United States Dressage Federation Convention

By Meredith Hodges

1993 was a good year for Lucky Three Mae Bea C.T.That was the year she won the Novice Division at the Abbe Ranch Horse Trials in Larkspur, Colorado. A first place finish in competition with 56 horses is a significant achievement for any equine, but this Combined Training victory was particularly noteworthy, because Mae Bea C.T. is a mule. She’s a rare mule to be sure, but not as unusual as you might think. Well-bred, well-trained saddle mules are becoming increasingly competitive in classes that were once beyond their reach. In 2007, at Bishop Mule Days, the largest mule show in the country, bridle division flat classes each boasted as many as 30 competitors, and jumping events were equally popular. Growing numbers of mule riders are looking to improve their skills through dressage training and competition, and the horse establishment—the United States Equestrian Federation in particular—has embraced the mule community if not with open arms, then at least with open minds. 

Mae Bea C.T. and several other champion mules of mine have spent nearly four decades testing the mule’s potential as athlete and performer. I discovered what I believe to be a limitless capacity for competitive achievement, and while I don’t foresee the addition of mules to the Olympic team roster, I do insist that Dressage training is a must for every serious rider. Therefore, those with a preference for mules should have equal opportunity to participate in every aspect of that training.

My interest in longeared equines grew from the time I went to work at my mother’s ranch in Healdsburg, California, in 1973. As proprietor of the 1,000-acre Windy Valley Ranch, Joyce Doty ran a successful business breeding and training high-quality mules. I had always been partial to horses and believed the common lore that mules were stubborn, stupid, and not only mean, but inclined to hold a grudge and seek retribution at their leisure.

Frankly, they frightened me. But I took the plunge and soon came to the revelatory realization that, in truth, mules were not stubborn or dumb or even mean. They were only cautious, with a strong instinct for self-preservation. I quickly discovered that when Itreated them with patience, kindness respect and consideration, the mules recognized I had their best interests at heart and they would not only comply, but go the extra mile to give their very best. I was smitten with my new long-eared friends and soon had a case of “Mule Fever” I’d never kick. By 1980, I moved to Colorado and established her own mule ranch. Lucky Three Ranch grew steadily over the years as I established myself as a breeder and trainer. In 1986 my insatiable quest to take training to higher levels took me to the United States Dressage Federation Convention in Houston, Texas. I knew the key to advancement was Dressage, but before I took the leap, I wanted assurances that I would be allowed to test my skills and measure my progress at schooling shows in my area.    

With some reservation, the United States Dressage Federation grantedpermission to participate in non- sanctioned shows at the show organizers’ discretion. Armed with this qualified endorsement, I began training with my local U.S.D.F. instructor Melinda Weatherford. My partner, Lucky Three Sundowner, was a talented mule out of an AQHA-registered mare. As a four-year-old, Sundowner won a World Championship in Reining in 1984. But Dressage was something new to both of us and we had limiting habits to overcome.

For the next several years I diligently trained with both Sundowner and Mae Bea C.T., who turned out to be an enthusiastic jumper. As their training progressed, I urged the folks at Bishop Mule Days to add Dressage classes to their established Western, English, and Jumping classes. By 1989, Sundowner and I were working at Second Level Dressage, and in 1990 we took first place in a newly established Second Level Dressage Class at Bishop Mule Days. In 1992, I asked Bishop Mule Days for a Third Level Dressage Class and they obliged, although only two mules competed. Sunny scored sixes and sevens in the class, placing first against his only competition, Dolly Barton. By 1993 Sundowner and I were working at Fourth Level Dressage. We competed at Bishop Mule Days at Third Level Dressage for a second year and easily won as the only mule in the class. For me and Sundowner, attaining Fourth Level Dressage was a great achievement. 

I didn’t stand alone on this issue. Fellow mule advocate Carole Sweet laid claim to one of the proudest moments in longears history when she, with the help of a few allies, persuaded the United States Equestrian Federation to amend its rules to include mules in the organization’s DressageDivision.

Carol felt that the C.D.S. was endorsing exclusivity and discrimination in a discipline that was publicized and promoted to be suitable for every one and needed to be fixed. Carole contacted members of the C.D.S. Executive Board but got nowhere. Then she tried the United States Dressage Federation President, who told her that unless it was a rated show, organizers essentially had free rein and could include mules or not. The U.S.E.F.(U.S.A.E. at the time) said there was nothing they could do. Disheartened by the lack of response on the national level, Carole and Linda returned to the C.D.S. to request that mules at least be admitted into schooling shows. They attended the C.D.S. Annual Conference where Linda pled her case. The response was a resounding “No!”

