MULE CROSSING: Lucky Three Mae Bea C. T.

By Meredith Hodges

Bea was the epitome of good manners and propriety, and is therefore allowed in the house! She has been known to help with the dusting, but she also enjoys a good game of cards or a hearty round of eight ball.

She has a little trouble with the pool cues, but her nose will sometimes suffice. She is a little leery, however. Chalk on one’s nose can be a little humiliating! Especially to a perfectionist!

Although Bea isn’t particularly fond of football, she does love the Broncos like any true Coloradoan. Nothing was more exciting than when the Broncos won the Super Bowl!

The owner of the Embassy Suites hotel in Fort Collins, Colorado made a bet with one of his employees that the Green Bay Packers would win the Super Bowl that year. If he was right, the employee would have to sit outside the hotel for a whole day on a toilet seat in his boxers. If the Broncos won, the owner would have to paint his face orange and blue and ride a mule all the way around the hotel. Well, guess who won and, guess who the mule was?! Yes, it was our own Lucky Three MaeBea C.T.!

Bea, dressed to the nines in Bronco gear and sporting a Bronco flag, carried the humbled Green Bay Packer fan and hotel owner proudly around the hotel while reporters scrambled asking questions and taking pictures. Later that day, she was on the five o’clock news in all her glory!

Bea was a natural born movie star! The cast always loved to work with her because she was always so willing and cooperative. A day of shooting can be quite exhausting, but Bea never was one that needed more than one or two takes. You told her what to do and she just did it. She put her heart and soul into everything she did and her expressions and actions were always appropriate. She helped me to produce three hardbound books, three manuals, eleven training videos and three documentaries and over fifty half-hour programs for television. Our website is now loaded with Training Tips, Video On Demand and access to our YouTube Channel, Facebook and Twitter posts, all based on the knowledge that I gleaned from this unique and amazing partner.

Although they never finished the movie, DIX Country Pictures chose Beaas Wadi’s understudy from hundreds of applicants.

She did a photo shoot in which she appears on the Colombian Relief poster with Juan Valdez! While we were shooting, it was hard to keep a straight face. Here we were in the middle of a grassy pasture, asking Beato put on her best sad face… without eating the grass! Of course, in true form, she did as we asked, but her facial expressions kept us in stitches!

In 1998, we did a shoot with the Discovery Channel and Bea can be seen as the mule in their production of “The Ultimate Horse.” What a gal!

Bishop Mule Days is always fun and exciting, but one of the things Bealiked the most was to be in the Bishop Mule Days Drill Team. She spent more than 10 years on the team and worked her way into the coveted leader position. Our drill instructor, “Sarge” was tough, but so was Bea!

One year, during drill team practice at the gallop with 30 other mules, we were doing the frightening “Crossfire” when her split-ear bridle came off and fell to her chest. I hollered at “Sarge,” but she wasn’t the least bit sympathetic and said, “Just keep going!” Well, Bea finished the entire drill without her bridle and never missed a lick!

Another time, Diane Hunter was riding her in the drill team when she got into some really deep dirt and tripped and fell right on top of Diane and the flag. I saw what happened and saw Diane pinned underneath Bea’s body. Everybody stopped cold and I hollered at Bea to stay still which she did. “Sarge” and I ran over to assess the situation and once we got to Diane and figured out that it was OK for the mule to get up, we told Bea to get up and she did…very carefully. “Sarge” turned to Diane and said, “You know, you owe your life to that mule. Any other mule would have got right up and probably would have kicked your head in!”

Everyone loves a parade and Bea was no exception! She competed in numerous costume classes and parades, but dressing up for the holidays was her favorite. She placed first in many a parade and had no problem with any theme you might want to try.

She loved to wear her Santa hat at Christmas time and she made a pretty scary wicked witch on Halloween!

Bea participated in the American Donkey & Mule Society entry in the 1988 Tournament of Roses Parade ridden by Gary Hodges in English attire along with her two stable mates, Lucky Three Sundowner ridden Dressage by me (Meredith Hodges) and Lucky Three Ciji ridden by Diane Hunter in Fox Hunting attire.

Bea may be a perfectionist, but she was certainly not a prude. She was always willing to try anything you might ask. At home, Bea worked hard checking fences, moving cattle and much more.

Early in the fall one year, two cowboys asked me if I wanted to help them move some cattle down from the high country and asked if I thought my mule could do it. I nodded confidently and we were off. We drove those cattle up and down the rocky terrain through thickly wooded trees, shrubs and bushes. We were headed up one hill behind the cattle and the two cowboys when we came upon a three foot diameter tree that had fallen across our path. The cattle dove into the underbrush on either side of the tree, the cowboys slid to an abrupt halt and Bea came right up the middle, jumped the tree and stayed on the heels of those cattle the entire way! No one was more surprised than those two cowboys, except maybe their horses!

