the ride was really enjoyable. We rode for three hours and then headed back before it got too hot!

HORSE LOVE GONE WRONG!

2011-07-12T08:50:00.011-04:00

The horse that has been boarding with me, I guess came into heat, as she was acting witchy over the weekend. Mom and Dad were getting ready to leave on Monday morning when Mom heard a bunch of squealing and kicking in the stalls. She looked over and the horse had Sadie pinned in the corner and was kicking her but good. Poor Sadie got scraped up and kicked a bunch! Mom called me and then got the horse into the separate paddock (Where she is going to STAY from now on). Got Sadie in the yard to eat some grass. That calmed her down (She had been pawing and was stressed). Mom washed the cuts out and put some stuff on it for me. Mom said there was blood pouring down her leg. Lisa W. came by later in the day to check on Sadie for me! Mom did a great job but I wanted a horse person to put her eyes on Sadie before I got home that evening. Thanks Lisa!!!
I washed out the cuts again that evening. There was only two that were really chunks of skin missing and one that I had to cut a little dead skin off of. She is majorly skinned up though, around her brand, stifle area and right above the hock. She also got kicked some on the other side. She will be sore and I am thinking her hock might stock up some on her left side but she doesn't seem too sore this morning. Thankfully no joints where punched.
The horse's owner was so upset that happened and told me that if I needed to keep her in lock down that would be just fine. This is the first mule I have ever owned to get this scraped up and injured like this, that has been over 12 years!
I am great full that this happened now and not the week before our Grayson trip! I am also great full that it seems to be all flesh wounds, that will heal and not joint injuries!

Email Prayer from my friend Bessie:
Father, I ask, in the precious name of Jesus, that Sadie Mae will heal just fine for the ride. Keep her wounds from becoming infected and problematic. May she also heal emotionally, Father, because these things can become rooted in a mule's mind. Thank you, Lord, that you hear our prayers and do answer them. In Jesus' Name, amen.
Judy R. emailed and said:
Oh, as for Horse Love Gone Wrong-a lot of people get involved in that too!

The next day Sadie was sore but she was still very good for my Farrier Kevin the next day. He needed to put shoes on all four feet this time for the Grayson Trip coming up on Aug. 9th.

De-Spooking Clinic

2011-07-08T08:26:00.012-04:00

Lillian, our instructor and her monkey Child!

Tara and I attended a De-Spooking Clinic on July 3rd at Lillian's place in Rocky Mount on Sunday July 3rd. Everyone had a good time! I brought Sadie for Rob to ride and Tara brought her new mule named Jesse. I let Tara ride Seven in the first part of the clinic. This is were they do formation riding, which helps later when the spooky objects start coming out. Tara said she had never done that before and said it was great fun! The group started with a pool noodle obstacle. Seven was not sure about his new rider and really unsure about Lillian standing there holding part of the obstacle. Tara supported him so well he soon was going right next to Lillian, never mind the pool noodles.
On one of the trips through Seven did really well. I saw Tara say something to him and give him a pad on the neck! Seven lowered his head, his eye softened and he had this look of a small smile on his face, as if to say "I was good!". I guess he does that a lot but I have never seen it because I am usually on his back!
Tara's mule Jesse is really sweet and neat looking too! He is spotted and has a big white blaze, black around his eye but has huge white eye lashes. I did some work with him in the round pen and we fixed up his tack. After lunch Tara rode him around and he did great!
Lillian rode a Colonial Spanish Mustang named Ruby, that she has just started under saddle. Neat horse! She liked to play with the ball!
Several of the other participants had some neat horses too! I took a ton of photos for everyone.
Thanks Lillian, we had such a good time! It was so hot but Lillian kept us as cool as possible with lots of water and breaks!

Tara and Seven take on the Pool Noodles!

Rob and Sadie Mae taking a rest!Tara introduces Jesse to the Giant Soccer Ball!

Tara and Seven ride over the Mattresses! Check out all the 90 degree angles is Seven's back leg!

Jennifer B. and her super nice TWH Mare!

Lillian riding Ruby the Spanish Mustang!

Time for a Horse Show!

2011-07-08T08:24:00.005-04:00

At the last minute I found out I would be able to attend the next East Coast Open Horse Show in Williamston, NC. Only problem was it was only just days away and I haven not practiced any show ring stuff in month! I decided that I would go and just have fun and make the best of it! Jennifer and her horse Deuce decided to join us! I had Judged there on April and found they had a division called Working Western and thought it would be perfect for me to show Seven in.
Saturday morning, I came out and was about to load up when I noticed the tire on the left side of my trailer was FLAT! It was not like that the day before? What happened? On close inspection I found a nail. So I called Equi-Pass to come and change it. We had to call the show and tell them we are coming but going to be late since they want everyone to be entered by 8AM. Once the guys showed up they went right to work and I was on my way to pick up Jennifer!
Our first class was a in-hand trail and then two trail classes. They have the arena set and a Judge over there for you can go and run your course any time between 9am and 4pm. So we knocked those classes out first so we could be ready for the Working Western Classes.
I decided that my toy stuffed animal Possum had not been out for a ride in a long time, so he joined us for a ride. Seven rode well in the big classes. He stayed soft in the mouth and was a little fast at first but he soon settled in! We placed 8th in the Command Class! Then we got a call back in a big Ladies Western Class! I had a great time talking to everyone and Seven was admired many times! It was a fun day, but now back to more trail riding!

A Little Visitor!!

2011-07-01T14:51:00.011-04:00

On May 30th the mules got a new Little Visitor. Henry, my friend Beverley's son and her husband Will came out for a visit! Henry fed everyone carrots and treats. Then he helped Shannon groom Sadie Mae. He even stood on a stool to be able to reach her back with the brush. Then Henry was treated to a ride around the yard! He finished his visit with a game of kick ball with Reuben and some swinging on the porch!

Nash County Search & Rescue Training

2011-06-24T16:12:00.006-04:00

Seven playing Soccer!

On June 5th Lillian had invited me to bring my mules to the Nash County Search & Rescue training class she was holding at her farm. I arrived a little late because I had a long day on Saturday Judging a horses show. I arrived and found a rider for Sadie and we joined right in with the formation work! Then it was on to some protection training. Lillian acted like an attacker and Sadie and I reacted to drive her way from the mule! Some news reporters where there and caught a super photo of this. It ended up as the cover story photo on the local Rocky Mount news paper.After a nice lunch break we stepped things up and started with some obstacle training. We crossed mattresses, between flares, over tarps and all kinds of things. Later in the day we introduce the mules and horses to a giant soccer ball. We got to play with this for a while which was great fun. Everyone got very competitive with it! Sadie was not too sure about the ball and was so funny when she grabbed her rear end and scooted off away from the ball when it ran up behind her! Of course never loosing her rider! At the end of the day I decided I would like to join the group. Lillian paid us the highest compliment by saying "The Mules Stole The Show!"

Seven leads the group through the Flares!

Seven also led the group across the mattresses.

CMA Leatherwood Ride

2011-06-24T15:37:00.011-04:00

A great time was had by all for the May 20-22 Leatherwood ride! I got there on Friday and met up with Marilyn and her mule Clyde from Florida. We rode most of the afternoon while others arrived for the ride. Some of the others took short rides as well! That afternoon Tara and Jim showed up, as a surprise, with no mules but their new camper. They had decided at the last minute to come and enjoy Leatherwood and visit with the group! We all had a tour of the new camper! Which was really nice and we began to plot some more trips! We all met for dinner that night at the restaurant and then visited by the creek before turning in for the night!

Saturday we left out with Myself, Marilyn, Larry, Bobby and Jane. Tara and Jim saw us off and took some photos for us! We started out up to the top of Robinson Trail and then to the over look rest area. I got the group on their way and had to head back to the camp because I was not feeling well. They continued on to Cowboy trail and then around to Rawhide. I spend the afternoon napping in my recliner by the creek but still left so badly that I could not make the whole ride.
That evening we had a group dinner and were entertained by the running of the Preakness on the TV's and also a Preakness Party! A few went out that evening for a short trail ride in hopes of catching the sunset. We spent the rest of the evening with a nice camp fire and roasting some of the largest marsh mellows I have ever seen!
Sunday Myself, Marilyn, Jane and her daughter headed out for a short ride. We rode up Ramblin and over to Rawhide. At that point Jane and her daughter headed for home, while Marilyn and I rode the Hogback and Gold digger loop back home a few hours later!
With another great visit and rides at Leatherwood under I belt we all headed home!

Marilyn and Clyde with Shannon and Seven

Group Heading Out!
Shannon and Reuben enjoying the evening fire!

Jennifer and Sadie Join us for a Sunday Ride!

2011-06-01T16:30:00.007-04:00

My friend Jennifer joined us one of Jerry's Sunday Ride on May 8th in Pilot! We had a good time and Jennifer enjoyed riding Sadie with the group! I think though that Sadie has had enough by the time we got back!

The Clipper Saga!

2011-05-16T13:22:00.005-04:00

After waiting a little too late to clip the mules I decided today was the day! (April24th) So I got up that morning and washed the two mules and one very unhappy donkey! Once dry from the sunshine and well sprayed down with Show Sheen I decided to start with Mr. Hairy himself, Navarre. The clippers started up and I ran them through some hair and, NOTHING. I was not happy. Once I got them stopped, I saw the problem. One of the flexing arms that help the blades move back and forth was broken. Grrr....no fixing that!
So all that washing was for not! I took them to UPS on Monday and mailed them off to be repaired. This can take several weeks and this was not the first time that a set of clippers had broken at an inopportune time so I decided that I would purchase a second pair. I ordered those clippers that same day. I found a great deal that offered a free set of trimmers when you ordered the body clippers. I wanted the clippers to be delivered as soon as possible so I gave them my work address and was told that Fed-X would be delivering them. After several days went by I called to check on the shipment. I was told that the package was returned to the shipper. Apparently the shipping type was for Fed-X to get the shipment to the main town and for the US Post office to deliver it to the actual address. The US Post office doesn't deliver here because we are considered on Campus. I still don't understand why they could not look up the address and or call me to come and pick up the clippers, no wonder they are in so much financial trouble. The postman I spoke with was no help and I actually hung up on him because he kept trying to explain to me "how the post office works". I called DOVER Saddlery to let them know about the problem. I was so happy with their customer service. The lady who answered the phone was the one who took care of the whole problem. She check to see that the product was still in stock and shipped it to me two-day with no extra charge. This time we decided to have the package sent to my home address. She put in a request for the package to be left on my door with no signature. So the plan was the package would be on my door step when I got home from work on Friday! That way I could work on the mules all weekend!
Upon arriving home on Friday I found a slip in my mail box. It stated that the package was not delivered because the Driver felt that it was too high a traffic area. Angry and frustrated does not even start to describe how I felt at this time. I called Fed-X and requested that the driver return with my package but I knew there was little chance of this. So Saturday AM I had to drive a total over 60 miles round trip to pick up my clippers from the main office. Needless to say I had a few works with the Manager. He was very understanding and said he would have a word with the driver. Especially when I described to him where I live! So I spent the rest of Saturday getting all the hair off of my long ears! The looked so nice and I am sure felt so much better after it being so extra hot this Spring. The repair clippers turn up on Tuesday! They almost beat the new clippers to my door! Below is Navarre, Seven and Sadie after their Spring Clipping!!

Two Mule Club Rides!

