By Dan Roark
New Hope riders, instructor, and volunteers participated in the Denton Roundup Club Playday for the second time. This time the horses were Cy (Cyclops), Chito, and the mule, Daisy Mae.
Look for another post about the Playday and Susan, Claire, and Juliana’s rides and so forth, but I want to highlight Daisy Mae because it was a classic example of a mule being a mule. In the picture to the left, she is just beginning to act annoyed. You can see that she’s pulling on the rope.
Susan, New Hope instructor – in case it slipped your mind – was riding Daisy Mae in the Super Senior category (not determined by actual age other than being older than intermediate), while Claire and Juliana were in the Juniors category. The two categories were far enough apart that we could all watch the horses between the two in each of the three events. But during the girls’ rides, while Susan was taking videos on her phone (Cyndy was helping with the girls) and I was at the side of the arena taking pictures, Daisy Mae was left to her own devices.
I was at the side of the arena, ready to take pictures of Claire and Juliana’s rides during barrel riding, which was the final event of the day. Then I heard Daisy Mae’s mournful braying – she had had enough. Everyone else heard it, too – and I mean everyone. This was a while after Susan’s barrel ride when the announcer said her time at the end of her ride and added “I like your donkey!” (We’ll forgive her for the donkey/mule confusion.)
Daisy Mae’s braying did not stop. I stepped away from the arena fence and started taking pictures of Daisy. In the second picture you can see she is starting to stomp to complain, which she did while still braying. She would finally pause the braying, but the way she was still jerking on the lead rope, I thought she was about to break loose and be gone.
Shortly after Susan, Cyndy, the girls and I got back to the trailer, Daisy Mae had calmed down. In large part because she had people to pay attention to her and the other horses were back.
That, my friends, is a mule being a mule. And we love her.
Ride on and ride for hope.
The post Denton Riding Club Playday – Daisy Mae Highlight first appeared on New Hope Therapeutic Riding.