And the Winner Is...

Donkeymania

Loretta Lynn Leads the Charge as Mule Racing Becomes Trendy in the West

Text by Gail Dudley

There is the harsh clanking of a bell. Then the loud thunk of metal gates opening. Suddenly the animals burst out of the steel box like a mirrored vision of Pegasus rising, blood vessels pulsing, nostrils flaring.

Photographs by Richard Maack

Rearing together against the cobalt Arizona sky, they throw thick clods of dirt into the air as they push off with their powerful hindquarters. "Yah! Yah! Yah!"

Amid all the color and pageantry usually associated with horse-track events, mules break from the starting gate at the Arizona Mule and Donkey Days event at Prescott.

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The jocks are yelling at the top of their lungs from somewhere inside a blur of brightly colored silk. For a moment red, blue, black, yellow, white, and green blend into a multihued rainbow hovering above powerful galloping forms. Then the colors begin to separate. Behind the starting gate, trainer Bob Noble grins and nods his head. "She broke good out of the gate," he says. "Now it's up to Justin to keep her out of trouble." Noble pulls himself up onto the hood of a battered blue truck to get a better view of the race. He peers out anxiously from underneath the brim of his straw hat, eyes squinting to focus on the speeding field. "That's her," he says. "That's Loretta out in front. She's going to do it, man. She's going to do it." Loretta's owners, Bill Long and PaulMayfield, nod in agreement. Out on the track, their long-legged chestnut mare is pulling ahead of the field. "Go, Loretta," Long whispers. "Go, baby, go." Jockey Justin Dillon hunches over the mare's shoulders, his white silks billowing above his back like a parachute. He has yet to use his whip. As they enter the final stretch of the 660-yard race, he pushes forward, burying his face in her neck and booting her sides. He whips her once, and the mare lunges forward. She is easily outdistancing her challengers. As she lengthens her stride, her belly appears to be only inches above the ground. Nose outstretched and muscles rippling, she is now running simply for the joy of it. She crosses the finish line, and the camera silently records the deed. Justin stands upright in his stirrups and begins to slow her down. Noble, Long, and Mayfield are already on their way to the winner's circle. Waiting for the announcement of the photo finish is a formality. "And the winner is... Loretta Lynn, the Fastest Mule in the Southwest!" Loretta named for the country music singer poses in front of the crowded stands, as they place the wreath of roses around her shoulders. Above it are white foamy lines where the reins rubbed against her sweating neck. Her sides are heaving, and the flesh inside her dilated nostrils is the rich color of red velvet. Still mounted, Justin unsnaps his chin strap and pulls off his cap, the beads of sweat on his forehead glistening like diamonds. Noble grabs the jockey's leg between his rough bearlike hands. “You did it, buddy. You did it.” There is a flurry of handshaking and backslapping. Then the trainer and owners line up for the win picture. This one will document Loretta Lynn's third record-breaking race.

In addition to being the fastest at 660 yards, Loretta holds the title for five furlongs and a half-mile. Were it not for her excessively long ears and slight Roman nose, Loretta could be mistaken for a thoroughbred of British blue-blood heritage. In fact, she is the product of a cross between an American racehorse mare and a tough little jackass rounded up in the Sonoran Desert. People have traveled from a five-state area to watch her run.

“She might dang well be the fastest mule that ever lived,” says Ray Berrett, a mortgage broker and mule enthusiast from Scottsdale.

Berrett, one of the organizers of Arizona Mule and Donkey Days, the largest gathering of its type in the United States, and president of the Arizona Mule & Donkey Association, believes that runners like Loretta will make mule racing the popular sport of the future. “It's going to catch on in a big way.” Trainer Bob Noble has traveled from Arlee, Montana, to pit his string of racing mules against entries from Arizona, California, Utah, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Nevada, and Texas. He also is one of the dedicated professionals who have worked toward improving the standards of mule racing, a sport that began with occasional match racing between the early settlers.

Mule races are only part of the annual three-day Mule and Donkey Days at the Yavapai County Fairgrounds in Prescott. Donkeys, hinnies, and mules of all types compete in a host of events from costume classes to “coon jumping,” in which they are required to jump riderless over a fence from a standstill. The latter practice originated with raccoon hunting when riders trailing their wily prey needed to be able to stick with the animal — no matter where it took them.

The varied schedule of events features long-eared beasts pulling buggies, penning cattle, jumping, running barrels, carrying packs, and negotiating obstacles in trail classes. Cow-working and team-roping competitions pit cowboys and cowgirls against each other and the clock. Mules and donkeys also are decked out in silver for the Western pleasure classes.

One of the most interesting competitions is the Bedroll Packing Class, an

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event that had its origins in the outlaw days of the Old West. In this class, the riders are required to crawl into their bedrolls while their mules stand quietly beside them. When a gun fires, the riders jump up as if they have been ambushed, wiggle out of their sleeping bags, roll and pack them securely on their mules, mount up, and dash to the finish line.

Of course some mules are more cooperative than others. The three days of action-packed contests offer plenty of excitement and opportunities for braying. Almost every mule enthusiast has a repertoire of stories illustrating the stubbornness of his long-eared friends. But longtime Arizona mule man Johnny Johnson simply offers a poem passed down by an unknown cowboy: On mules we find two legs behind And two we find before But we stand behind before we find What the two behind be for.

Whether you enjoy racing, roping, or simply having the opportunity to witness a part of our country's history being kept alive, one thing's for certain: you'll get a kick out of Arizona Mule and Donkey Days.

The first animal that Gail Dudley rode was a mule named Tony, a stalwart critter who carried her physician grandfather on his rounds in the Appalachian Mountains of Virginia.

Richard Maack enjoys horse racing and usually makes it to opening day at Prescott Downs and Turf Paradise in Phoenix. But this was his first mule and donkey race.

WHEN YOU GO.

Arizona Mule and Donkey Days takes place October 8, 9, and 10 at the Yavapai County Fairgrounds in Prescott. The mile-high city in the pines is about 100 miles northwest of Phoenix. To get there, follow Interstate 17 to the Prescott exit, then take State Route 69.

Signs mark the way to the fairgrounds.

Daily admission is $5 per couple and $3 per individual. Children under 12 get in free.

Other things to see and do in Prescott include: the picturesque courthouse plaza, Sharlot Hall Museum, and Whiskey Row.

Nearby attractions are: historic Fort Verde, Montezuma Castle National Monument with its towering cliff dwellings, the one-time ghost town of Jerome which is now a haven for artists and craftsmen, and the ancient hilltop pueblo of Tuzigoot National Monument.

For more event information, telephone the fairgrounds at (602) 445-7820; to inquire about the Arizona Mule & Donkey Association, call (602) 569-2236. For general visitors information, contact Prescott Chamber of Commerce, P.O. Box 1147, Prescott, AZ 86302; telephone (602) 445-2000 or toll-free at 1 (800) 266-7534.

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