2011-05-06T15:02:00.005-04:00

On April 9th we converged on H. Cooper Black for our Annual ride there! We had a good group with two wagons on Saturday! Marty with his mule Deb and a nice new wagon and Jason with his new horse and wagon. Prince is a huge draft horse with a black and white paint coat. He impressed us all by seeming to be bothered by nothing and was strong and steady in pulling his wagon!
We headed in a little early on Saturday because the sky was starting to look like there might be some Thunderstorms coming. We got in was able to wash off the mules, get a shower ourselves and rest a little before dinner. Stacey once again pulled off a wonderful dinner and desert! She is the next Paula Dean! Then the Thunderstorms came in. I was glad that I had fed and checked my mules for the night! That night we have two other storms blow through. One brought some hail which was extra loud on the trailer roof. We were lucky that there was no damage to anyone's vehicles.
Sunday morning was bright and pretty! Chelsea decided she wanted to ride Sadie Mae so she helped me groom and tack her up! We had a little smaller group and the ride went a little slower as all the mules where not as sharp from yesterdays ride. We all relaxed and enjoyed the day.
Photo of: Sadie Mae on top of Mule Killer hill in Uwharrie National Forest!
The next ride was Uwharrie. I once again pulled in late in the evening. I was told by a friendly lady the next morning that the horse guys at her camp fire was were taking bets on if I was going to be able to back the rig into the parking space. I had, what I call, "A Good Backing Day" and swung it right in! The next morning I got Sadie all ready to go and began talking to some of the ladies in the camp that were interested in mules! One of the ladies and I figured out we had met at Leatherwood a few years ago too!
We headed out with almost 30 mules for a nice ride! The weather was nearly perfect. Cool in the woods and warm in the sun! I wish it could stay like this all summer! Sadie Mae never took a bad step all day! I sat back and relaxed as we rode along! We rode to Badin Lake and then to "The Rocks" before heading in. We arrived about 5Pm. Many of us let the mules graze along in the camp ground after having a bath. They hopped around in their hobbles and enjoyed the green Spring grass! Our Board meeeting went well and the deserts afterward were very good!
Sunday AM found the camp in a cool Fog that burned off as the morning sun came up. We took our time getting the mules ready and partly packing up so that when we returned it would be faster to pull out. We rode out about 10:30 after Church! It was another nice day for riding and although we said we wanted to be back around 3pm we ended up staying out longer because it was such a nice day. Sadie was tired but kept going and even picked up her pace on the way home!

Chelsea riding Sadie on Sunday, Shannon and Seven on top of the biggest hill at H. Cooper Black with Teddy Royal riding Leon.

Chester Has A New Home!

2011-04-22T21:47:00.009-04:00

Nancy & Tonya with Chester

Sometimes all the stars a-line and something really cool just falls together! Chester has a new home. I got an email forwarded from Holly two weeks ago about a lady named Nancy, who has a big farm and her Poitou Donkey (her first Equine) was injured and had to be put down. So she, was looking for another donkey to be friends with the other donkey who lives at the farm, named Arvid. He is owned my Tonya who used to be a CMA member. Nancy said she looked around and found lots of small or mini donkeys, but did not want something that small and then found some larger donkeys, but only younger ones and really wanted something more Arvid's age (15).

I email his history and photos about Chester, and they decided they would like to try him out. I took him over Wednesday last week. When we got there Chester seemed to like the people, place and seemed like he felt safe right away. He was turned out with Arvid and two other ponies. They ran around just a little and would turn to sniff each others hind ends and do half hearted kicks and then turn away. They slowly got closer and closer..... When I left Chester did not even seem to notice, which I was sad about but also thought it was good. Nancy has a wonderful farm with some other rescue horses and several of nearly every other farm/pet you can have.

Today I got an email update and the report was that he is doing well and that Arvid and another horse that really likes donkeys, really like him. She said in her email "He's a Keeper!"

I am so happy for Chester! It has left a big hole in my heart and my farm and I miss seeing his sweet face every morning at breakfast!

The first BIG sniff!

Chester and Arvid consider being friends!

2nd RMF Obstacle Course Day

2011-04-22T21:46:00.016-04:00

Most of the Sunday Group!

Kellie & Katie Mae tackle the Pool Noodles!

Obstacle Course Day turned into Obstacle Course weekend because of some horrific storms in the area! The storm brought a tornado to downtown Raleigh, of all places! We were blessed that I did not have any of that weather here, other than some rain and a little wind.

Thursday I drove to pick up Kayla and her horse Chief. While I went to work on Friday Kayla was my very efficient farm intern and got a lot of the final work done around the property. Amiee and Tollie showed up the their horse Flash and mule Henry. After everyone settled in we took a short trail ride before dark. We set up most of the obstacles in the arena lights and decorated things the next morning.

The Saturday morning the wind was blowing some and it was cloudy. Lawson was able to bring over several people to ride the course! At one point the wind caught up the big bouncy ball and sent it bouncing across the course and into the reindeer! Then the monkey and palm tree fell off the barrel! Talk about some de-spooking! All the horses did well and I even got Navarre out to go over a few things. He did really well. The funniest part of the whole day was when about 5 people where standing around Navarre and one of the horses got close. About that time the people moved away from Navarre and he moved too. The horse freaked out because I don' t think he realized that Navarre was alive!! Around lunch the riders headed home and the rest of us headed inside. We watched the storms from the living room TV in between some mule training videos.

Sunday was a much better day! Blue sky, light breeze and mid-70's with no humidity. A friend of mine came from the beach area and she brought her mule, her husband's mule (Cletus the mule, name for mule's Facebook page if you want to friend the mule) and her daughter is about 6 years old. For $200 why bought her a 30 year old white pony mule named Katie Mae. The two of them are the cutest thing ever!
June and Bob Hogan arrived to camp for the night. They were also delayed by the storms. They brought Bob's new mule Tess and two Rocky Mountain horses.
Many other local people came too and we ended up with quite a group!
At Lunch everyone came indoors and we ate nearly everything that we brought! It was nice sitting on the porch for a break! After lunch we went on a short trail ride. A few people went back early, the rest of us rode over to the ponds on the Moss' land.
I was really impressed with people and their mules/horse. I had some pretty hard obstacles this year and very few hand any problems. The pool noodles was probably the most exciting. A few equine jumped through them and others sort of scooted!

Bob and DixieJune & Tess

Cara and NuggetAmiee & Henry

Shannon and SevenChristine and Sadie Mae

Gun Toting Muleskinner?

2011-03-20T00:58:00.007-04:00

Well I finally completed my 2010 New Years Resolution! To purchase a handgun and get a concealed carry permit. So that when I travel with the trailer and drive late at night, in remote areas, I will have a little extra protection! (Thanks to my mule club men, Barry, Danny and Kenny for keeping after me to do this!)

I finally purchased a handgun, a S&W 637, .38 Special to be exact, and took the Concealed Carry Certification class. Who knew serious business could also be so much fun? After months and months of talking to different people, visiting gun shops and even the Dixie Deer Classic, I finally purchased me handgun. The gun shop gave me the names of a few instructors that they recommend. I picked a name out and gave the instructor a call. Turned out Barry had a class this coming Saturday, with an opening. I told him that I would be very interested in taking the class, but there was just one problem. I had not even shot my gun yet, nor had I shot a gun in, O' about fifteen years.

As a kid my Uncle Ken from California used to take me and my cousins out shooting when I came to visit. We even shot his grandmothers Colt 45! But boy it has been a long time! I seriously questioned whether I would be proficient enough to pass the course. Barry the instructor offered to meet me on Tuesday night and go over things and give me a private shooting lesson.

To his surprise and mine too, I shot really well! I never missed the target and even stayed within the qualifying score. We agreed that I could take the course this Saturday. Thanks to Uncle Ken, who did a great job teaching me to shoot!

At 8AM, five of us and two instructors, spent 9 hours going over all the laws for concealed carry, gun safety, cleaning, shooting stances, etc. After a written test, we headed for the range. The other lady and I let the three gentleman in the class go first and then we took our turn. I left really good about my shooting. I stayed mostly in the Zero points area (which is the center) and never even out of the -1 Points area. I also never hit the higher "head" area! Barry and Sharon even had us shoot from behind objects, low, close and moving backwards. All moved that might be needed!

Now all I need to do is fill out all the fun paper work and go down town to turn it in! Then wait for the call, to come pick up my permit!

Coyotes?!?!?!?

2011-03-18T15:51:00.003-04:00

I have known they had to be around but I had not heard them until tonight! (March 16th) I was in the yard taking something out to the horse trailer, when I heard something different in the woods across the field from my house. I quickly walked to the front fence and stood still to listen. It was high pitched yips and yaps and some barking that sounded like a large pack, but not dogs. Spooky! The next morning I looked it up on the internet and after listening to a recording on YouTube I knew it was Coyotes! Oh boy, just what we don't need in the neighborhood.

The next evening, Katie came over to ride Sadie Mae. I told her we were going Coyote hunting. So we rode over to the area where I thought they would have been but we did not even see a track! I saw my neighbor and he said that he heard them too!
We headed over towards Marty's place (The guy with the apple trees) and as we were leaving and going down the gravel road we both heard a loud "Grummp" sound come from the tall brush beside us! The mules looked but did not spook at the sound, but we decided that we would not investigate that one! Some of my friends suggesting it might have been Big Foot!

Helping Horse Show & Kenny's Ride -All in the same Weekend?

2011-03-18T15:31:00.008-04:00

I know that my "Quota for Life" is too high, but boy did I try to pack it all in this weekend! (March 12 & 13) I brought Sadie, Seven and Reuben with me to the Helping Horse Show in Pinelevel on Saturday. The show went well and those that asked me, if those were my mules, could not believe that they stood tied to the horse trailer so quietly all day. (They had hay to munch on) The show was pretty big this time, over 200 entries, which is great and means more money for the Therapeutic riding group but it made for a longer day. I donated one of my crocheted horses to the silent auction and also ended up winning some Easter colored and shaped bird seed eggs, and a cool sign saying Blacksmithing. Once the show was over I turned the mule out in the arena for a few minutes while I changed clothes and got ready to go. It was cute because the owner of the property, a retired farmer, kept asking me if I needed help catching, watering or loading my mules! I thanked him very much but showed him how polite they are.
I arrived at Kenny's Sandhill ride at about 8PM. It was pitch dark since this was the night that the time changed! My great friend Barry Greene helped me out so much by getting me parked, unloaded and the mules set for the night all in the dark! We joined everyone for some lively conversation at the camp fire. All at once Reuben started barking and Kenny's dog Rimshot took off for some trees on the edge of camp. We then heard what sounded like a coon going up a tree. You could hear all the claws on the bark of the pines. We, of course, ran over there with our flashlights but could not see a thing, for which I was kind of glad!
After another hour I decided it was time for a shower and bed. I returned to the trailer and decided that it was a little cold and got out my propane heater for the trailer. I hit the light button and flames started coming out the top of the heater! I tried blowing it out and then turning it off and that did not work so I grabbed it with my leather glove and carried it out side. I looked at it for a few seconds and then went and grabbed my fire extinguished and that put it out!! With that emergency over I decided to take my shower! I got all ready, towel, curtain up, etc. When I turned on the water to come out of the top it just sprayed out of the faucet and not the hose. Grrr...now what. I guess no shower. So I filled a bunch of plastic cups with hot water and washed my hair outside! Got a sponge bath that night, but at least it was a warm one! I decided that I better go to bed before anything else started happening!
The next morning I was so tired! It took me a while to get going! We left out about 9AM for a wonderful ride! Not a cloud in the sky. Two wagons and 7 riders. We stopped for lunch at a beautiful lake, where Seven tried to roll in the sand! After lunch Wendy wanted to try Sadie Mae out, so we tied her mule to the back of Kenny's wagon. I was amazed because I actually got Sadie's halter off and her full bridle on and buckled with out even getting off of Seven!
We got out front and took a good long canter down the sand road. Wendy tickled me when she said "When I dream of riding, this is what I dream of!" So as you can guess she loved riding Sadie! I took her off the trail some and up and down some hill sides that Wendy was not too sure about riding! But she loved it all in the end.
I am grateful that now the time had changed and we can do a little more riding in the evenings!