The Northern Colorado Horse Trials cross-country phase was held at Lory State Park in Fort Collins, Colorado. Each year, our club is responsible for repairing and setting up new jumps on the course. The only hitch is that there are no motorized vehicles allowed in the park. We had dozens of heavy telephone poles to move in order to do our job. Of course, the event horses weren’t up to the job, but Bea certainly was! She pitched in and dragged those poles to their new locations and helped build and repair the jumps. Then, a couple of weeks later, she came back and competed to second place in the competition itself! Talk about versatility!

Bea loved to jump! It took Dressage to get her elevated in front enough to be proficient at jumping, but once we got her there, she cleared fences without batting an eyelash. She always took the jumps right over the center and never expended any more energy than necessary to clear the fence in beautiful form.

She competed in the Bishop Mule Days jumping classes for almost a decade coming in second only to the infamous pair, Lou Moore-Jacobsen and Empress Josephine. One year, she actually took first against Empress Josephine when she was penalized for clipping a rail in the last go round. Lou and Josephine knew from then on, they could not make even the smallest error against Bea or the competition would be lost.

Her shortened frame allowed her to make sharp turns and still clear the fences in timed classes where she would ordinarily be at a disadvantage against taller mules.

Everything Bea did with the bridle, she would do without the bridle and jumping was no exception. She did bridleless courses at home and in exhibition. In one exhibition, she did a Dressage and bridleless jumping exhibition to music performed by the Denver Symphony Orchestra as a tribute to our troops during Desert Storm.

Bea was the eternal perfectionist and only clipped two rails in her entire jumping career. She was horrified when it nicked her freshly polished hooves!

In 1986, Bea and I began lessons with instructor/trainer Melinda Weatherford in Dressage. The same year, I went to the United States Dressage Federation Convention and introduced them to the idea of allowing mules such as Bea to compete in dressage schooling shows and competitions. There were some discrepancies in the rules, but they finally decided to allow mules in lower levels at schooling shows with the discretion of the individual show committees. This was a major breakthrough for mules in equine society!

A few years later, she was instrumental in helping to get dressage classes added to Bishop Mule Days which has in more recent years become quite popular and a wonderful showcase to demonstrate how very well trained these mules can actually be.

She has shown dressage in all sorts of different disciplines: Dressage Shows, Dressage Schooling Shows, Two-Phase Combined Training Shows, Three-Phase Combined Training Shows and in Two-Phase Combined Driving Shows. Her scores were always high and she was always in the ribbons right from the start. The most remarkable thing about the training in Dressage was how it enhanced her driving skills so drastically that she won the first, second and the only two Two-Phase Driving Shows she had ever entered. People were always skeptical to start, and the first to applaud her performances after they saw her! The most prevalent comment during the ribbons ceremonies was, “My God! It’s a mule!”

For a decade, Bea was shown in numerous classes by my daughter, Dena Hodges from the age of six to sixteen. They showed together in Western Pleasure, English Pleasure, Driving, Mule Jumping, and Two-Phase Combined Training shows. They were always in the ribbons and most often first or second in their class.

In later years, she served as a mount for my two stepchildren (six years and ten years) on mountain trail rides, during lessons, and over jumps at the ranch. It was almost comical to see how carefully she would go over the 18” jumps with a child on her back so as not to unseat them!

When we were in Salt Lake City, Utah showing, my nieces and nephews who lived in Alpine came to see her and were thrilled to be able to take a ride around the fairgrounds with their cousin, my daughter, Dena on Bea. As usual, Bea was infinitely careful and protective of the children.

Bea was everyone’s favorite mule to ride. She carried amateur riders into the ribbons in numerous shows as well as being a schooling mule for students during riding lessons for all ages and abilities here at the Lucky Three Ranch.

Her kind and obedient manner made her a truly safe mount. She was always aware of her riders’ abilities and helped them any way she could to stay on board and ride effectively. With her help, as an instructor, I am more easily able to assess the ability of the students and thereby, better able to teach at appropriate levels. She was truly a remarkable individual!

Driving was always one of Bea’s strengths. I remember when I broke her to drive. I didn’t really know what I was doing. She took to the harness well, ground drove along side of the cart and didn’t seemed to be bothered by any of it, so within three days, I hitched her to the cart and proceeded to lead her out to the pasture where we would have more room. We were going around a 90-degree turn as I was leading her, hitched to the cart, when one of the wheels caught on the fence. She did a quick little scoot for a step or two which only caused the cart to flip over. She wound up with on of the shafts over her head and the other between her front legs. She stopped cold and allowed me to right the cart and get her untangled. Then we went out to the pasture and had our first drive with me in the cart with no further incidents. No big deal!

She was a driving star! She loved it and won nearly every driving class she ever entered. She competed in numerous driving related events. In breed shows, she competed in Pleasure Driving, Drive & Ride, Gambler’s Choice and Obstacle Driving. She went on to win at the only 2 Two-Phase Driving shows she’d ever entered, showing in Dressage Driving and the Cones Scurry (accumulated points) against…YES, horses again!

She schooled numerous students in driving and was so good with her verbal commands that if I let a student drive and they went dangerously to the left and I said, “Gee,” she would ignore the student and do what I asked to keep things safe. What a mule!

