PEA RIDGE — Past issues of The Times indicate the first mule jumps in Pea Ridge were part of a fall festival sponsored by the local chamber of commerce.
Begun in 1985 on what was called “Battlefield Day,” the mule jumps were just a part of other activities during the day, which also included trail rides and coon dog competitions.
Those events were held of the northeast corner of the intersections of Arkansas Highway 72 and 94 (Pickens St. and N.
Curtis Ave.) downtown on the old school grounds.
The Fall Fest started around 1984, then the Pea Ridge Chamber of Commerce changed the name to Battlefield Day in 1985 and 1986.
Peggy Hall, widow of Col.
Negel Hall, one of the first organizers and participants, said: “It was just a bunch of coon hunters getting together.”
Hall said her husband kept Frosty, his prize-winning mule, about 10 years before selling it. Two other wellknown mules Hall owned and showed were Ribbon and Copper.
“He pretty much did the training,” she said of her husband, recalling that he grew up on a farm and worked mules all his life.
Other events at that time included the chicken carry during which the rider would ride his mule to a crate of chickens, dismount, get a chicken (which was squawking and flapping) and remount the mule to ride to the other end of the field. The mules were often skittish of the chicken and the remount was not always successful.
In 1987, the Pea Ridge Chamber changed the nameback to Pea Ridge Fall Fest.
In 1988, the Lions Club took over the Fall Fest. In 1989, the Lions decided to call the festival the Pea Ridge Mule Jump and designate Pea Ridge as “Mule Jumping Capital of the World” to capitalize on the uniqueness of the event. The Lions used the Mule Jump as a fundraiser until 1999, when the club disbanded.
A group of volunteers calling themselves the Friends of Pea Ridge banded together to keep the Mule Jump going. Subsequently, the event served as a fundraiser for the local United Fund in 1999 and 2000. In 2001, several local civic groups staged the Mule Jump. Then, in 2002, the Pea Ridge Parks Commission took it over.
From 1999 through 2001, community belief in the value of the Mule Jump to Pea Ridge’s identity kept the unusual event alive without one strong civic group to coordinate it.
In 2003, the Parks Commission inaugurated the first Professional Mule Jump with a $1,000 cash prize. After word of the prize money spread in mule-jumping circles, 2004 brought a winning mule from Virginia to take home the $1,000.
Mule jumping comes from a tradition in coon hunting of having mules jump over fences rather than finding gates. Hunters throw a blanket over the fence so the mule will jump it. Mules can jump flat footed.
It wasn’t long before hunters started having competitions for jumping mules along with their coon dog competitions.
Jumping competitions vary - some require the mules to wear saddles. At Pea Ridge, the mules are bare backed.
Once a mule walks up to the jumping barrier, it has three minutes to jump.
The mule has two tries to clear the barrier without knocking it down. Trainers can not touch the mule. They must get the mule to jump by word commands. They can hold the reins and tug them. If an owner is caught mistreating a mule, he is disqualified.
Mules are eliminated until only one remains and that mule continues to jump until it reaches its limit. The mule seems to know instinctively when that limit is reached because it just won’t jump anymore.
Three jumping events are held - for mules under 51-inches tall, over 51-inches tall and professional jumpers. Sometimes, when there is time, a green jump is held.
The green jump is for mules just learning to jump.
Some of the other events are similar to rodeo events, except contestants ride mules instead of horses. Amusing incidents ensue as mules exhibit their characteristic stubbornness. In halter class events, the mules are shown for judges to pick the best looking mule.
News, Pages 25 on 10/07/2009