Guilford County Trail Riding and Safety Presentation

2011-03-18T15:23:00.003-04:00

On March 7th Seven and I traveled to Greensboro to the Guilford County Extension office. Several months ago Agent Ben Chase had asked us to be part of an extension educational program is on Monday nights, for 8 weeks. I gave a classroom presentation about first aid kits, training, selecting and preparing your equine for trips on the trail. Later Seven and I used the livestock arena to demonstrate proper tack, fit and training for good trail horses. Seven was really good considering all those people (about 40) were looking at him. It was a lot of fun and I had several people tell my they learned a lot but it was a long drive home! Two ladies came up to me and tell me that they wanted to go trail riding with me! That was a high compliment!

Hopefully a photo coming?

Chris Cox Wins Road To The Horse for the Third Time!

2011-03-18T15:06:00.008-04:00

(Feb. 24-27th) We had the tickets for almost a year and we where all excited to be going! Competition of the century! Chris Cox, 2 time winner of RTTH, Clinton Anderson, 2 time winner of RTTH competing against Pat Parelli, most well known "natural" horse trainer of all time.
Cindy, Susan and I flew out of Raleigh and met up with Cobie and Jan at the airport in Nashville. With a few car rental problems we headed out to Murphesboro, TN! I met up with Bev and two of her friends at the hotel next door later that afternoon.
The next day we headed over for the fun to begin. They had many guest riders and presentations. Even a Charo with a beautiful Palomino horse!
Chris, Clinton and Pat all gave demonstrations. The shopping was really good and I found some very interesting things to buy!
The next day the three each picked a horse and started working them in round pens. Each had 2 hours on Saturday and 2 hours on Sunday to get ready for the obstacle course and skills test. Chris's horse was scared to death and it took nearly the whole first session for him to be able to touch him. Clinton's horse was very aggressive and fought him the whole time. Pat's horse seemed very friendly, let him touch him all over with out a fuss. Then when he put the saddle on the horse, he broke in two and bucked for all he was worth. Later Pat stepped on the horse and he broke into a huge bucking fit, bucking Pat off by the second buck.
The next day all three trainers made great strides but when it came down to the obstacle course Chris' horse was the most prepared and put in a very good performance!
We are so proud of Chris to win for a third time in a row and to beat the best of the best!!
I have orded the DVD and can't wait to watch it all again!

Chris riding in the final obstacle course.

First backing.

Chris riding with his three year old daughter Charley, she is a natural, and cute too!

Weekend Adventures!

2011-03-18T14:43:00.003-04:00

This last weekend (Feb. 19 & 20th) we had some unseasonably warm weather, so I got some mule riding in! Saturday I met my friend Cara for a mule ride at Medoc Mountain State Park. Her horse is getting over a hoof abscess so she rode Sadie Mae. It was nice and warm but the wind was blowing like crazy. We rode on the side of one field and when the wind kicked up, I thought I was going to be blown off my mule. At one point, heard a cracking sound behind us, and the mules quickly scooted forward. When we looked back the top half of a tree had blown over! We were not in any danger of being hit by it, but it was nice to know the mules are quick to respond to keep us all safe! We rode in a different section of the park from the last time I was there. Some how we got off the park land, it took us a while to figure that out, and to get back. Seems the logging company also uses blue marks on trees like the blue trail in the park. I marked the map so I will not make that mistake again!

Sunday, I took Seven over to Jerry's to ride with the Pilot Group.

It turned into quite an adventure.

My cat, Shawn, thought he would like to come on the trail ride yesterday!! I got to Jerry's place, opened the living quarters door, to get my helmet, and there he was. I grabbed him and put him in the truck for the ride and then he drove home with me, rubbing all over me. He never acted scared of anything. Good thing that did not happen on a long weekend trip!! That would have been a big problem!

Three weeks ago, when we rode down a certain trail, I spotted a deer horn and could not believe that no one else stopped to pick it up. I was at the back of the group and decided that I did not want to stop and get it, I regretted ever since. Sunday we started down that same trail again and I promised myself that if is was still there and no one else picked it up, I would. We rode by and there it was! I could not believe some dog or animal had not dragged it off. Seven was really good and stood perfectly still while I got off, picked it up and tied it down. We caught up with the group again pretty quickly. Part of the way home I found that the deer horn was coming loose so I had to ride home with it in my hand..oh boy! That was a little tricky, but that is when it is all worth it to have a well trained mule!

On the way home, we took a trail that is not used very much. We came to a small creek with steep sides. By the time four horses had gone through it, the last horse was sinking up to his knees and it was too rough for the rest of the group to go through. I was the first to dismount from my mule! A few people rode over but most people got off and jumped their horses over a different part of the creek! Seven was not sure about it. He kept coming close to the edge and then backing off! Jerry got up behind him and just waved a stick, Seven jumped! Oh boy! 4 foot high and landing two feet further than he needed too! From the amount of excursion he put out you could tell he wanted to make sure he would make it! Glad I was not riding him, even if I could have stayed on for that jump, my head would have been cut off on the branches!

Reuben and Shawn check out the deer horn, Reuben licked his lips!

She was here and then she was just GONE......

2011-02-21T11:13:00.012-05:00

For some reason God took one of my dear friends Sarah Joyner to heaven, on Feb. 5th. She was in an unexplainable one car accident. I was so crushed then her sister called me the next morning to tell me. None of us can believe that she is gone.
I met Sarah a few years ago when I started working at the Vet School. We seemed to be instant friends although we really did not have that much in common. She did not ride but loved to read books and was into all kinds of things mystical. Dragons, Halloween, crafts and her family. We ate lunch together nearly every day and I loved to hear about her grand kids, the books she was reading and all the neat things she was doing. She in turn would listen to all my adventures with the mules. When ever I had a party at my house, even if it was the Shannon and Navarre the Donkey Birthday Party, she and her wonderful husband William would always come. She used to say that "William could fix a rainy day!" After I was not working at the Vet School any more we continued to maintain a close friendship. We would meet for lunch several times a week and share our stories. I still come home from an adventure and think, oh I can't wait to tell Sarah, but then realize she is not there any more.
There is a big hole in my heart from losing my friend!

Sarah was in a belly dancing troop when she was younger!

One Sarah and Williams many costumes for the famous Halloween Parties!

New Blankets for the mules!

2011-02-21T11:04:00.003-05:00

This Winter the weather has been extra cold! I decided that Sadie and Seven's turnout blankets needed to be replaced! I ordered blankets rated for warmth, and so far they have kept them warm and dry. They only wear them when it is going to be extra cold or when the rain and snow comes! Here is Sadie with her fancy new blanket on! Bright blue with a reflective tag on them! Not really my first color choice but they were on SALE!

A BIG Mule Visits RMF

2011-02-05T22:53:00.005-05:00

My friend Tara, whose first mule experience was riding Sadie Mae at Leatherwood, called me and wanted to bring over her new mule for us to work with. She said she was jokingly afraid to tell me what she had bought because he is quite the opposite of the mule she was looking for. She was looking for a dead broke, Belgian cross trail mule, middle aged, and about 15 hands. The one she fell in love with and brought home from Kentucky is a just turning three, 16.1 ½ hand, john mule. She fell in love with him because he has a very pretty face, kind eyes, and calm demeanor! She named him Rupert!

She arrived on Saturday. We did some groundwork with him to start. He seemed to know some things but still needed some work to be safe to work around. My new mule club friend Karen from Louisburg and her friend Connie came to visit around 11 a.m. They were highly entertained by us working with the big lug!

We took a break for lunch and all had something good at Smithfield’s Chicken.

Then it was time to ride. I put Karen on Sadie Mae and Connie on Seven. Connie and Seven did really well together! Karen tickled me After riding around on Sadie I asked her what she thought and she said that Sadie was a “Hot Ticket.” That just tickled me!

Next we got Tara up on Big Rupert, as this was only the second time she had ridden him I led him around for a “flight check,” which went very well. She then rode him around the pasture several times following Sadie and Seven around. As you can see from the photo, Rupert makes my two look like ponies! We joked that Tara would have to always ride first down the trails to clean out all the cobwebs!

Tara spent the night and we had a grand time. The next morning she rode with me up to Murphy’s to get some shavings and hay. Rupert handled the whole trip so well and even loaded back on the trailer quickly! Tara will have some homework to do on Rupert before he is ready to go to the mountains, but boy is he sweet and calm! Something to be said for that!

The next day I took Seven over to Jerry’s barn, also a new CMA member and rode out with his Sunday ride group. They ride from 1 p.m. till dark nearly every Sunday. He lives north of Zebulon near a town called Pilot. There is still a lot of open farmland and woods in that area. We rode through some woods that reminded me of Uwharrie with some good hills and lots of trees. It was really pretty. I doubt that many people know it even exists in that area.

Seven was glad that it was Monday and time for me to go back to work and for him to have a rest.

Tara and Rupert!

Size Comparison! My Mules look like ponies now!

Medoc Mountain State Park

2011-02-05T22:49:00.007-05:00

Having had enough of staying in the house because of the cold weather, I met my friend Lillian to ride at a new place for me! Medoc Mountain State Park. It is about one hour north of my home. It was great! It had a nice parking area with a picnic shelter, bathroom plus 10 miles of trails which were great. We just bundled up and went for it! I knew it was cold but when I got home they said it never got above freezing all day! ACK!! Lillian and I both looked like Michelin Tire Women! But we stayed reasonably warm. The outside and back part of my feet got cold and once in awhile my chin. Lillian said her nose was getting cold, but not till we were headed in! She rode a cute walking horse mare named Olivia. Lillian has been riding Olivia for the owner just to get more miles on her. This was her first big trail ride and she did great the entire time!

The Warm Michelin Women!

Lillian and Olivia!

Sadie and Olivia!

The Rest of December

2011-02-05T22:32:00.012-05:00

I started a new job and the weather was so terrible that I did not do much with the mules except take care of them. I chopped a lot of ice and carried a lot of warm water when the hoses were frozen. I finally found a water trough heater that I liked and ordered one. It floats in the top and keeps things from freezing over!

This December went down on record as the third coldest in history!

I was hoping to get some riding done but maybe in January?

New Years Day Ride, January 1st, 2011!

2011-02-05T22:32:00.011-05:00

Wendy and her Mule Jonah.

Summer taking Sadie Mae for a walk!

I arrived later than I had hoped and had to hurry to get saddled. I waved the group on and when we were ready, Sadie and I trotted to catch up. They did not get very far till someone had a tack problem, so I caught up to them very quickly!

We had several riders and three or four wagons on the ride. As we moved through the woods, it tried to start raining on us a few times, but it just quit as soon as I got my slicker out. Everyone said I should just leave the slicker on!! When we stopped for a break, a young girl named Summer came over and wanted to pet Sadie. She did not want to ride her, just pet her. I taught her how to lead Sadie around, and we gave her younger brother a ride! Sadie was so compliant. She did give Summer a hard time once in a while and made her work for it, though! Poor Sadie, on her time to rest she had to work! We rode over to Camp McCall to the famous tank that overlooks the airfield where they do maneuvers and do parachute drops for the soldiers. Kenny and I started to tell Gene, his friend from South Carolina, about the wagon wreck that almost became an international incident! This is where Donna and Sadie Mae were nearly run over by some runaway mules after a wagon crash! We were in the middle of the story and my phone rang. It was Donna calling from France to say Happy New Year!! How great to hear from her! I asked her if her ears were burning because we were just telling the wagon-wreck story.

When we returned to camp, Kenny’s wife and a friend had a traditional meal for New Years day in the South. It is supposed to bring good luck! Green Collards, Black Eyed Peas, Cornbread and Ham! Thanks, Kenny and Jan!!! HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL!

