Missouri Mule Days

I was in Missouri for Labor Day weekend for a bridal shower, and while I was there I found out that Missouri Mule Days was happening!! My family had mules when I was growing up, and I've been to a mule show in Maryland several times, so I was really excited to go to this one. Unfortunately I missed my favorite event, which is the jumping. Mules jump from basically a stand-still, unlike horses who get a running start. And mules aren't ridden during their jumping competitions, they are led up to the jump. I highly recommend watching some videos on youtube! Here's a fun one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6O6u8P3QA0&t=29s

A sweet looking mule getting some attention:

The events I got to see were the youth showmanship classes, where the mules are led around doing different things, walk, trot, turns, back up, etc. The kids have pretty awesome blinged-out outfits as you can see below.

I also saw some of the driving events. This mule below is the same one as in the second photo above, and I thought it was so pretty. Its name was "Fifty Shades of Foxy" and they won one of the driving classes.

It was a real treat to get to see a bunch of mules again.