FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Mules and Donkeys Becoming Favorites at North American
By Audrey Cox
LOUISVILLE, KY – NOVEMBER 15, 2009 – The North American International Livestock Exposition (NAILE) held the final mule and donkey show at 1 p.m. Saturday afternoon in Freedom Hall.
Mules and donkeys are the newest breeds added to the show schedule at the NAILE. The first mule and donkey shows took place in 2007 (it was the tenth livestock division to be added at the exposition at that time). A large crowd of both exhibitors and visitors to the exposition gathered in the Coliseum to watch mules jump, walk, trot, and lope.
Hunter Marie Gramman, 15, of Greensburg, Ind. placed first with one judge and second with another with her mule, Banjo’s Boot Scootin’ Boogie in Saturday’s show. She is a veteran of mule and donkey shows, having shown mules since the age of 4 and at the NAILE since the first show was instituted in 2007. She is the daughter of David and Dale Ann Gramman.
Gramman said that preparing a mule for a show requires her to spend plenty of time with the animal, both in the long run and every day. “We buy them when they’re young and train them at home for at least an hour a day,” she said. “The judge looks for how well it (a mule) moves.” She has trained her mule to walk and lope (a gait faster than a trot, but slower than a gallop).
Gramman also explained that the difference between a mule and a donkey has to do with the parent animals. “A mule is a cross between a donkey and a horse, but a donkey is just a donkey and a donkey,” she said. A male donkey and a female horse must breed to produce a mule, while a hinny is the offspring of a male horse and a female donkey. Nearly all mules are infertile.
Following Gramman’s class, several mules competed in the pole-jumping class. The mules took turns jumping over a limbo bar-like pole in the middle of the arena. The audience responded enthusiastically as the handlers coaxed each mule to jump over the bar. It is apparent that even as the newest division at the exposition, donkey and mule shows are quickly becoming favorites for visitors to the NAILE.
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