Raven Rock Ride With Bev

2011-02-05T22:25:00.007-05:00

On a semi-warm day, the first week in December, I hauled Sadie Mae down to Lillington, NC. I stopped at Bev’s house and we loaded her mare, Babe, onto my trailer right on the side of the road! She just hopped right on! Off we went to Raven Rock State Park, which is a quiet wooded park with about 10 miles of trails. We had a great ride and even took some photos by one of the waterfalls! Both mule and horse were in no hurry to get anywhere, and Bev and I enjoyed the slow pace by noticing funky trees and plants along the trail.

This was the first time I had been to the park in over five years. Last time I came to the park with Seven, we helped the trail-rebuilding project by log skidding some timber out to different areas of the trail. It was really fun to come back and see all the culvert bridges that had been built with the wood that we had pulled out there.

Bev and I took some photos at the waterfall!

Bev and Babe!

Shannon and Sadie Mae.

Navarre Gets A Blanket!

2011-02-05T22:12:00.004-05:00

Too Cute!

Ricky Quinn Clinic

2011-02-05T22:07:00.006-05:00

Navarre watching the class!

Shannon and Seven taking Navarre on a walk after the clinic.

Dee and Sadie working in the clinic.

Holly hosted Clinician Ricky Quinn for a clinic at Flint Rock Farm in Reidsville, NC. He is young compared to most clinicians, in his 30s, but has been riding with Buck Branhaman since he was a kid.

I came with a donkey sandwich in tow! I was bringing Sadie and Seven and had decided to bring Navarre, my young Poitou Donkey to give him some experience. The only way I could get all three loaded was to end up with Navarre in between Sadie and Seven. Not what I had wanted, but it worked! Navarre was very wide-eyed but handled everything so well! He even was good when I needed to take Seven and Sadie out of the stall. He stayed in the stall and only called to them a few times!

That evening Linda rode Sadie Mae and I rode Seven. He was invited to ride out and help bring in the horses from the fair pasture with Jay Lankford! What fun!

Then Ricky arrived and we all settled in for a dinner of steaks and way too many side dishes and desserts! We got into some interesting conversations about trainers, mules, horses, etc.

One of the things that Ricky kept saying was that there should be no difference in handling mules and horses. He kept insisting that he handles them the same way. We kept saying that you had to do this or that. It was a lively discussion.

Dee arrived and got settled in. She is just starting as an adult to get into mules and is more or less trying them out. She rode with us at DuPont for a little bit and was going to use Sadie in the clinic.

The next morning we met at the arena for some groundwork! I had brought Navarre out to watch the whole thing and had tied him outside the arena. Everyone from the barn and those watching the clinic who came over to pet him thought he was so cute. It was so good for him. He really did not act like he was afraid of anything except a big drain that we had to pass!

Ricky commented that he thought Navarre was ridiculous and did not see the point of owning him. Half way through the ground working session, Seven was doing very well, so I decided to let him have a break and get Navarre out. Ricky commented that my mule had shrunk! Ricky asked me what my goal with Navarre was, because I sure could not ride him. I told him it was for him to learn manners and be respectful and to teach him to drive.

I worked him some and got him to several times drift and yield his hindquarters. Ricky watched for a while and then said he got it. Navarre was cute! I told him, “Yes, that was his main job – to be cute!

We worked all weekend and I learned a lot. The one thing I realized was that the reason Ricky doesn’t think you should handle a mule any differently than a horse is because his horsemanship is at such a high level that it doesn’t matter if it is a mule or a horse. Most people never reach that level!

DuPont State Forest -Logging

2011-02-05T21:56:00.006-05:00

This trip to DuPont was wonderful! I arrived on Thursday and found a parking space and a corral for my mules to stay in. Everyone got together for dinner and brought food to add to “The Man Pan” which Blue cooked for us.

“The Man Pan” is a huge pan with a long handle which the men were using to cook with. Joke was, you needed to be a man to lift it, too. We all bring something different to add to the pan and somehow everything works out. Beef, chicken, green and red peppers, potatoes, etc. all mixed together make a wonderful dinner! It is also great entertainment to sit around the fire and watch the dinner cook! The only drawback is that with a pan that big, sometimes dinner is not till late in the evening!

It started to get cool quickly as the sun went down, but we just stoked up the fire, moved in closer, and enjoyed eachother’s company. The next morning the mules that would be doing the pulling were harnessed and loaded into trailers and taken to the work location for the day. The riders later caught up on the trail. We were divided into groups and given a safety talk by Forest Ranger and Park Superintendant Brown. Then the work began. I followed the mules around and took photos of the guys hooking up the logs and then the mules dragging them out. Rascal and Angie’s team, Butch and Sundance, worked like an old logging team even though they have only done this one time before. Kenny’s team of Mary and Hollywood had a little trouble pulling together at first, but Kenny just kept right with them and they worked things out quickly! It was not long, and they had pulled out quite a few logs. The group in the parking lot would help unhook the Dog-Ears on the logs and roll the logs closely up to the other logs that had been brought in to keep things organized. Ranger Brown and Tony McMasters had gone down to another section of the trail and you could hear a lot more trees being taken down for the mules to pull out later. Soon it was time to break for lunch. The mules were sure glad for that. They all got several apples and apple cores for all their work.

The logs were quite impressively large, and a team of big mules was most definitely necessary to get them out. Each log is cut to 16 feet long and seemed to range between 25-35 inches wide. I have had several people tell me that that each log probably weighed at least 600-900 pounds. What impressed me the most was that the mules could get down into the woods and with a minimal trail pull those big logs out. Once done in one area, if you used your foot and raked the area with some leaves where they came out of the woods, you could not even tell that they had been through.

Logging with mules and horses has seen a resurgence in the last five years or so because they can get in and take out select cut trees with minimal impact. Otherwise, trees have to be clear-cut, or at least a large trail made which tears up the ground and is left behind. This type of logging can leave scars on the land for years to come.

After lunch we moved down to the second staging area to remove the logs that Ranger Brown and Tony had cut down. After the teams got into the swing of things in the new area, Kenny and Rascal started letting others take a turn at mule skinning! Ranger Brown got to drive Butch and Sundance. He did a great job. I was so glad he got that opportunity because he told me later he had never done that before. Ranger Brown has been in forestry his whole life and has served all over the county. I was glad I got some good photos for him! Then it was my turn to drive Butch and Sundance. I must say I was nervous because the last time I log skidded with Seven I fell, and Seven ran me over with a small log! This was a BIG log and two BIG mules! I had to remember Rascal’s commands for them, as they were a little different than the commands I used while driving. The mules worked perfectly for me, and we took the log all the way across the road to the drop spot! What FUN!!

When we finished we had pulled out over 40 logs! Ranger Brown will get the logs loaded onto a truck over the next week and sell them to the local mill. The money will go back to the maintenance of the forest. Some of the logs that we harvested on the last trip were sent to the mill and cut into boards that are now siding on a new maintenance building. It is fun to drive into the park and know that our mules pulled those logs out of the woods!

We headed home for another great dinner made by Blue in “The Man Pan.”

The fun was not over yet! On Saturday we took a long ride. Right before lunch the faster part of the group took a turn and the rest of us could not figure out which way they went. Apparently we took a wrong turn, as we never found them. They were sitting at lunch wondering where we could be! It split the group about in half so we just took off on our own adventure. We headed for the farthest and highest part of the park to Stone Mountain. It was quite a climb. It kept getting steeper and the trail kept getting smaller and smaller. This became a challenge as I did not have a rider for Sadie that day and so I was riding Seven and ponying Sadie. I went up what looked like a rabbit trail, and then I saw what I thought could be the top, so I pulled over to the side to find a spot to tie them both! The view was spectacular, and we took photos! All knowing that we had a very long descent ahead of us! The top of the mountain was over 3,400 feet, which is pretty high for not even being in the Smokies in North Carolina. We got back just before dark and after the speedy group. We had a great story to tell at camp that night!

Sunday was a lot more relaxed. We cleaned up camp and made sure everything was locked up. About half the group decided to take off for home so we had a group of about eight or nine for a shorter ride. The weather was nice and it warmed up by the time we rode out at 9am. Today I had a jockey for Sadie. New CMA Member Dee came in the night before to ride Sadie. She has not ridden in years and wants to maybe get into mules. We had a great ride; about three hours. We rode over to the old airport strip and took some photos with a great view behind us! We did run into several bikers that day and all where very polite about pulling over. A few of the mules were not too keen on passing the bikes, even standing still. Linda Morris came for the day to ride on her Belgian mule Shasta. She is such a character to be around! Always joking about something! It was no joke, though when we came to a large creek crossing and Shasta did not want to cross. I tried to lead her across, but Shasta said, “No way!” Even with all the other mules on the other side, she did not want to come. Blue and Rascal rode back across. Rascal took a hold of the halter rope and started to pull with his big mule. Then Blue got a big branch of rhododendron leaves. I told Linda to hang on, because I knew what was coming! WHACK! Shasta with Linda handing on for dear life was in the deep creek. Rascal pulled her the rest of the way across. I think Linda’s heart was beating a little fast and she said “Oh, did you bring the old lady along for entertainment?” Only a true mule rider can laugh at herself!

Needless to say, we did not have any more trouble crossing creeks the rest of the day.

I love coming to DuPont, and look forward to the next trip!

H. Cooper Black with Horse Riders

2011-02-05T21:52:00.005-05:00

I was invited by Cobie and Susan to come for a weekend at H. Cooper Black. They had a group of friends going to ride for the weekend. Susan’s horse started to have some lameness problems and so I told her I would be glad to bring Sadie Mae to ride. We arrived in Cheraw and stopped to get some Subway sandwiches to eat later for lunch. Once we arrived and got the mules settled and the trailer parked, we were both very hungry. As some of the others arrived and set up their camp, we had our lunch and watched everyone. Then it was time to saddle up. We took off for a shorter ride, but had to watch which way we went as the Palmetto Retriever club was competing with their dogs at some of the ponds. The mule club always goes in the spring when they are there, so it was fun to see the group again! We had a nice ride and wove our way through some of the trailways from the ponds. Everyone’s horses were fresh and we had the chance to do a little cantering! That night Cobie cooked dinner for everyone. It got rather cold, so we all had showers and turned in early.

The next morning Susan got up early and even cleaned stalls and fed the mules for me! I told her she could come any time! Most of the group was not very excited to ride in this cooler weather but Nancy, Susan, and I rode out. We headed for the goose pond to lunch. We had a great time and Nancy and Susan, who had never been to the lake before, thought it was very pretty. About halfway home we ran into the rest of the group that had finally decided to go out for a ride. That night we had a great chille and salad dinner and spend the evening by a warm campfire!

Sunday morning several people headed home, but those that were left went out for another ride. It was great fun. We did some more cantering though the woods. We ran into a few other riders, but otherwise we had nearly the whole camp to ourselves!

Uwharrie Ride

2011-02-05T21:47:00.005-05:00

Most of the mule group watering our mule down at the River.

The mule club headed up to the Uwharrie National Forest for another ride and camp at the 4B Farm in Troy, NC. We saddled up for our ride on Saturday morning, and it was going to be a pretty fall day! It was Halloween weekend, and I wondered what trickery was coming our way!

The ride went really well, and we ran into several other groups with horses. Then we ran into two of our members riding with another group. It was Nate and Bonita. Bonita was riding a mule they have named Festus. Their group stood off to the side, and we all greeted one another as our group of close to thirty passed by. Toward the end of the group, Bonita’s mule decided that he would like to ride with all the other mules and not the horses he was with. Bonita was helpless to pull his head around to make him go back. After awhile, Nate just called to her to go with us and told us to take good care of her! Jay even pulled the mule to the back with intentions of taking Festus back to his group. Once he got there, Nate and his group had already left, so they just came back to our group. Everyone was laughing about it, including Bonita.

The funniest part of the whole thing is that a few new members in the club did not realize that we knew Bonita and could not believe that we were riding off with someone and her mule like that!

CMA Horse & Mule Show

2011-02-05T21:42:00.007-05:00

Shannon and Seven show in Western Pleasure.

