Meredith Hadges

By Meredith Hodges

September 30, 1989, marked another historical event for the mule industry; it was a mule and donkey promotional extravaganza held at the Lucky Three Ranch in Loveland, Colorado. Hosted by Gary and Meredith Hodges, 250 Colorado Donkey & Mule Society and Rocky Mountain Longears Association members, their families, friends, and business associates gathered for a fun-filled evening of good food, entertainment, dancing, and Longears displays. Even the mules and donkeys had a good time meeting and greeting their numerous guests, some of whom had never before had any personal contact with Longears. By the end of the evening, they were pleasantly hooked on Longears!

Upon arrival for this gala affair, guests knew this was no ordinary ranch. Parking was made available in the midst of an extravagant, well-designed jump course that suggested a first class hunter-jumper operation, but the high-pitched, bray-neighs that echoed over the ranch were clearly not horses! Who would have expected mules and donkeys that were being trained in Dressage and Combined Training?! A short stroll from the parking lot brought guests to the entrance of the Lucky Three Ranch Training Barn where 17 donkeys and mules of all ages were displayed. All the animals were neatly groomed and clipped while stall signs explained their personal histories and accomplishments. As guests read and gazed their way down “Longears Alley,” numerous questions were asked and answered, sparking new interest in these wonderfully talented animals. Children giggled and laughed as the mules and donkeys let them pet them, licked their fingers, and brayed to them, while the adults discussed the finer points of the mules and donkeys in society today. It was clear to everyone that these were indeed very talented and very special equines!

The end of “Longears Alley” marked the entrance to a fantasyland, a beautiful garden accented with photographs and a display showing all the different things that Longears can do! To the right of the entrance was “The Old Waterhole” where our fantastic journey through “Longears Country” began. We filled our “canteen” and started our trek over the bridge that spanned the banks of a small pond, generously dotted with ferns, marigolds, and silk wildflowers.  Below a photograph of Lucky Three Sundowner performing Dressage, a little waterfall trickled down through the flowers and shrubs, washing away the sounds of the city and beckoning guests to the heart of this “Longears Country.”

Once on the other side of the bridge, on a wall above carefully stacked hay bales, were displayed portraits of Lucky Three’s “Little Jack Horner” and some of his numerous offspring, all with nicely chiseled, refined and beautiful heads showing that properly bred mules can possess the same true beauty and grace as that of the horse! Continuing down the path through a forest of Aspen trees, we came upon a couple of folks headed for town on Saturday night in their “Surrey with the Fringe on Top,” being pulled very discreetly by a “Rocking Pony” from Great Britain’s royal court. The pony seemed to whisper her own part in the scheme of the production of Longears while she gently rocked her way down the forest road. The forest opened into a clearing where the road made a gradual turn into a long, cheery arbor, decorated in multicolored silk flowers, greenery, and hay bale benches. At carefully designated spots, hung pictures of mule babies, their mothers, several different types of mule riding for pleasure and show, and photographs of our own Colorado participants in the A.D.M.S. entry in the 1988 Rose Bowl Parade New Year’s Day. At the end of the arbor, nestled in a cozy mountain valley of hay bales, sat a quaint little dollhouse, cheerfully lit and fully furnished. Peeking through the windows, guests could observe the family inside spending a restful evening at home. Behind the small house, to the right, loomed a mountain range of hay bales, stacked to accommodate a bleacher of spectators while on the left, in the center of the room, sat a large dance floor to provide visual entertainment for the “Mountain” spectators. As we passed the dance floor and mountain bleachers, to our right, we came upon two stuffed donkeys, one large and one small, perched in a rear-entry Meadowbrook cart lavishly decorated in silk flowers and vines. Apparently, neither of the two donkeys could decide who would pull whom, so the shafts stayed rested on a bale of hay for the duration of the evening! Sometimes it takes donkeys a very long time to make up their minds!

Rounding the corner behind the dance floor, on our left, the huge old hay wagon lined in hay bales provided a stage for the band. On the wall behind the stage, the Lucky Three Ranch stall curtains hung with harness collars on both sides, accented with more trees and hay bales. From here, Rod Hodges, Gary’s brother, and his band had the most awesome view of the entire 60′ X 120″ room.  Their sensational and inspirational music filled the converted indoor arena for most of the evening to the tunes of a string bass, lead and rhythm guitars, drums, a saxophone, and a fiddle, playing wonderful country western and blues.

The Colorado Donkey & Mule Society greeted guests as they rounded the next corner with a booth full of mule and donkey decals, t-shirts and sweatshirts for sale.  “Donkey Power” and “Mules can do…” were the themes of the evening. After making their purchases, guests passed another bleacher of hay bales and took their place in the food line, deliciously welcomed after a rather lengthy walk through “Longears Country.” The Country Caterers provided a feast of Dollar BBQ Beef sandwiches, Chicken Drummets, Cream Cheese Pizza, Amaretto Cream Cheese & Apple Slices, and a wide variety of crackers, chips and dips with the large Guacamole Bean Dip being the favorite; iced tea and coffee were offered in endless supply.

When most of the guests had taken their stroll and heaped their plates with the tasty delicacies, they were seated in the hay-lined Longears picnic area, generously filled with tables and chairs for weary guests. Gary and Meredith graciously welcomed all to the 2nd Annual Lucky Three Ranch Barndance and Longears Convention, reminding everyone that it was the mules and donkeys who inspired this entire fun-filled evening! Kicking off the evening, mule style, was Loveland’s Rockin’ Storm Mountain Cloggers! The melodious voices of the Ladies’ Quartet filled the room and the excitement built as the pair and line dancers performed their various creative and professional routines, taking the guests on yet another fantastic journey guided by the Clogger’s discreet humor and overwhelming talent! The Cloggers sang and danced, the band played, and the guests danced. The Cloggers returned for a second set after which the band played on to the end of the evening. A wonderful time was had by all: young and old, longears lovers and new recruits. Bankers, lawyers, shopkeepers, veterinarians, farriers, electricians, farmers, and equine sanitation experts all found something in common to enjoy this evening together, sparked by the humor and goodwill emanating from the Longears and their friends. Some said it was the “Woodstock of the Midwest,” but, whatever it was, it was apparent that we have humorous, kind-hearted and intelligent people in our industry who are ready, willing, and able to do whatever they can to insure the support and growth of our Longears industry… and in the process, they really know how to have a good time!

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.

© October 1989, 2016, 2024 Lucky Three Ranch, Inc.  All Rights Reserved.