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Official Publication of the American Mule Association 260 Nelson Rd., Reno, NV 89521 www.americanmuleassociation.org Jody Lowrey (775) 849-9437 [email protected] Spring, 2017

American Mule President’s Message Association Mission Statement A California non - p r o f i t Hello All, benefit corpo r ation that was founded in 1976. Spring time is upon us, and it is beautiful Since its inception, the after all the rain we were blessed with. AMA has been dedicated to building the reputation We have been taking the mules to a few a n d integrity of mules brandings, and it has been awesome. throughout the United S t a t e s . Ruby will out pull anything. I have been MULES is published 6x so proud of them. Hope to see you all per year, January, March, soon, life events have reminded me to let May, September, N o v e m b e r those I care about know how much I appreciate them, so I am looking forward Advertising Rates F u l l p a g e $ 1 1 0 . 0 0 to seeing my favorite mule people soon! ½ p a g e $ 7 5 . 0 0 ¼ p a g e $ 5 0 . 0 0 Casie Business card $ 1 8 . 0 0 C l a s s i f i e d $ 6 . 0 0

$10/ photo includes up to 30 words, .25/word t h e r e a f t e r Deadlines: Advertising and article s are due by t h e 1 0 th of the month prior to publication. Bishop’s Course Dedicated to D i s c l a i m e r : MULES does not accept any Dr. Carl Lind (1942 - 2017) responsibility for any and By Monicka Watterson, Mule Days Show Secretary all advertisements Our course designer, Tammy Clanton, has long standing ties to Bishop, Mule Days submitted to us. and Dr. Lind. She was born and raised in Bishop to one of our "founding families" of I N S I D E T H I S I SSUE Moxleys/Partridges. Her maiden name is Tammy Moxley. Her mother, Leona, was the first Show Secretary for Bishop Mule Days when Tammy was a child. Her 1 President’s Message parents were founding members/creators of one of the Owens Valley's earliest equestrian club/equine riding stable (the Bishop Saddle Club) that still exists and 1 Dr. Carl Lind is active today in operating equine competitions. 2 Spring Shows Tammy has been involved in Mule Days as an arena worker, specializing in our trail classes, since she was a youngster. From 1997 (my best estimate) to 2013, 2 Board of Directors Tammy worked as a Vet Tech for Dr. Lind at the Bishop Veterinary 3 Bishop Activities Hospital. When she moved from Bishop in 2013, Dr. Lind enlisted her to 4 Training Exercises continue to design and create the trail courses for Bishop Mule Days.

5 Exercise diagrams

6 Calendar of Events Please see Carl Lind on page 3

6 Member Spotlight

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Gold Country Mule & Donkey Show – April 1 -2

Board of Directors at Sugarland Horse Park President: Casie Fairbanks in Woodland, CA. Classes (559) 658-5277 or (559) 760-2198 include English and [email protected] Vice President: Jim Harvey western performance, (559) 336-2604 driving, cattle classes and Treasurer/ Membership: Jessica Bishop for mules and (916) 390-1861 donkeys. Great dinner on Secretary/Registratiom: Jody Lowrey Saturday night (sign up (775) 849-9437 [email protected] when you enter) and Awards: Kellie Shields plenty of parking for (209) 663-6878 [email protected] camping. For more Pack/Cattle: Joe Gonzalez information call Jessica (805) 331-2081 Dressage: Laura Hermanson at 916 390-1861 (559) 868-8660 Perform/Judge: Jode Collins (916) 765-4585 Teamster: Ralph Atkinson Blossom Trail Classic Mule and (775) 970-3268 [email protected] Donkey Show on April 14 – 16 will Banquet:: Becky Santucci (916) 947-6619 be held in Sanger, California at Promotions: Diane Grimes Verde View Farms. English and (209) 996-8507 western performance classes, [email protected] Points/Newsletter: Maggie Moore challenging trail courses, (805) 674-7825 gymkhana and packing are [email protected] Scholarship: Chris McParland offered. Celebrate Easter with (209) 603-0913 Church and a pancake [email protected] breakfast on Sunday morning. Call Rule Change: Lou Moore-Jacobsen (805) 239-2236 Kathy for further information: Points Co-chair: Loni Langdon (559) 903-0707. (760) 920-5159

Visit our websites at americanmuleassociation.org

Tucker Slender’s Working Mule Show on May 6 & 7 offers the opportunity to try your mule at working cattle. He includes many cattle classes, some for points and some just for fun, also trail, gymkhana, packing, ranch and donkey classes. Saturday starts at 8:00 a.m. and Sunday starts at 9:00 a.m. Bring a dish to the Potluck dinner on Saturday night. The show is held at Tucker’s ranch located at 15956 E. Goodfellow Ave., Sanger, California. Call Tucker at (559) 876-3713 for more information.

