MULE CROSSING: Pre-Pasadena Rose Parade Press Release
By Meredith Hodges
New Year’s Day 1987 brought another first and a giant step forward for mules and donkeys when the American Donkey and Mule Society was represented by our West Coast riders in the annual Rose Bowl Parade held in Pasadena, California. Led by donkey jack, Black Bart, the mules each portrayed a different type of equestrian. Dressed to a tee, 
mules once again exhibited the potential for a wide variety of uses. Spectators were awed at the beauty and grace of our modern-day saddle mules and old myths about Longears were soundly refused.
In 1988, Colorado is proud to announce the participation of four of their Longears riders and their mounts. The American Donkey and Mule Society entry in 1988 will be led by donkey jack Blue Zebulon, the 1986 World Champion Standard Jack. “Zeb” will be ridden by his owner, Fran Howe. Fran and her husband, Larry, raise “colored” mules on their 20-acre ranch, the Bitterroot Mule Company, in Bennett, Colorado, just 20 miles east of Denver, and are active directors of the Colorado Donkey and Mule Society. Though they both hold fulltime jobs, Fran and Larry spend most of their free time training, breeding, and promoting mules and donkeys. Their successes are amply portrayed by their show records, but their participation in the Rose Parade is a dream come true and a wonderful opportunity to once 
again do more in support of Longears. We can be proud and thankful for the support and hard work of these dedicated folks.
Representing the Sidesaddle Equestrian will be Joan Triolo of Longmont, Colorado, riding Rambling Rose, a lovely sorrel saddle mule owned by Hal and Diane Walston, also of Longmont. Joan has ridden and driven Rose to many a victory at numerous shows, recently capturing the A.D.M.S. National Championship in “Ride & Drive” and “Trail” at the A.D.M.S. National Finals in Minnesota last July. Hal and Diane Walston run the Mountain Shadow Mule Ranch and stand their large Standard jack, Mountain Shadow Music Man, to outside mares. Trainer Joan Triolo sees to it that Rose represents her breed to perfection. Their authentic Mexican sidesaddle outfit complete with an original decorative horsehair bridle will be a sight to behold on such an auspicious occasion! Those from Mountain Shadow Mules are 
active contributors to the success of our own Colorado Donkey and Mule Society.
Although the mules have always been my own primary interest, I must give my adoring husband credit for taking the time and effort to become a dedicated mule rider. Gary Hodges, riding Lucky Three Mae Bea C.T., will represent the English Equestrian, smartly dressed in a dark blue coat, gray jodhpurs, black hunt cap, and boots. Gary recently captured a well-deserved second place in the English Pleasure class at the Denver Queen City Donkey & Mule Show held the last weekend in July. Gary has shown his dedication and love of mules by building our 80-acre Lucky Three Ranch into what it is today, with barns, pens, pastures, indoor arena and even helping to farm the 58 acres of alfalfa that feeds our stock. Gary is always ready to help to support Longears and their organizations and is an active director of the 
Colorado Donkey and Mule Society. His primary contributions include working on show committees and doing screens for mule and donkey clothing sales.
Lucky Three Sundowner and I will be representing the Dressage mule riders. “Sundowner” will be dressed in traditional Dressage tack. I will be wearing the black coat with white jodhpurs, black boots, and a short black top hat. The traditional “tails” and top hat are reserved for those who have achieved the upper levels of Dressage. As mules are just beginning to enter the world of Dressage, I feel it would be too presumptuous to dawn the garb of my superiors.
We all owe a debt of gratitude to Diane Hunter of South Pasadena for putting together the ADMS entry for the Rose Parade. This woman has always worked long and difficult hours for the promotion of mules and donkeys. Her contributions as an American Donkey and Mule Society co-founder, inspector, judge and promoter cannot go unnoticed or unappreciated since they have been so numerous and so important. We thank you, Diane, for allowing us to take part in this very special event. As Diane is loaning her lovely sorrel mule, Tea Party to one of the other riders, we are bringing “Lucky Three Ciji” for Diane to ride “to the hounds!” We hope you will all tune in on New Year’s Day when mules and donkeys do the Rose Bowl Parade!
To learn more about Meredith Hodges and her comprehensive all-breed equine training program, visit LuckyThreeRanch.com, MEREDITH HODGES PUBLIC FIGURE Facebook page, or call 1-800-816-7566. Check out her children’s website at JasperTheMule.com. Also, find Meredith on Pinterest, Instagram, MeWe, YouTube and Twitter.
Covered in TRAINING MULES & DONKEY: A LOGICAL APPROACH TO TRAINING, TRAINING WITHOUT RESISTANCE and EQUUS REVISITED at www.luckythreeranchstore.com.
© 1987, 2016, 2024 Lucky Three Ranch, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Practice for our exhibition went smoothly and the following day many visitors toured the stable area in order to meet with the stars of the afternoon’s exhibition. The mules, as always, were among their favorites. We were bombarded with interested folks asking questions and offering complimentary remarks about our Longears. Blue Zebulon, our fearless leader, handsome jack that he is, even managed to line up a photo session with a local photographer. The exhibition itself went quite smoothly. Zebulon, ridden by Fran Howe, led an entourage of mules into the arena cheered on by enthusiastic spectators. After our introduction, we lined up and watched while three demonstrations were performed. First, Gayle Gardner-Mahler gave a jumping exhibition on Diane Hunter’s Tea Party. This was followed by a “Pas de Deux” Dressage exhibition with Gayle again on Tea Party and Meredith Hodges on Lucky Three Sundowner. Vince Silverman finished the exhibition with a Reining pattern on Millie. Then we all exited behindBlue Zebulon to the sound of cheering and applause for our beloved longears. We were all so very proud!
On December 28th, we all dressed “to the max” for a reception for all the Rose Parade equestrians held at the Tournament House in Pasadena. Celebrity guests included Iron Eyes Cody, Monty Montana, and Richard Farnsworth. Good food, good drink, and good company made for a memorable time, lifting our spirits with the promise of an exciting parade and a better new year for mules and donkeys!
January 1st, 1988, 2:30 A.M. came early as we made preparations to make our way to the parade route. When we arrived at 3:30 A.M., the freeway was buzzing with excitement. Finally at 7:00 A.M, we were escorted to our final waiting area, where we were eventually fed into the parade. The mules and Zebulon were just great, and they seemed to know that they were representing Longears everywhere. They marched proudly in line: Fran Howe on Zebulon, Reggie Register on Tea Party, Diane Hunter on Lucky Three Ciji, Meredith Hodges on Lucky Three Sundowner, Gary Hodges on Lucky Three Mae Bea C.T., Joan Triolo onRambling Rose, Vince Silverman on Millie, Bill Wolever on Big Red Loretta, Gayle Gardner-Mahler on Frances Bess Scott, Susan Lowery on Joker B’s Jitterbug, and Janet Luke on Joker B’s Jigsaw. Despite noise makers, cheering, bands playing, helicopters, and the like, the Longears made their way proudly down the parade route while we all smiled and waved to the millions of people who decorated the street. Five miles we covered, and for five miles spectators complimented our Longears and bid us a “Happy New Year,” which we joyously returned.