Sandra & Sarah with their winning! Not a bad start!

CMA Horse & Mule Show -October

Our mule club has raffled off a mule colt for our yearly fundraiser. After years of this, several of our members got tired of doing it and keeping the colt. So we started a benefit horse and mule show instead. This was our second year holding the show and with plenty of volunteers, I decided to show Seven to help support it. We got there on Friday afternoon and got to school in the arena for a good long while! I was parked next to Holly, Sandra, and Linda. A few others also came in, too. We had a good time hanging out and getting everything prepped for showing the next day. Saturday came early, and I was so pleased to get a Bo Jangles breakfast biscuit from Jay that morning! Boy did that hit the spot.

We showed in halter and showmanship. Seven and I got second in Showmanship with horses mixed in. Then the English riding classes started. Sandra was showing her new mule Sarah. She bought her from Karen Reeder with the hope that she could do some showing with her. Sarah has shown a lot before, but Sandra had not ridden in a show since she was a young kid. Well, Sandra and Sarah blew everyone’s socks off by winning the first class with about 18 people in it! Then she got a second and a few more firsts! We were all so happy for her! She was elated, to say the least! Seven and I did ok for most of the show; we placed in every class and showed in the western classes, too! It was a lot of fun and the judge said he had never seen a nicer bunch of broke mules!

The club ended up raising a pretty good amount, and we will vote on making a donation to a therapeutic riding group or something like that at our January Planning Meeting!

Sadie's Colic

2011-02-05T21:31:00.008-05:00

Susan riding Sadie before all the problems started!

I was going down to meet Susan for a ride at the Moss Foundation in Southern Pines. I loaded Sadie Mae up first and saw her grab two big mouthfuls of hay and seem to swallow them whole, rather than chewing! Darn it, I thought, I will be lucky if that doesn’t cause a problem later! Well, it did!

Several hours later, Susan and I were riding along and Sadie just all of a sudden lay down! She had been acting a little sluggish but drinking well on the ride, but now I realized she might be colicing from this morning’s hay swallowing! We got her back to the trailer, untacked her, and let her roll in some sand. She rolled a little but then lay there like she was in some pain. Oh, boy, I thought, here we go!

It is very rare for a mule to colic, so sometimes when they do it can be bad!

I gave her 10 cc of Banimine and sponged her down. Once she seemed to be doing a little better, I loaded her on the trailer and headed for home. I called my vet Dr. Kate Lombardi to let her know what was going on. She said she would be there if I needed her. I wondered if I should just stop by the Vet School on my way home or just take her home and hope for the best!

We got home at 4:30 p.m., and Sadie got off the trailer and seemed to be doing well. She ate some grass and was acting normal. But later in the evening, my mom, who was in town from Virginia, noticed she was lying down in the pasture. When it was time to come up for dinner, she was not doing well at all. She wanted to roll, was in obvious pain, and would lie sprawled out on the ground. Very scary! Dr. Kate came around 7 p.m. and gave her some mineral oil and another shot for pain. She stayed about another half hour and Sadie seemed to improve, but as soon as Dr. Kate left, Sadie got bad again. I called Dr. Kate, and she recommended that Sadie go to the Vet School for treatment. I agreed.

I always keep my truck and trailer hooked up so all we had to do was put Sadie on the trailer and go!

When we drove up, about five people where outside to greet Sadie as I unloaded her. Of course from the trailer ride and being in a new place she was acting a little more bright-eyed and seemed to be in less pain that at home. They took her in and the Emergency Vet and Resident, with the help of some of the Vet Techs, went to work checking her out. They could not really find a whole lot wrong with her, but they could tell she was uncomfortable. After she was settled in a stall, my mom and I left for the night with promises that Dr. Hale would give me a call if anything changed.

At 4:30 a.m., Dr. Hale called me with a report. She said that at about 2 a.m. Sadie started having major pain and was being very dramatic and throwing herself on the ground. She had hit her nose tube and was sneezing blood all over the walls of the stall. Apparently, Sadie gave the technicians quite a scare! Dr. Hale said they had been working on her for two hours and had gotten her stable. They figured out that Sadie had a blockage in her small intestine, and from what they could tell with the ultrasound, it was blowing up with gas, getting very painful and then dissipating. They had her on double fluids and pain medicine and all they could do then was wait and hope that she would soon pass the blockage (aka: globs of the hay she had swallowed). Needless to say, I did not get any more sleep that night.

The next morning, I was very upset and crying. I really thought I was going to lose Sadie. I had a doctor’s appointment at 10 a.m., so my mom and I headed into Raleigh for that and then planned to go see Sadie. On the way, I got a phone call from Dr. Timo Prange, a Belgian Veterinarian who works at the Vet School as head of Emergency Medicine. He said that it appeared that Sadie had passed the blockage and she was doing much better.

I was so relieved, but I knew we still had to wait a few days to see if any damage had been done to Sadie’s intestines where the blockage was. That kind of damage can be worse than the blockage itself.

Went I arrived at the Vet School my friend Susan was there in the parking lot. She had gotten my email about Sadie and jumped in her car to come and see her! That was so thoughtful! She said that she got quite a scare because she found the stall with Sadie’s name on it but no Sadie in it, and she thought the worst had happened! But one of the students had only taken her out for a walk.

When I came down the aisle, I gave my little whistle I do to call my mules, and Sadie let out a huge bray! She was very excited to see me and seemed to say, get me out of here, Mom! We got an update from Dr. Hale and Dr. Kruger, and Dr. Kruger was already calling her Princess! The plan was to keep her until at least Friday morning if she continued to improve and start feeding her small amounts of food and taking her out to graze on the green grass! Thankfully, she continued to improve and was released to go home Friday morning. I called in and asked if Dr. Gerard would have time to take a look at her teeth before she left. Dr. Mat Gerard is the tooth guru!

He teaches classes to other veterinarians about dentistry. My thoughts were that if Sadie had a sore or bad tooth and that was why she did not chew her hay, well then this would just happen again. All went well, though, and Sadie got her teeth done with no problems. Some of the students and residents got to use the electric file on her, too!

So it turns out that she was just being greedy, and that is what started this whole thing!

Later I bought some special hay nets with small holes on them, and she doesn’t get any hay in the trailer except for through some small holes now!

I worried of course for a long time when she came home and watched her like a hawk! I am so thankful to have gotten so lucky and have her back in one piece! She would have been sorely missed by many!

Sadie in her stall at the Vet School.

Dr. Gerard working on Sadie's teeth. Kobie holding her big head up!!

Donna from France Visits Again

2011-02-05T21:27:00.007-05:00

Donna makes Sadie work hard for her cookies! Watch out for your fingers Donna!
Tacked up and ready to ride!

South Mountain –CMA Ride By: Donna Taylor (Puylaurens, France)

Whilst leaving Colin in charge of weaning Lottie and Fiona, I went off to enjoy myself on my two-week trip to America. As usual, I gave Colin lots of instructions on what to do and not to do with the three donkeys and Martha, the tortoise. I know Colin is perfectly capable of looking after them all whilst I’m away, but I always feel so much better when I’ve talked through everything with him.

So, off I flew to North Carolina. My plans were to meet up with the three friends that I stayed with last year. Firstly, I was going to stay with Shannon Hoffman, who has two beautiful Belgian mules, Seven and Sadie Mae. Then it was off to Boiling Springs to stay with Charles and Daphne Bridges, a couple that I first met on the Red Rock Ride holiday ten years ago. And finally, I would spend a few days in West Jefferson with Joel and Nicole Robinson whom I also first met on the Red Rock Ride

When I was planning this holiday, I emailed Shannon to let her know I would be coming to North Carolina some time in September and to find out when would be a good time to stay with her. Shannon belongs to the Carolina Mule Association and she said that the club had arranged a weekend riding at South Mountains State Park and could I make it for that date as I would then be able to ride Sadie Mae, one of the kindest and safest mules around. I rode Sadie Mae last year at Leatherwood Mountains, so this idea suited me perfectly.

The riding hat and jodhpurs were in the suitcase even before I started packing. There was going to be one slight problem - I hadn’t ridden for at least ten months and I was sure to be saddle-sore before the end of the weekend.

Shannon met me at Raleigh Airport at about five o’clock on a Thursday afternoon and we headed straight to a saddlery shop. I told Shannon there was absolutely nothing I needed for my trip or to take home with me, but I would love to have a look around. Well, thirty minutes later, we left the shop with a very nice pair of Ariat boots. A girl can never have too many of these!

Dinner was next and then we called into a supermarket to stock up on our lunches and dinners for the weekend. By the time we got to Shannon’s house, it was around two in the morning British time and I was feeling quite tired, But I soon woke up once I saw Shannon’s family of furry friends.

First to greet me was Reuben – Shannon’s gorgeous corgi. I’m not sure if he remembered who I was, but he was certainly happy to see me. Maybe he remembered the accent! Then I met Seven, Sadie Mae, Chester and Navarre. I was so excited to be back with mules again.

So, Friday morning we were up at half-past five putting the mules in the trailer before heading off to South Mountain State Park. We were meeting Shannon’s friend Ron and his mule Jed in a parking area near to where Shannon lives. Ron had recently bought Jed and joined the Carolina Mule Association, He thought it would be good experience to do some trails with the Association and also to get to know a few of the members.

We arrived at the Park a little before midday. We unloaded the mules and put them in their stalls before setting up camp. I know I have said this before, but it still amazes me to see how well set up things are in America for trail rides and camping for rider and equine. I am so impressed.

To say that I was on cloud nine for the duration of the weekend was an understatement. Everywhere I looked there were mules. I knew that the campsite was going to be mostly occupied with mule owners from the Association, so I was so happy to know I would be around these beautiful long eared equines for a whole three days and, of course, riding the best mule in town too.

Not all the mule riders were at the campsite on the Friday, so that afternoon there were only six of us ready for a ride. We went for about seven miles along beautiful tracks with beautiful scenery. Sadie was perfect as usual and it felt so good being on the back of a mule again. I spent a lot of time speaking to Ron, who was riding his handsome mule Jed. I told him that, because of jetlag, I would probably wake up at the crack of dawn, wide-awake and not get back to sleep. Ron said that he is an early riser and if I woke early, I could walk over to his camping area and he would make me a cup of tea. That sounded like a good idea to me.

That evening was spent around the campfire with everyone catching up on each other’s news. We didn’t go to bed late, as we knew we had a long day ahead of us on the Saturday. Before we went to bed, we popped into the stable area to check on Seven and Sadie. The majority of the mules had their heads over their stable doors ready to greet us. I could hear either a little bray or the munching of hay. Wow, I’m back in mule land again.

On the Saturday morning, I was wide-awake at around 05:30am. Unfortunately, I woke Shannon up whilst I was getting dressed, but I said that I could feed, water and clean the stalls and she could stay in bed a little bit longer - a luxury for Shannon.

It was pitch black when I walked out of the trailer. I froze for a few seconds because I have a huge fear of bears and I had this image of one jumping out of the woods and attacking me. So I very swiftly walked over to the stalls, quietly said good morning to Seven and Sadie Mae and headed towards Ron’s trailer.

Ron made me a nice cup of tea and we sat chatting until sunrise, when it was time to feed the mules. Seven and Sadie Mae seemed quite excited to have a new friend give them their breakfast and a few treats. I cleaned out the stalls, which was the least I could do for Shannon and then headed back to the trailer for breakfast.

I knew this was going to be a long day, but in my mind, it turned out to be an epic. We all had to be ready to ride at 09:00 so that we could have our group photo taken. I think I counted around 25 mules with their riders. After the photos, about 18 of us headed one way and six took another trail.

At lunchtime we stopped, tied up the mules and some of us took a short walk down to see a beautiful waterfall. I was quite glad of the rest as I was already starting to get a little sore. When we resumed the ride, the afternoon seemed to go on and on and on. We had a little stop mid-afternoon just to stretch our legs. I think I almost fell off Sadie Mae.

