PEA RIDGE — Under a moon-lit sky, riding through wooded Ozark hills following coon dogs chasing raccoons, mule riders often had to dismount to cross a fence - often barbed-wire - in the hunt. They hung their coats over the fence wire, told their mule to jump, then remounted and continued the hunt.
In those dark, quiet nights, the silence punctuated by the sounds of crickets, cicadas and baying coon dogs, the hunters continued a long-held tradition learned from their fathers and grandfathers.
And, as men are wont to do, they decided to compete - to see whose mule would jump the highest.
Several joined together in downtown Pea Ridge on the school grounds (the only school property at that time in the mid-1980s) and held a mule jump and coon dog contest.
It was 1985. The first unofficial Pea Ridge mulejump was held during the Pea Ridge Chamberof Commerce Battlefield Daze, which had been held the year before as the Fall Fest on Oct. 13, 1984.
“It was just a bunch of coon hunters getting together,” said Peggy Hall, widow of Col. Negel Hall.
This year, on Saturday, Oct.
13, mules of all sizes - from the shortest to massive in height and weight - will bound over a curtained jump raised inch by inch until they are eliminated and only one has crossed the barrier.
Amazingly, some mules leap over heights taller than themselves and others balk at what appears to be a relatively easy jump.
The mules display personalities as different as their owners.
Some are quiet and reticent. Others boisterous and show-off.
The crowd yells and cheers for them, and oohs when a jump is missed.
Last year, more than 4,000 people attended the 23rd annual event. The first events, when the jump was part of the fall festival, are not counted in the tally of years.
Paul Arnold recalls the beginnings. Vice president of the Pea Ridge Coon Hunter’s Association then, he recently said: “The first four people I talked to were Tommie Yeargain Sr., Negel Hall, Don Shockley and Dale Shrader. We hunted together.”
“Tim Summers at the bank asked me about mule jumps,” Arnold said, remember that he went to Oklahoma to see a mule jump to get an idea about it and came home to put one on here.
That first year, they had a trail ride with the mules riding up Arkansas Highway 265 to State Line Road and down Patterson Road and back to the school grounds, Arnold said. They also had a coon hunt Saturday night after the festival.
The festival included a UKC Coon Hunters’ Association coon dog show.
“They were all registered hounds - Walkers, Black and Tans, Redbones - ours were Walkers,” Arnold said. “Ronnie Smith, he had Redbones. Don Shockley mostly had Walkers.”
Arnold remembered there was a ham and bean supper in the Home Economics building whichraised enough money to pay for everything.
“I built the trophies the first year,” he said. “We didn’t take money for entries or anything.”
“We didn’t know what kind of crowd would show up. That driveway (near the bus barn at the school) was full of people.
There were people down the sidewalks. I don’t know how many people there were ... they came from lots of places,” he said.
“It was just a bunch of good ole’ boys getting together,” Ronnie Smith.
Smith remembers the camaraderie of those first years and his fellow mule and coon dog owners. He said times have changed but he still enjoys his mules.
Smith, who usually wears a tall cowboy hat, garners quite a following. This year, he plans to bring his mules and a wagon.
Don Shockley is still a part of the event and can usually be seen sitting beside the curtained jump, rising to raise or lower it after each jump. His son and grandson continue the tradition and areusually there nearby either competing with mules or helping with the jump.
Col. Hall is remembered through the Negel Hall Memorial Award presented each year to the mule owner who has garnered the most points during the contest.
Mrs. Hall said her husband kept Frosty, his prizewinning mule, about 10 years before selling it. Two other well-known 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.
Mule jumping comes from a tradition in coon hunting of having mules jump over fences rather than finding gates. Hunters throw ablanket 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 eliminateduntil 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 any more.
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 1 on 10/10/2012