Mule jump set for Saturday
Posted on Thursday, October 9, 2008
PEA RIDGE - Once a necessity, the use of mules in the Ozarks is now a means of entertainment and sport.
The 20 th annual Pea Ridge Mule Jump will be held Saturday. More than 1, 000 people will descend on the city park in this small Ozarks town to watch mules jump a barricade, sometimes higher than their heads. Sometimes the mules balk, leading onlookers to yell encouragement to the owner and animal.
Cries of "How high is it ? "can be heard around the park as the bar is raised and mules are pushed to jump higher and higher.
Morning events will include halter classes, in which mules are judged for their appearance; barrel races; flag races; and pole bending. There will be stick-mule races for youngsters and a hog-calling competition for young and old alike.
A boot race requires riders to shed their boots, all of which are taken to the far end of the field. Mule riders line up and race to the boots, find their own boots, which they don and head back for the finish line.
The Pea Ridge Mule Jump had its origins in a fall festival held downtown in 1985. Later events were called Battlefield Days. Mule jumping and coon-dog competitions were featured.
The mule - bred for hardiness and endurance - is the offspring of a male donkey (a jack ) and a female horse (a mare ). Mules were used in the earlier part of the 20 th century in the Ozarks by farmers to pull farm equipment and cultivate the rocky hillsides. They were also used for hunting, racing and riding.
Mule jumps originated with raccoon hunting. When hunters rode their mules on nighttime hunts, the mules were trained to jump fences without a running start. Hunters threw their coats or a blanket over the fence to make it more visible to the mule, climbed over the fence, then encouraged the mule to jump the fence.
Mules are unique in their ability to jump an obstacle from a standing-still position.
For the mule jump in Pea Ridge, mules are divided into two categories, based on their height.
Awards are presented at the end of the day with a $ 1, 050 cash price and a Montana silversmith belt buckle awarded for first place in the Pro Division.
Parking is limited, and visitors are encouraged to park at the nearby high school and ride a bus to the park.
Morning events will begin at 9. Jumping will begin at 1 p.m. The high school is near the intersection of Arkansas highways 72 and 94, west of downtown Pea Ridge.
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