Shannon could see I was getting a little uncomfortable and suggested that we take a shorter route back. ‘Oh, what a great idea!’ I thought. ‘Maybe it’s going to be one or two miles back to camp.’ Then Shannon told me that we were much further away than that, even by the shorter route.

Five of us took the shorter ride. The trails were quite steep and rocky in places, which normally don’t bother me at all, but on this particular day, I could feel every one of Sadie’s muscles when she walked.

Shannon was telling me at one point that we had about three miles to go, however, I must have mistook what she said because we saw a sign that said 4.6 miles to camp. I nearly cried. I think Shannon must have found it quite funny, because I didn’t stop complaining the whole 4.6 miles back to camp.

I even had to get off Sadie Mae about three times that afternoon as my backside and legs were so numb. Sadie loved me as her rider as we would walk side by side along the trails together and I had plenty of treats for her too. At least I wasn’t the only one to walk. Ron, Marty and Shannon all led their mules a little way too, but none of them complained like I did.

When we finally arrived back at camp, we had been nearly ten hours in the saddle. I noticed that the other group were already home, and had already untacked their mules and were looking at us as if to say: ‘Well, what happened to you lot?’

After managing to dismount and collapse in a heap, I helped Shannon untack Sadie Mae and put her in her stall. I then took a very long shower, drank a cold beer and started to feel a little better, before I remembered that we were off on another ride the next morning.

Sunday morning, I was up at the crack of dawn again and headed straight over to have my cup of tea with Ron. His gorgeous dog, Tripp was waiting for me by the trailer and Ron had the water nice and hot for my tea. We sat and talked until sunrise, when we headed over to feed and water the mules before cleaning the stalls.

Ron and I were both very sore from the previous two days’ riding, but were determined to ride out with the group again. We knew it wasn’t going to be as long as Saturday’s ride as everyone was going to be leaving that afternoon to head home. I thought we would only have time for two or three hours – that was certainly wishful thinking!

My friends Charles Bridges and his son in law Ezra joined us on the ride. I was going to be staying with Charles and his wife Daphne when I left South Mountain and as Charles only lives 45 minutes from the Park, they were invited to ride with us on their mules.

We set off again at nine o’clock. I felt so battered and bruised from the last two days that I really didn’t know how I was going to cope. There were only ten of us in the group that morning, and Teddy Royal was our leader. Everyone knew how sore I was, but I told them that they wouldn’t hear me complain once. I was also determined not to get off and walk which didn’t please Sadie Mae at all.

Teddy would stop for a break every few miles and pretend that he needed to get off his mule for a rest. He knew just how uncomfortable I was and I can’t thank him enough for giving me those five-minute breaks. Trying to get back on Sadie Mae was getting harder and harder and on one occasion Max gave me a leg up and I nearly went right over the other side.

The group that morning were so much fun. Teddy got me talking with an American accent and when I said, "I'm gonna bust you with a stick," they all laughed so much. At least it took my mind off the pain!

The ‘morning’ ride finished 12 miles later at half-past-two in the afternoon. I slid off Sadie Mae and drew a sigh of relief: no more riding for a few days. Luckily, Charles could see I needed a few days’ rest.

We hosed the mules down, cleaned the stalls and put everything in the trailer. I said my goodbyes to Teddy, LuAnn and all the other lovely people I had ridden with before helping Shannon load Sadie Mae and Seven into the trailer.

To have the opportunity to ride the beautiful Sadie Mae is very special and I’m so grateful to Shannon for arranging for me to enjoy a wonderful weekend in the South Mountains State Park with the Carolina Mule Association. You are extremely kind, thank you.

It was so very nice to meet such wonderful members of the Carolina Mule Association and I hope, one day, I will be able to ride with you again. You all made me feel so welcome and I have made new friends too. Thanks to the Saturday riders for putting up with my moaning for the last 4.6 miles and thanks to Teddy for giving me a breather every few miles on the Sunday. Lastly, thanks to Ron for his company and those lovely cups of tea.

To all the Mule and More readers. I wish you a very Happy Christmas and a very safe, healthy and prosperous New Year. With all my love, Donna xxx

Dock Diving

2011-02-05T21:17:00.009-05:00

Molly and her Boston Terrier, Mandy, had a Dock Diving Event near my house, so they came to stay with us over the weekend. I went to the show with them and took Reuben, too! We had gone swimming a few nights in the lake behind my house. Reuben really liked it, but with all his fur he could not stay afloat too well. So I bought him a life preserver made just for dogs. With that, he could swim and not drown! At the event, Mandy broke her own record and jumped 17 feet – quite a distance for a Boston Terrier! Reuben got so excited when the dogs ran and jumped, so we signed him up to let him give it a try. It is a long way down off of the dock, so Mandy got involved to help. I picked Reuben up and put him down in the water a few times and then one time he jumped – or was he pushed? We met two wonderful sisters who have a photography business, and they caught Reuben jumping! Both sisters also have Corgis that like to dock dive, too! They do great portraits and action shots! Thanks for the great shots!

Here is a link to their website: www.shutterpaws.com

Vet Student Visit

2010-08-20T13:59:00.007-04:00

Earlier this year Dr. Korinn Saker from NCSU College of Veterinary Medicine did an Nutrition Work-Up on Chester, to try to help with his hoof problems. She asked me if she could bring some visiting students over this summer to do a farm visit and work up my herd for the benefit of the students. Of course I said yes!

So Monday Dr. Saker (In the middle) and Vet Students Teaha Chestnut (Right) from Kansas State and Pinky Andrews (Left) from St. Mathews came over. I had the mules and donkeys lined up on the fence in the front yard. Of course is was another hot day and under the big oak tree is the coolest place on my farm.

They began with Seven, taking his vital signs and measuring him for height and weight. They then examined teeth and looked at body fat. Which there is plenty of right now on all my guys!

They asked lots of question about what I feed, how I feed and what I use Seven for. Then they moved to Sadie, Navarre and finally Chester. Much discussion of Chester's hoof problems, diet and we also determined that the weight tape seemed to read a little lower weight than what Chester actually weights. We think this is because of a donkey's longer and more lanky build than that of a horse or mule.

Then we looked at my feed room and got the feed tags off the bags. Then Dr. Saker showed them how to take a core hay sample. The two students then learned how to take forage samples in my pasture and collected a bag to take back and have tested.

We did a lot of talking about the differences between mules, donkeys and horses.

I had a riddle for them. "Seven has something on his body that Sadie does not."

It took them a little while but they finally realized that she, like the donkeys, doesn't have chestnuts on her rear legs. It is true with the hybrid mule that not everything comes out the same way every time!

Thanks Dr. Saker, can't wait to see the results!

Grayson -A break from the Heat!

2010-08-20T12:37:00.014-04:00

I always look forward to the Grayson Highland Trip! I always want to leave early and never come back! Mom came up a few days early so that she could help me get ready and she was going to stay and look after the farm while I was gone. I headed up on Wednesday as early as I could since the AC was out in my truck! I discovered this too close to the trip and I did not want to leave, even an minute late, for the trip.

I had a hard time deciding which mule to take with me. All Spring I had been riding Sadie Mae on my trips as she is easier on my back. The fact that I was going to be gone so many days and might need to miss a day lead me to bring Seven this time, as he is very willing to stand in the barn while the other mule leave, were as many of you know Sadie is not so polite about being left.

It turned out to be the right decision.

Once I arrived and got settled a few of us took a short ride to the Ice Cream Camp store. We pigged out of on some Popsicles and headed back. On Thursday we headed out with a group of 11 to an all day ride. We rode to the Saddle and then down to the Maple Tree Trail. Jay took us by a HUGE tree that was dead and had been struck by lighting. I think the tree was well over 100 years old. Kind of scary and makes you respect the weather and climate at 5,000 feet!

Jay told us that there had been two huge snow storms over the winter, one right after the other. Because of this the people who look after the ponies could not get to them and give them the hay they needed. Many of the ponies had died. They will not be having a pony sale this year because of it. They usually round them all up in September and have a fund raising sale to benefit the local fire department. Very sad! So we were happy to see this mare and foal!

It was a great ride but done at a fast pace all day so I was exhausted by the time we reached camp. I had decided that I would not ride out with the group on Friday but rather sleep in and ride out to pick some blue berries and take some photos. I had a great time spending a few hours with just Seven and myself. He was very good and stood parked next to several bushes while I picked berries from the top of the bushes! Then we rode out with a few late arrivals from the mule group. I broke off from them once we got out the main gate and I headed up a hill near by to take some photos.
I was very pleased with Seven, he did not give me any fuss about being in the barn or leaving our friends after riding with them for a bit. Mules can be very tough about staying with their buddies but Seven did not. I hope he enjoyed spending the time with just me as I did with just him!

I started feeling sick later that afternoon and headed down the mountain to find a clinic to see a doctor. I got lucky and was seen, got my medication and was back up to the camp in about three hours. Saturday I continued to not feel very well and so I stayed back at camp and slept all day. Again lucky that I had brought Seven, as Sadie would have both hurt herself and taken the barn down by now! I did take Seven out to graze later that afternoon. Again he impressed me because I sat in a chair held his lead rope to graze him. At one point he got over near the walking path for people to go back and forth from the bathrooms, so I just raised my hand and did a "Direct and Drive" and he moved over to the over side of the chair! All those hours of training pays off once in a while!

Each night was had some great meals as Holly, Sandra and I took turns cooking for each other and Barry cooked Cobblers for dessert each night. Karen even made Home-made Ice cream one night! It was tons of fun to visit with everyone!

Sunday I was finally feeling better enough to ride so I rode out with a smaller group to take the Lost Trail. This is a great little over grown trail that was started as a cattle trail and goes down to a great hide-a-way place next to a rushing creek for lunch. It then carries you up to just below the Saddle area. It was a great change of pace from the open rocky trails we had been riding on.

I took my time coming home because I knew it would be hot and I did not want to leave!

Thank you Mom for looking after all others on the farm while I was gone. It seems Mom worked very hard and did a small make over on my gardens while I was gone too! A nice surprise to come home too.

Also thanks to for Seven for being a great friend and trail mule!

Robbins Farmers Day Fair

2010-08-08T11:25:00.010-04:00

Hot Hot Hot! It has been so hot all well! I even waited till 8PM on Friday night before going out to clip and wash Seven. I was hoping that I would not melt on Saturday!

Saturday Morning it was not as hot and a nice breeze, there is hope for to day! I left at 7AM for Robbins and even had time to stop at MacDonalds for Breakfast.

I got to town and was happy to see my friend Vance Clark and his wife set up with his donkey! Diane was there too with her donkey Pearl! I just got parked and up drive Kenneth Kelly! He was still in the area visiting from Colorado and came to visit everyone for the day!

Shortly after getting Seven unloaded I got a call from Tom and Deby Cochran and I guided them into town over the phone. I got the Awning put out for some shade and started to get Seven tacked up.

About 11 AM we all rode down the road to line up. We had Tom and Deby on their mule and donkey, some friends of theres with a really nice Donkey named Sadie pulling a cart and some other members of the club. Diane chose to lead her donkey Pearl through the parade because he was just broken to ride. As we started the parade Pearl did not like the noise that one of the carriages made and refused to go! After she continued to refuse I get Seven to push the donkey along for a few strides. He just walked up to the side of her and put his head and neck over her her back and hips and pushed her along with his chest. Once he got her moving she kept going! I was so proud of him! The rest of the parade went well and there were thousands of people there! At the end of the parade I had to push the donkey one more time past a big industrial fan.