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Bishop Mule Days Activities for 2017

CLINICS this year at Bishop, free to the public Tuesday 2-3 pm Care and Wound Bandaging: Dr. Nicki Millici, attend this clinic to receive 20% off equine micro-chipping. Tallman Pavilion 3-4 pm Equine Micro-Chipping: Dr. Millici. Round Corral Wednesday 10-12 pm Where Did Those Long Ears Come From? Nate Medcalf, Rockin’ NT Mules. Learn about breeding quality mules. Round Corral 3-5 pm Being Safe and Having Fun; Techniques for Youth: Linda Laird, Double L Ranch. Round Corral 2-5 pm Working Equitation: Sue Watkins. East Arena Thursday Dpuble L Ranch

9-11 am Those Amazing Donkeys: JoDe Collins, Double C’s Performance Mules and Donkeys. Round Corral 11-12:30 pm Better Communication Between Mule & Rider: Lou Moore- Jacobsen, One Moore Training Stable. Round Corral 1-2:30 pm Characteristics to look for in Breeding Quality Mules: Rockin’ T Mules, Round Corral Bishop Mule Days 4-6 pm Groundwork Basics: Ty Evans, TS Mules. Round Corral Hospitality Center at the Friday Tallman Pavilion. Open 8-9 am Safer Mule Handling: Dr. Robert Miller. Round Corral 9-10 am Saddle & Pack Animal Safety: Michael Morse & Lee Roeser, USFS to competitors, owners Region 5 Packers. Round Corral and trainers each day 10-11 am Decker & Sawbuck Packing: Brian Kaiser & Tyler Knowles, Rock Creek before classes for coffee Pack Station. Round Corral and light breakfast. 11-12pm Beginning Packing Demonstration: Phillip Easley, Easley Ranch. Round Refreshments and Corral snacks midday. 5-6 pm Large Animal Rescue Techniques: Patti Williams, FEMA Large Animal First Responder. Round Corral Saturday 2-4 pm Throwing A Rope: Pat Puckett, The Disciplined Ride. Round Corral 4-5 pm Large Animal Rescue: Patti Williams, FEMA Large Animal First Responder. Round Corral

Carl Lind continued from page 1 Dr. Lind's death was especially difficult for her and coincided with her work to design the 2017 trail courses. It inspired her to dedicate the courses to Dr. Lind. I cannot reveal any specifics of the course designs, but the memory of Dr. Lind will be predominating. The trail course dedication developed directly from our course designer will be brought to fruition through the hard work of our volunteers who prepare, oversee and operate our trail classes.

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Training Exercises

SonoVet Equine Sport Therapies frequently post training exercises that may improve you and your equine. This is one of my favorites, all you need is 4 poles to set up multiple exercises. Check out SonoVet Equine Sport Therapies on Facebook, they have creative suggestions for exercises.

4 POLES – 7 EXERCISES (See diagrams on next page)

This is a series of exercises that can be done with minimal equipment and in short preparation time. These exercises are based on precise lines and the right timing to get your horses swiftly through. Ideally the poles are placed so that the innermost circle has at least a 6-7 meter diameter (about 20 feet). The goal of these exercises is to improve aids/communication and precise changes of direction – absolute focus by both horse and rider is needed.

EXERCISE 1 Ride a circle over the outer sides of the poles – this can be done in walk, trot or canter. Ensure the horse is slightly bent to the inside to promote an active hind. With an experienced well trained horse you can do this exercise over the innermost part of the poles in walk or trot – still too easy? Try to back up your horse around the outer circle :-) EXERCISE 2 Ride in a big circle around the poles and a small circle around each pole when you reach it. Start with larger circles and reduce them when the horse is properly warmed up – make sure the horse does not lean on the inner shoulder. This exercise too can be ridden in walk, trot or canter – experienced horse/rider combinations could do this in pairs. Or you can change gait, e.g. ride the large circle in trot and walk the smaller circles around the poles. This needs both – precise aids by the rider and excellent response to the aids by your horse. EXERCISE 3 With this exercise ensure your horse is absolutely straight on the straight lines in the middle (marked darker in the picture) and that your horse is not leaning on the inner shoulder. Ride this on both leads in walk and trot. EXERCISE 4 Whilst you can do this one in walk, trot or best in canter. The change should happen at X. Whichever gait you are in, you should focus on changing hands precisely at X ensuring that your horse is in an absolute straight frame at X. Do this exercise on both leads. EXERCISE 5 This one looks much easier than it is – especially if ridden in canter. Approach each pole in the middle – in canter there should be 3-4 canter strides between each pole (depending on the horse’s size, stride and the ridden circle). Try to have the same number of strides in each quarter of the circle. EXERCISE 6 Great to teach flying changes. The moment your horse goes over the pole, change your leg position (the new inner one now being forward and the new outer one going back), slightly bend your horse to the new direction and make sure you look into the direction you now want to go to. Ideally your horse would use the stride over the pole to correctly and swiftly change and to land on the now leading leg – which needs an exact timing of your aids and a quick response to those by your horse. Less experienced riders /horses might want to start this exercise in walk and trot to establish exactly timed aids and quick response of the horse. EXERCISE 7 Can be done in walk, trot or canter. Ensure the horse is correctly bent whilst in the half circles and straight in between. This exercise is great to combine with exercise 4 – just to avoid repetition and boredom :-)