Bea was always so steady that she was the perfect Side Saddle mount. She competed in Side Saddle at numerous shows and won many of those classes. She competed in Side Saddle at the National Western Stock Show with several different riders, but always placed in the top three regardless of who was riding her.

Bea gave many exhibitions in Side Saddle at various fairs and events, always impressive to the people who were fortunate enough to be there.

In the 1990s, Bea was part of the Bishop Mule Days ladies’ Side Saddle Quadrille that showed in the parade and Grand Entry. She was ridden by a total stranger of limited ability and got her safely through the event. Beahad won herself yet another devoted fan!

In 1993, I rode her Side Saddle in the Inaugural parade in Washington D.C. It was a grueling 24 hours, standing around waiting to go in very cold weather and in the midst of more “mule eaters” than you could count. Bea seemed to take exception to the 50-foot Elvis Presley float, but otherwise handled the whole situation with her usual grace and dignity. Bea must have caught Clinton’s eye as she strolled elegantly past the viewing area because he turned away from the man he was speaking to and gave her a hearty thumbs up! We responded in kind and in her usual style, Bea smiled broadly!

Western Pleasure was fairly easy for Bea because her stride was so short, but when it came time to try her hand at English performance, this was a definite disadvantage. She had a rather short neck which made it difficult for collection, and her downhill build made it hard for her to lengthen her stride. But again, Bea gave her very best and cooperated when we lightly weighted her front legs to encourage some reach. In nine months, she had increased her length of stride by 18 inches!

She was on her way to a career in English events. We began enhancing her English performance with Dressage in 1986. She continued to improve, winning numerous English flat classes and always placing in the top five.

She competed against horses in a few Western classes and did well, but she really began to beat them consistently in the English classes. Mule shows alone could never offer Bea enough of a challenge, so competing against horses offered her the opportunity to push herself farther. And she did, to the disgust of many a horse person!

Bea was always an impeccable trail mule both in the show and on the trail. She did not always show in a lot of Trail classes because she showed so many other classes, but her technique was careful and deliberate. She would always wait for the cues from her rider and respond accordingly.

Trail experience for her was the simple enjoyment of many rides in the treacherous Rocky Mountains. I remember a specific time we went up a trail that was particularly narrow and steep. She was leading four people on horseback, when the trail disappeared into a rock slide. She was trapped on the narrowest part of the trail with four horses behind her. She couldn’t turn around and she couldn’t back up. After assessing the situation, I asked her to do a 180-degree turn on the haunches and swing her front legs over the 100-foot ledge to get turned around. She did as I asked and got us through that compromising situation with the finesse of a ballet dancer! The people on the horses were nothing short of amazed! When we went trail riding, or down the road, everyone wanted to ride Bea!

Bea began her show career as a Driving and Western Pleasure/Trail mule. She showed heavily in numerous Western classes over several years from 1984 to 1989 always placing in the top five.

She competed in numerous Western classes: Western Pleasure, Youth Western Pleasure, Trail, Western Riding, Reining, and a combination Trail/Reining class called Ranch Riding. She had several different riders over the years and was always willing to give her best for anyone who rode her.

Her accomplishments were so extensive that it would be impractical to list them all. In addition to showing Western, she did Western exhibitions at various local events and was the subject of many a newspaper or magazine article throughout her career.

Bea began her show career in Colorado in 1982 showing at halter as a two year old. She then showed successfully at Bishop Mule Days at Halter in 1985 and placed second in one of their largest halter classes for adult mules. The same year, she showed her expertise in Driving by placing first in the Mule Driving class. She continued to be competitive with world class competition in driving at Bishop taking firsts and seconds for numerous consecutive years in Mule Driving and Drive & Ride.

She then went on to show in Western Pleasure, English Pleasure, Hunter hack, Hunter Under Saddle, Jumping, and Side Saddle at Bishop and in other shows across the country, winning firsts and seconds in Mule Jumping and Side Saddle classes. Her smaller stature seemed to keep her out of the ribbons in the English flat classes, but her performance was always impeccable.

She continued to compete for more than a decade in Driving, Drive & Ride, Mule Jumping, always in the top 3 places. Although these were her strongest classes, Bea was always above average in any class in which she competed. Often, she would do 13 classes a day in various shows without complaint. What a trooper! She was inducted into the Bishop Mule Days Hall of Fame in 2006 and passed away at the age of 33 years in 2015. She was one of those truly MAGNIFICENT mules

To learn more about Meredith Hodges and her comprehensive all-breed equine training program, visit LuckyThreeRanch.com, MEREDITH HODGES PUBLIC FIGURE Facebook page, or call 1-800-816-7566. Check out her children’s website at JasperTheMule.com. Also, find Meredith on Pinterest, Instagram, MeWe, YouTube and Twitter.

Covered in TRAINING MULES & DONKEY: A LOGICAL APPROACH TO TRAINING, TRAINING WITHOUT RESISTANCE and EQUUS REVISITED at www.luckythreeranchstore.com.

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