We got back to the trailers, grabbed some lunch and sat down to watch the awards ceremony! Tom won Best Mule in the Parade with his big black mule COAL and Deby won Best Donkey in the Parade with her Pauline. Pauline went on to win Donkey Halter in the show and Coal won Mule Halter. Coal also won Western Pleasure with Seven getting 2nd (out of two) but the class was more like Construction Zone Western Pleasure. There was a Chain Saw and logging competition going on one side of the ring and men putting up a temporary fence on the other side. Plus all the usual crowd and distractions! Two very well broke mules!

I drove home tired and hot was glad that I went and also glad that we had a nice cool breeze for most of the day!

Many thanks to my friend Susan for all the photos.

Tom & Deby on Coal and Pauline

Lindsay and Flyboy

Parade Grandmaster Odell Hussey!

The Loss Of A Friend.......

2010-07-20T10:37:00.012-04:00

The other week I found out that we had lost my friend Debbie Devita. She was a great and fun person to be around. Creative and bright! She kept her horses at my favorite place in the world, Leatherwood Mountains. I met her years ago while riding up there and would email her when I was coming up to see if she had time to come and ride with us. She would join us usually on Sunday mornings with her horse Tyrone. A long time endurance horse of hers who is a beautiful Arabian. My friend Bev met Debbie on one of our rides and thought she recognized Tyrone, turns out she has known the horse her whole life. She is friends with the lady who bred him and was there when he foaled. (SMALL WORLD) After a while Debbie also got a new horse to train and ride. She named him A.J. after her fathers initials. She would sometimes ride Tyrone and pony A.J. to get him used to the trail and fit.
Debbie was also a VERY Talented photographer. She took portraits and wedding photos so beautiful. www.devitaphoto.com
Debbie made friends with everyone she met instantly. She loved her animals and always took great joy out of them.
They had a memorial service for her at Leatherwood on July 3rd. My parents and Molly were visiting but I felt I had to go. Molly went with me and we took off with the mules to attend. The plan was that several people would be on horse back for the service but once we got there and saw how many people had come I felt it would not be safe to ride in. Between 250 and 300 people attended. Many people, including many of my friends who work at Leatherwood got up and gave testimony to the great friend she was and how much she will be missed. It was a very nice service!
Afterward I visited with some of my friends and also talked to several of the people who were at the service. I met a childhood friend of Debbie's, some riding buddies and a nice couple with a young baby whom Debbie had befriended when she took wedding photos and then baby pictures for them.
Abbie and the whole Leatherwood crew did such a great job pulling off the event. We found out later that Abbie also had to coordinate a wedding later in the day. Strange but true to real life that some things end while others are just beginning.
Molly and I went to eat lunch at the Saddlebrook Grille with Carolyn and then took a ride for a few hours before heading home. It was a very long day but I felt I needed to be there to bid a friend farewell and hug some other friends that are hurting!

A Visit From Some Friends!

2010-07-19T23:42:00.005-04:00

Phyllis and Joan with Navarre.

On June 12th two of my friends I met while working at the College of Veterinary Medicine came by for a visit, Phyllis and Joan! We finally got together and they made their way out to the Red Mule Farm to meet the mules and donkeys. They brought carrots and soon made fast friends with each one of my long ears! Phyllis's family had mules when she was growing up and you could tell because we was very comfortable around them. We took some photos but did not hang out too long because, as usual this year, it was VERY HOT! I had tied the mules and donkeys under the big oak tree in the front yard and we did have a light breeze. Joan and Phyllis took turns leading the mules and then the donkeys out to the pasture, then we went out for a nice ladies lunch at the local steak house! It was so nice to visit with them both and be able to finally introduce them to my long eared herd! Thanks so much for coming to visit and for lunch ladies!

Not "Happy Campers" at the Blowing Rock Ride

2010-07-19T22:41:00.009-04:00

Well let's just say that we had fun anyway! Most of the group arrived at about the same time around 11AM on Friday. We were all told to our dismay that we all had to park our big trailers in the very upper level. This is not what we all had in mind and as we had to take turns going up and figuring out where to park and in what order so we could all get in, things got interesting to say the least. Teddy and Luann's trailer had to roll over a big hump to get into their parking spot. This caused the camper door on the trailer to jam. Teddy tried to open it gently but ended up denting it open. He was not a "Happy Camper". Mean while the nice flat, easy to get into camp group below sat empty the whole weekend. They would not let us camp down there because they said another group was coming in on Sunday? This was also the first time and without warning that Blowing Rock had decided to assign camping spots. It has always been first come, first served and that is why we all arrived early.
As the dust settled and we started saddling up things got a little calmer, till we rode out. We had a nice ride and every one's mules behaved very well but the Park Service for Moses Cone has seem to have forgotten that the trails are for horse and mules to actually ride on. I would say that 50% of the trails are now covered in large gravel. Bigger than Crush and Run that people use in parking lots. Just perfect for sticking up higher than your mules shoe and giving him a nice stone bruise.
Teddy said, "Boy I would like some of this type of rock, on my drive way!" As we rode and I could tell in parts where others have pulled their horses off to the side of the trail to get them off the rocks. This makes an secondary path that in in the grass and mud and will cause more erosion in the long run. That night a few more mule campers arrived and some how we got them parked up on the hill.

Saturday morning we gathered in front of the office. We had two carriages and about 25 riders. We headed off for Rich Mountain. It was a beautiful day, warm for Blowing Rock but not too hot. Rich Mountain is a nice look out place with a trail that wound around and around till you get to the top. At the top there is a round wall filled with dirt to sit on and eat lunch and plenty of places to tie your mules. I took Sadie's bridle off and put her hobbles on. She hopped around for a while until she came up to the wall. It was about 2 1/2 foot in front of her. She started eating the grass on the other side of the wall. Next thing I knew, with hobbles on, she had jumped up the wall and was grazing like it was no big deal! Amazing Mules!
That afternoon when we got back to the barn we got some free entertainment. A man and his wife arrived and while she was checking in at the office he chose to drive down and around the barn where the horse was to be stables. Holly saw the whole thing. The last turn was too sharp to make it past the corner of the barn. So he hit on the top corner of the trailer. She said that rather than stopping, getting out and backing up he just gunned it forward three more times. Each time getting the trailer dented and more stuck on the barn roof. She said he then seemed to get angry and through the truck into reverse and gunned it backwards. Because the trailer was so stuck on the roof it just jerked it sideways and into a tree. By now the wife was running down through the parking lot yelling at her husband to stop! Keep in mind that there is a poor horse still in the trailer too! Now they could not get the horse out because he trailer was still stuck on the roof and now wedged up to a tree in the back. Our friend Blue went down to see if he could help out. When he told the guy that he thought if he dug down about 8 inches under the tire it might bring the trailer off the roof enough to pull it free and the guy said. "I'm not doing that, that's too much work!" Blue left. The barn crew was on it's way down and had to cut a 45 degree angle off the brand new barn roof to get the trailer unstuck. I could not believe my eyes so of course I had to take a photo to share!Earlier that afternoon I was walking back from taking a shower with Reuben on the leash (As we had been very sternly been told by management to do) and the managers dog ran up to us and started attacking poor Reuben. I kept the dog off for a second and yelled. The manager just call her dog back and told him "Bad Dog!" but never apologized or asked if Reuben was OK. Let's just say that I was not a "Happy Camper!" at that point!
We all took off for dinner about 6PM that night. We tried a new Barbecue place. The food was good but it was very cramped and hot in the restaurant. We all cooled off afterward with a trip to the ice cream store! We all enjoyed a nice camp fire with watermelon that night. The next morning majority of us, including me had decided we had, had enough of this "Happy Camping!" and headed home. There was some discussion about whether or not we would return next year.

Sauratown Trail Mule Ride

2010-07-19T21:58:00.014-04:00

On June 4,6 & 6th my friend Bev Duval hosted the Carolina Mule Association for a ride on the Sauratown Trail System. I could not come until Saturday morning but Holly and Jane met Bev to for a ride on Friday. They had been riding for a little while when Bev's horse (Yes, she was riding her horse and not her mule) tripped in a large tree root. She and the horse hit the dirt unfortunately not in a very graceful way. Lito the horse was OK, but Bev was hurt. She had a bloody nose, the wind knocked out of her and her neck hurt. Holly stayed with her while Jane took off on Val to meet the EMTs that had been called and then led them back to Bev. Good thing they took all those precautions because poor Bev was really hurt. Once the EMTs took her off to the hospital Holly and Jane ponied Lito back to the barn where they were all camping.
Bev's friend owns the barn where the ride took off from so she was able to take Bev's horse home and then run to the hospital to check on her. They did not let Bev come home until early that morning so we did not see Bev until later the next day for an injury report!
Saturday morning I left the house at 5AM so I could make it to the barn by 7AM and be ready to ride by 9AM. Most of the group lives locally so they started arriving and parking up on the hill and riding down to say hello. We had a pretty good group to go out even thought the day was VERY HOT! We rode 6 or 7 miles to another parking lot that is part of the Sauratown Trails for lunch. Along the way we rode on many different types of trails, our favorite ones were in the trees and by a rolling creek. As we went along the trail passed some very green grass off to the side. Everyone was pointing as they went by it. As I got closer there was a baby deer, with big round eyes laying in the grass. It was staying very still and I don't think the mules even knew it was there.
This is the technique that Mother Deer use to hide their young as they go out to eat. The baby deer are born with almost no scent so they will not be sniffed out by predators. I just hoped that the deer would not move till the whole group got passed. It was strange to this this now, twice in just under a month. Seven nearly stepped on a very young baby deer just a few weeks ago.
When we arrived at the parking area people took advantage of the many tie rails to secure their mules. We also took advantage of the nice covered picnic table for lunch and I laid down for a nap. I could hardly get up after about 20 minutes but my back sure liked the stretch. We rode home with the day still getting hotter!
When we arrived back at the barn we were all surprised to see Bev! She had two black eyes a bloody nose and a neck brace on. You could tell she was sore all over! Turns out she cracked a vertebrae in her neck and is very lucky to even be here! The barn owners surprised us all by having cold drinks for everyone and home made ice cream! Wow what a treat and a surprise!
The next morning Holly, Jane and I packed up and drove to meet Teddy and Luann, Max and Lu and their son. We rode out from a different area of Sauratown Trails and part of Pilot Mountain State Park. The ride was mostly down to the Yadkin River and back up. Teddy, Jane, Holly and I all crossed the river which was very wide and flowing pretty strongly! It was really neat to be out in the middle and see nothing but water. It did not seem to even faze Sadie Mae who was more worried about keeping up with Jane's horse. On the was back she grabbed a branch off a tree and carried/ate it as we crossed back over. Bev continues to get better each day but I am still glad she was not hurt worse than she was!

1st Ever RMF Obstacle Course Day

2010-06-21T22:55:00.011-04:00

Heather and Seven

On May 30th I decided to set up my Obstacles and invite some friends over for an Obstacle Course Day! I send out an email earlier that week but really did not know how many people might show up on such short notice. I picked up Kayla's horse Chief to spend the night. Kayla helped me get all the stuff set up too! We pulled everything out, from the pool toy Shark to the tarps and an umbrella. We got 13 people to come over! What fun everyone had. Some peoples horses took to it really quickly and a few people were even able to show off and do to obstacles at once. Like the Umbrella and the Shark Pull!

Ron and Jeb

Others took their time and introduced their horses to some very new things! I had pulled my horse trailer into the field and set out the awning. With drinks, food and a few fans running it became a nice cool spot for everyone to have a break. Heather, Ann and Lynn's daughter rode Sadie Mae. Heather and Ron also got a turn on Seven. I also got the Donkey's out and made a Donkey Chain. Ron and his mule Jeb played Pony Mule and led them around for a while! Lisa and Lawson brought over some Mini horses which for some became an obstacle by themselves to some horses! Later in the afternoon many of the riders took off for a short trail ride.
I hope to do this again in the fall, with a little more notice next time! Thanks Kayla for all you help!

