MULE CROSSING: Bishop Mule Days 1990

By Meredith Hodges

There is a lot more to the Bishop Mule Days World Championships than one might expect. Bishop Mule Days is not just a Memorial Day Weekend event. It’s a cultural experience! Located in the scenic Eastern High Sierras, the city of Bishop hosts not only the largest mule and donkey show in the world, but encourages artists and craftsmen from all over the world to come together for nearly a week in celebration of the human values we all hold dear – friendship, respect, happiness, appreciation, and love of the wondrous gifts of life! The mule has been the catalyst for bringing all these special people together in an exhilarating celebration of life’s best efforts.

Over 600 mules competed in more than 100 different events, including packing scrambles, English and Western classes and games, mule shoeing and comedy and specialty acts. As mules have progressed in their unique abilities, the art of Dressage has been added to the agenda. Lucky Three Sundowner of the Lucky Three Ranch in Loveland, Colorado, was invited to exhibit his grace and ability toward dance in an exhibition during the Sunday afternoon performance. He was the highest level Dressage mule to perform at Bishop this year. Lucky Three Mae Bea C.T. preceded the exhibition by winning the Mule Jumping class with no faults!

Many of the English, Western and Driving classes are held Thursday and Friday before the main weekend. Then on Saturday morning the weekend show opens with the world’s largest non-motorized parade, comprised of hundreds of mules and horses in pack strings, hauling loads and riders on a two-mile trek down Bishop’s Main Street. Thousands of fans line the streets with cameras and videos to capture this once in a lifetime extraordinary parade! Each year, Bob Talmadge exhibits his latest creation in hoof-pusher vehicles. This year it was a shocking pink golf cart, complete with canopy. The cart was pushed by Old Man Rivers and rolled down the street carrying “The Farmer,” Bob Talmadge, and “The Farmer’s Daughter,” Dena Hodges.

During the Saturday and Sunday performances, Bobby Tanner and friends reenacted the old 20-mule team hitch exhibition with mules that had only been hitched together since the preceding Monday afternoon! Such skill and Mulemanship is a sight to see…for sure! Another skillful performance was demonstrated by the Bishop Mule Days Drill Team comprised of exhibitors who practiced only once before each performance over the weekend under the strict and skillful command of Nita Vick, fondly known as “Sarge.” Pack scrambles, chariot races and comedy packing kept the audience in suspense and stitches with their wild and crazy antics. Rodeo announcer Bob Tallman added still more fun and excitement to the weekend events with his outlandish quips and stories. Other highlights included the Country Western dances on Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights, preceded on Thursday night by hit songwriter Michael Martin Murphy, who captured the audiences with hit tunes from past, present, and future recording albums. Western artists, craftsmen and salesmen displayed their wares throughout the weekend with a wide variety of items and art from past to present day. Bishop merchants store windows were painted in celebration of “Mules” and mule memorabilia could be found everywhere!

The mule and donkey exhibitors did a remarkable job in showing all the things that Longears are capable of doing! We truly have a lot of very gifted and talented people in our industry and everyone there played an important role in the success of the entire show. They are all to be congratulated for their efforts! We proudly honor this year’s World Champions:

WORLD CHAMPION WESTERN PERFORMANCE MULE:

1. Dolly Barton               Vince Silverman         Norco, Ca.
2. Kitty’s Maybelline      Pat Mitchell                Sun Valley, Ca.

WORLD CHAMPION COW WORKING MULE:

1. Clementine      Walter Nunn               Brookshire, Tx.
2. Judy                Tucker Slender           Arcadia, Ca.

WORLD CHAMPION ENGLISH PERFORMANCE MULE:

1. Empress Josephine     Lou Moore                  Templeton, Ca.
2. Dolly Barton               Vince Silverman         Norco, Ca.

WORLD CHAMPION GYMKHANA MULE:

1. Miss Kitty T                Von Twitchell             Marysville, Ca.
2. Booger’s Chiquita       Jerry Villanes              Coffeeville, Ks.

WORLD CHAMPION RUNNING MULE:

1. Loretta Lynn               Mayfield & Long        Phoenix, Arizona
2. Cajun Queen               Neil Stewart                Las Vegas, Nev.

WORLD CHAMPION GREEN MULE ENGLISH:

1. Sissy Bars                   Bill Krol                      Phoenix, Ar.
2. Asstounding                Betay Paullada            Tarzana, Ca.

WORLD CHAMPION GREEN MULE WESTERN:

1. Lisa B. Jiggs               Danielle Tallon           Bakersfield, Ca.
2. Trissy’s Juliette           Pat Mitchell                Sun Valley, Ca.

WORLD CHAMPION FUN MULE:

1. Ima Kisha                   Ben Strickland            Aguanga, Ca.
2. K.T.’s Elvira               Tom Stokes                 Nampa, Id.

WORLD CHAMPION PACKER:

1. Jim Brumfield             Bishop, Ca.
2. John Kaede                 Bishop, Ca.

WORLD CHAMPION MULE SHOER:

1. Mark Paine                 Bishop, Ca.
2. Porter Green               Yucapa, Ca.

WORLD CHAMPION PACK TEAM:

1. Rock Creek Pack Station                    Bishop, Ca.
2. San Joaquin Back Country Women   Clovis, Ca.

WORLD CHAMPION DRIVER:

1. George Lane               Lancaster, Ca.
2. Ruth Jacobsen             Cayucos, Ca.

WORLD CHAMPION JACK:

1. Rooster                        Geraldine Hickman     San Diego, Ca.
2. Sunrise Rio                 Kathy Dusart               Colfax, Ca.

HARD LUCK MULE SKINNER:

            Rick Meyerhoff          Mammoth lakes

WORLD CHAMPION TEAMSTER:

1. Jim Buckman              Wickenburg, Ar.
2. Al Baptista                  Turlock, Ca.

Each year, thousands of mule lovers, spectators, and exhibitors flock together in Bishop to renew the values and friendships upon which our entire industry is based. Each contributes his own special talents to this unique and unusual affair. Mule Fever runs rampant and each year this culture of friends and acquaintances grows. Thank you all for your part in this gala event and a special thanks to the city of Bishop for their warm reception of such a grand and overwhelming show. A special thanks to Carl Lind and the other Mule Days committee members who have made this all possible: Bobby Tanner, Emily Braffet, Roger Rogers, Denton Sonke, Bob Tanner, Danny Wells, Sam Dean, Ross Corner, Robert Collins, Sue Hill, Martha Miklaucic, Candy Nitschke, Newt Elsdon, Esther Atkinson, Jack Gustafson, Randy Van Tassell, Chris Van Tassell, Ned Londo, Kathy Dugas, Margaret Strong, and Bob Rowe. It takes an enormous amount of courage, consideration, and hard work to put on an event such as this, and these folks have really done an extraordinary job! Thank you for not only a job well done, but a job done with kindness, consideration, and dedication! We salute you! You have made our World Championship at Bishop more than just a show. You have made it a wonderfully rewarding and fulfilling cultural life experience!

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, EQUUS REVISITED and A GUIDE TO RAISING & SHOWING MULES at www.luckythreeranchstore.com.

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