“What bothered Carole most was how they were treated. The board members who did speak were vehemently opposed to letting mules back in. They treated them withcontempt and refused to hear them. All Carole could think was, “where’s your responsibility to your members? When you exclude the mule, you also exclude the rider.’”

The C.D.S. Executive Board questioned her commitment to the issue and asked if she was serious enough about this to go to next week’s annual U.S.A.E. meeting Carole spent the next three days preparing a hefty packet of materials for the meeting. It included endorsements from every major mule organization, facts and figures on the industry, and information from the U.S.A.E. Endurance and Driving disciplines, which already allowed mules in competition.  

Carole felt the feeling in the mule community was that mules had been discriminated against for so long and this was a chance to do something about it. She got letters of endorsement from everyone.

Carole received a personal invitation from the Dressage Committee Chair to attend a closed-door meeting to discuss the matter. Although she was unable to attend, the materials she sent and the answers she provided to some tough questions were enough to convince the committee to endorse the rule-change proposal.

That legitimized it. Now it wasn’t just Carole saying this should happen; it was the Dressage Committee. They were incredible to work with.

In January 2004, Carole, her friend Linda Pittman, American Donkey and Mule Society registrar, Leah Patton and I all traveled to Los Angeles to attend the U.S.E.F. Convention.

Carole knew I had already done so much on behalf of mules that I would want to be part of this and Leah as well. Carole said we were a huge help.  We attended meetings and lobbied hard in anticipation of a vote by the Board. Carole said it was to their advantage that two of the organization’s goals that year were to build U.S.E.F. membership and reach out to the grass roots of the horse community. What could be more grass roots than mule riders? We’ve got a huge population of mule riders, which could translate into income for the organization. In the end, after three years of persistence, Carole’s and mymoment of triumph arrived. The Board voted to approve the rule change and admit mules into sanctioned competition, with the exception of high-performance qualifying and selection trials. Carole, the others and I were ecstatic. “I’m so thrilled for what we could do for all those people who love mules.” Carole said. “Now they’re in the sand box. There’s still some sand kicking going on, but they’re in!”

Now that it’s done, the U.S.E.F. rule change hasn’t exactly launched a revolution. In fact, it’s been kind of quiet out there, and Carole wondered what effect the rule change hadactually had. She suspected it could take a while for mule riders, low on the totem pole for so long, to acquire the skills, the nerve, and the sense of possibility that will propel them to higher levels of performance, but she’s confident they will and the mules, too, will rise to the challenge.

Carole believes that riding a mule in Dressage is no different the riding a horse. Any animal’s ability is based on temperament, conformation,and heart. My television program Training Mules and Donkeys on RFD-TV reached millions of viewers every week, knowing that with proper training, care and athletic conditioning, mules can excel in any discipline. If you understand the mule’s psychology and his physical needs, you can reach truly amazing levels of performance.

One place where mules can show their stuff in ever growing numbers is Bishop Mule Days. Each Memorial Day weekend 800 mules and several thousand people congregate in Bishop, California for a competition that includes more than 180 events. Bishop Mule Days Executive Director Kim Craft says that more riders compete in the English classes than in the Western events.

Last year there were 25 to 30 competitors in the flat classes. Bishop Mule Days uses U.S.E.F. “R” rated judges and the riders come to compete in World Champion classes and win real champion points.  The Mule Days competitors have raised the bar in every event. Mule Days used to be Mom and Pop and a two-horse trailer, but these competitors train much harder and compete more seriously, and these mules are incredible. It’s the knowledge and the people that have brought the mule this far.  Most who take their mules into English classes don’t do so with visions of trouncing the competition at an A.Q.H.A. show. They’re simply trying to become better riders through study and practice. It’s more about learning than performing. People are passionate about their animals and want to become the best riders they can be.”

Bishop Mule days is a World Class show.  The U.S.E.F. and the entire Dressage community can be proud of the competitors there and how they represent the extraordinary discipline of Dressage.

So don’t be surprised if you happen to come across a mule or two at your next horse show. They’re there now! And I will tell you, “They’ve earned it!” I am so proud of all the people who are now taking advantage of what we made available to them. Audrey Goldsmith and Heart B Porter Creek were the first, followed by Laura Hermanson and Heart B Dyna and in 2016, Behold the Desert.

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.

© 2007, 2024 Lucky Three Ranch, Inc.  All Rights Reserved.