Lisa and DeVa

Jane and Val

Kayla and Chief

Ron leading the Donkey Chain

Loose Lips

2010-06-21T22:44:00.003-04:00

On May 18th my friend and farrier Kevin Zambone came to shoe and trim the Red Mule Herd. I have known Kevin for over 10 years and he is always a lot of fun to be around, plus he is a great farrier. My mules really like and are very relaxed around him too.
Kevin says that when some of his other client's horses start acting badly he tells the clients how good my mules are for him. He says this always annoys them a little!
On this visit I had my camera out to take photos of Chester's foot trimming. Kevin started goofing around with Seven and rocking his big head back and forth really fast to make his lips move around! So Funny! Those of you who know Seven, know that he would not be this relaxed around just anyone!

The Snake & The Fawn

2010-06-21T22:33:00.003-04:00

On May 16th, Heather a Vet Student at NCSU CVM, came to ride with me. She has not been able to do much riding since she had been away from home so she jumped at the chance to help me keep my mules ridden. We rode for about an hour enjoying the spring day. We stopped in a field to let the mules graze a little bit when I noticed a Black Rat Snake making it's way though the grass. Heather moved Sadie up a little closer so she could see it too. As soon as the mules moved the grass near it, the snake took off. I find it funny but the mules seemed to have no fear or even reaction to the snake being there. A few minutes later we rode off at a quick walk down the side of the same area we saw the snake. About half way down the field Seven stopped right as I noticed something moving right under my right foot. I looked down as Seven looked back to see a very small fawn getting up from the tall grass. It had all the white spots down its back and was so delicate and cute looking. It kind of stumbled around a little and then woke up all the way and took off for the woods. Once it was gone I realized that Seven had nearly stepped in the Fawn but then when it moved, right under his feet. He did not jump or spook. I was so pleased with him for this that he got lots of praise and extra cookies when we got home!

A Break Down

2010-06-21T22:21:00.004-04:00

On May 15th I was excited to meet Lisa and Lawson for a Hunter Pace with the Red Mountain Hounds. I got up early, groomed and tacked Sadie up as it as going to be another hot day. I loaded Sadie a few minutes early and headed out the front gate. I got on the phone to let Lisa know that I was on the way, when my truck just quit on me. I was able to coast down the hill on Moss Road and 1/2 way up the other side of the hill. I was STUCK! I got my horsemanship cones and put them out in the road to warn people. Just my luck I had just joined a new service offered to AQHA Members called EquiPass. It is kind of like a AAA for horse trailers. I got them on the phone and was very impressed with the service. They asked if I was in a safe place and if the trailer was loaded and if the mule was in a safe place. They also offered to call the police if I needed it. They called a tow truck which would be able to tow my truck and trailer if needed. In the mean time I was still so close to home I decided to just ride Sadie home. I put her bridle on in the trailer and tightened the girth. I let her unload and them pulled her around so she was next to the step down of the trailer. I was able to use that as a mounting block. Away we went! Sadie must have been one confused mule as we rode home and then I untacked her and let her go out into the pasture. I got back to the truck and trailer and it started! I was able to get the trailer back and unhooked just in time for the tow truck to come and do a great job taking my truck to the shop. I missed the Hunter Pace but was able to try out my new service! Turned out is was the battery ground cable. Apparently if you lose the ground on your battery your engine will shut off!

Physical Therapy with a SADDLE?

2010-06-21T22:13:00.002-04:00

A few weeks after my back surgery I was cleared to start physical therapy. I went in for my first appointment with one goal on my mind. I need to be able to lift my heavy mule saddle up on to my mule's back! My physical therapy was twice a week and each time my therapist laughed at me as I was always asking for more to do. She said most people whine and don't want any more to do. She designed many of the exercises to help me reach my goal. Toward the end my sessions she asked me to bring in my saddle so she could really see what I had to do and how heavy it was. I brought it in and showed her how to pick it up and how heavy it is (About 45-50 pounds) She said that she thought I was stronger than she was at this point! She also said that she has realized that my whole life was a work out rather than my needing to go to a gym for a work out! I wish that was not truly the case!

1st Ride back with the Mule Club

2010-06-21T21:55:00.003-04:00

May 1st and 2nd was the Carolina Mule Association Trail Ride at Uwharrie National Forest at 4B Farm. I hauled in late Friday night and Barry was so kind as to meet my in the dark and help me get Sadie's stall set up. Next was parking. There was one easy spot left and then the harder to get into spot that I was assigned. Much discussion was made about how late it was and how it would be easier to pull into the spot unused. But I was up for a challenge and had an audience, those left at the camp fire that night. Barry moved his truck, I had a good backing moment and was able to swing it in with ease!! The next morning we were ready to ride at 9AM. Larry came out and gave us the morning ride blessing. We took off through the woods. Sadie was her sturdy self and we rode down to the river. I learned that my back did not like going down hills too much. After a late morning break about six people headed back to camp. I really did not want to head back before lunch but after they left I left like maybe I should have gone with them. We rode up the huge hill to Hang Glider Hill and right before the group turned off to lunch (Up Another Hill) Tony and Brenda and a friend said they were going to turn off and head back. Tony was going to cook Chicken on a big grille for everyone that night so he needed a little extra time. I took my second chance and rode back with them. It was quite hot that weekend and I was glad to get back a little early, take a shower and relax a little before dinner and the board meeting. We ended the day at the camp fire again and Brenda brought some really Sm ore's to make! I had forgotten how good those are! Sunday a small group rode out for about two hours. I went with them and was glad both for my back and for the heat to get back in early and head home.

Saddle Up & Go!

2010-06-21T21:39:00.005-04:00

Many Thanks to my friend Molly for coming to ride Seven for me. After nearly 4 1/2 months off I was not sure I wanted to be the first on the back on Seven. Molly rode Seven for me as my back was still pretty weak. We tacked him up Friday afternoon for a short arena ride. To my surprise and pleasure Seven framed up trotted and loped off like he had been ridden yesterday. The next day Molly and I took the mules out for a longer trail ride. We ran into a goose, who got very upset when we got too close to her nest. When I went back to get a photo she got even more upset and called for reinforcements, the male goose on the lake. So we hi-tailed it out of there. We rode for about three hours that day. I was very happy that my back, Seven and Sadie, did so well! The next day I trailered up for a ride with Lisa and Lawson at Double D Equestrian Center. Thanks to Sadie I had another enjoyable and safe ride!

One Heck Of A Surprise!

2010-05-21T12:39:00.006-04:00

March 25th Report:

About two weeks ago my friends Donna & Colin Taylor came home late one evening, after having dinner with friends, to find a great surprise. They walked down to check on their three equines, Blanche the ancient horse and the two donkeys, Lottie and Lucy. When they looked over the stable door they they found that Lottie has just foaled! Donna and Colin had no idea that Lottie was pregnant, they just thought she was a little fat. So Donna was very surprised and called some friends and the vet to come out and check them both.

After a few days and finally some rest Donna was able to get some good photos of the Donkey foal and name her Fiona! Which I thought was great since that was my best friend's name when I lived in England. Donna says that Fiona is quite a ham for the camera, as we can see!

Congratulations Donna and Colin!

THE BACK REPORT

2010-05-21T12:34:00.004-04:00

March 25th Report:
Long Story short I had to have back surgery on Jan. 29th. I had a Microdiscotomy and was in the hospital for two days. The surgery went well but the nursing care afterwards was not so good. Plus a snow storm hit and Mom was not able to come visit or get me till I was discharged. We headed home and I was nervous because we were still driving on slick roads and I
was worried about someone else hitting us. As we drive into the little town where I live Mom's car started loosing power. She kept going and just barely made it to my repair shops parking area. She lifted the hood and her fan belt had broken and come off all the wheels. We were very stuck! Mom was panicking a little as I was in no shape to have this happen!
I called Lisa and Lawson and lucky for me they were home and willing to come and pick us up. About 10 minutes later they drive up in an old 80's Bronco that was an Army Surpluse vehicle that Lawson's employer had given him to drive in the snow. It had a lift on it and was very interesting looking! Mom and Lisa got into the back and Lawson had a bucket for me to step up on to and then get into the truck. I got mostly in but he had to pick up my right leg and put it in the truck for me! He very carefully drove us home! Once we got there I had Lawson get my mounting block to make it easier to get out!
My life is never dull! Even something as mundane as coming home from the hospital, for some reason, turns into an adventure! Mom took care of the mules and I stayed in my recliner and home from work for two weeks. I started going back to work the next week part time. I have not been able to ride since the surgery and did not ride for nearly 2 months before it so the mules at this time are unworked and fat and sassy!
This weekend I hope to get on Sadie Mae for some walking around riding. The surgeon gave me premission to ride this week! It will still be many more months before I am back in full swing again!
Thankfully everything went so well. I want to thank my parents for helping me during this and thank all my friends for the cards, emails and phone calls!

Welcome to a Suburban Refugee

2010-01-20T21:13:00.005-05:00

I got a call about a goat who needed a home for a few months. His owners live in Cary, a suburban neighborhood right outside of Raleigh, NC. Apparently his noisy calls for food and attention was waking up the neighbors too early in the morning! So they needed a place to stash him until they can build some fencing on their new farm out in the country.

So with that we welcome our

Suburban Refugee - ASTRO!

A Tennessee Fainting Goat, although I have yet to see him faint.

He has already settled in and gotten the kids next door to feed him sprigs of green grass through the fence. The mules and donkeys were not to sure about him at first, except for Seven to likes goats, but he made his status known in short work by butting his head in the gate any time they got to close to it.

Water Color Of Sadie Mae

2010-01-20T20:55:00.004-05:00

Included in the 2009 Christmas cards, Dad sent out a Christmas newsletter, that included a photo of Sadie Mae on the cover of "The Book of Mules" written by Donna Campbell Smith. He told how Sadie Mae and I had been going to some book signings with the author. Chuck Warner from Yuma, AZ, a high school friend of Mom's, saw the Christmas letter and was inspired to paint a water color of Sadie Mae. Chuck was very kind to send me a matted print of his work! Very good if I do say so myself! I love watercolors, I have two already hanging in my living room. Thanks so much Chuck! I love it and will soon get it framed!

Mustang Update!

2010-01-20T20:35:00.004-05:00

In October of 2009 I met a nice family at the Best of America By Horseback Ride at Leatherwood. I was really impressed with their daughter Kaitlyn. She is one of the best riders I have ever seen and is only 15 years old. She placed second in the advanced trail challenge class I hosted with a horse she trained herself. That got the wheels turning in my head. I asked if Kaitlyn might be looking for a project. The anwser was yes, a younger horse she could start herself and train. After much considering on both of our parts and a meeting in the Bass Pro Shop parking lot, Kaitlyn had herself a great project. My mustang (Whom I just have not had time for) Buckshot. He seemed to like her right away and I could not wait to see what the two of them would accomplish!

January I emailed Kaitlyn to see how they are getting along! I was so happy to get this report:

Buckshot's doing great!! He loves his new pasture buddy Misty! I've only got to work him a few times until we got 2 feet of snow. It's very interesting to see how different he is from the other horses! (But in a good way) The first night we put them in the barn for the snow, he figured out a way to lift the stall gate off the hinges and let himself out! Then he decided to share the bag of treats with all the others by flinging the bag around while he walked up and down the aisle. Other then that he's been wonderful! I thought I'd send you a few pictures. I've decided to keep his name Buckshot since he already knows it. Thank you so much again! ~Kaitlyn

Starting the NEW YEAR of Right?

2010-01-20T20:22:00.004-05:00

I started 2010 off in a not very good way by having my back go out on my pretty severely! Mom stayed here to help me and take care of the mules while I got better. Unfortunately for her it turn out to be one of the longest and coldest periods we have had in a while here in North Carolina. After feeding one morning Mom brought in a chunk of the ice she got off the water troughs. The chunk was about 2 1/2 inches thick. It was unfortunately just the beginning of a lot of ice chopping mom had to do!