HAVE FUN :D :D :D :D

(by Hummel Pferdetraining)

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Apologies to Elena Beilby Hermanson for missing her on the sponsor list in the last newsletter. Elena sponsored the Jack Championship buckle for year end. We appreciate your support Elena!

Trainingexercise diagrams

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Spotlight: on AMA Members

Rod and Connie Lara will be honored at Bishop Mule Days as the newest inductees to the Bishop Hall of Fame. They have come a Joinlong wayclinician from their JoDe beginnings; Collins Rodfor thewas 4a thbronc Annual rider in the Donkeyand Connie Days was in a Coarsegold,barrel racer. California at Oak Star Ranch on March 25 -26. Roddy and Connie’s training barn, CR Mules is in Flagstaff Arizona Contactwhere they Casie train mulesfor more and ainfo: few horses, [email protected] put on clinics and give lessons. They show locally but have also competed their mules all Iove hoper the you country received including this info Arizona,before the California, clinic as it Nevada, is a good Oklahoma,one, I apologizeTexas, New if the Mexico, newsletter Illinois is tooand late. Tennessee. ~Maggie

2017 will be their 25th consecutive year competing at Mule Days. They have competed in almost all performance classes both English and western but Rod’s favorite discipline is reining while Connie’s is split between trail and western riding. This Hall of Fame duo have won numerous titles at Mule Days and have sponsored multiple boys and girls who have won Youth World Championships on Rod and Connie’s mules.

In 2009, their great mule, CR Katie was inducted into Bishop’s Hall of Fame. Katie is now 29 years old and will be returning to Bishop to compete this year.

Drop by Barn 3 to say hello and wish them well! Roddy Lara & Katie

Remember to update your membership for this new

year! All memberships expire on December 31, don’t forget to renew as only current members can earn points for shows and programs. You can renew your membership with a credit card through the AMA website or download a membership form to mail in.

Calendar of Events March 24 -25 4th Annual Donkey Days Clinic, Coarsegold, CA email: [email protected] April 1 – 2 Gold Country Mule & Donkey Show, Woodland, CA info: (916) 390-1861 April 14 – 16 Blossom Trail Classic Mule & Donkey Show, Sanger, CA info: (559) 903-0707 May 5 – 7 Tucker Slender’s Working Mule Show, Sanger, CA info: (559) 876-3713 May 23 -28 Bishop Mule Days, Bishop, CA info: Bishop office (760) 872-4263 May 26 – 28 Mane Event, Equine Education and Trade Fair, Scottsdale, AZ website: scottsdale.maneeventexpo.com June 27 – 29 Penn Valley Mule & Donkey Show, Penn Valley, CA Info: [email protected] July 15 – 16 Gold Country Mule & Donkey Show, Woodland, CA info: (916) 390-1861 August 4 -6 Bear Valley Springs Horseman’s Association Mule Show, Tehachapi, CA Sept 16 -17 10th Annual Ultimate Cowboy Trail Challenge, Bishop, CA Sept 30 – Oct 1 Gold Country Mule & Donkey Show, Woodland, CA info: (916) 390-1861

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AMA Po Box 416 Sheridan, CA 95681

Bishop activities continued from page 3

SUNDAY 10-11 am Introduction to the Masterson Method (equine bodywork): Loni Langdon, Masterson Method Certified Instructor. Round Corral 12-1 pm Getting the Whoa: Pat Puckett, The Disciplined Ride. Round Corral 4-5 pm Mulemanship in the Saddle: Ty Evans, TS Mules. Round Corral

EXHIBITOR’S PARTY & WINE TASTING – open to exhibitors, owners, trainers and sponsors. Thursday, 5/25 from 4:15 to 6:15 in the Tallman Pavilion. If you haven’t been before, this is a great opportunity to meet your fellow competitors and owners and have fun with great food, beer and wine.

EXHIBITOR’S DRILL TEAM All exhibitors are welcome to participate in Bishop’s Drill Team that performs in the Saturday and Sunday Evening Performances in the Main Arena. Practices are 5:00pm on Saturday& Sunday in the Main Arena.

GRAND ENTRY PARTICIPATION Bishop encourages all exhibitors to participate in the Grand Entry of the Saturday afternoon performance. Line-up promptly at 12:45pm at West End of Main Arena. All Parade entries are requested to participate.