Horse Jumping Was Dull -- So They Jumped Mules

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Requires credit qualification and 36 month phone financing agreement. This is Lee Habib and this is our American Stories. The show where America is the star and the American people. If you were to put a mule in a track and field event, which one do you think it would be? The 400 yard dash? Perhaps the shot put? If you ask the experts in Pea Ridge, Arkansas, they probably say hurdles. Mixed with a bit of the high flying antics found in pole vaulting.

Why? Because every year the town of Pea Ridge puts on a mule jump. Here to start us off with the story of everything you've ever wanted to know about a mule jump is Jackie Crabtree. Nathan C. and later on the Shockley family, the OGs of the sport.

Take it away, Jackie. Pretty much the history of the mule jump here started out, of course, with being a rural community. There was coon hunting, a popular sport back then. And the mules were used to naturally carry the riders. And then whenever they got to a fence, instead of trying to find a gate, they would just put the blanket over the fence, jump the mule over, and then they would go on about their mule jump. But where it actually started at in Pea Ridge, from what my understanding is, they used to have dog shows where there are coon dogs. Everybody would come and show their dogs and how good they were and how they were good when they were hunting. And from what my understanding is, during one of those coon dog shows, somebody said, well, I bet my mule can jump higher than your mule.

So that's basically where it started from. I dare to see whose mule could jump the highest. You can watch NASCAR, you can watch football all day long, but you're not going to find a mule jump on ESPN or any of these radio or television shows. So a mule jump consists of kind of a mule rodeo, if you will.

The mules are not ridden. They're led up to the barrier on a lead and that barrier, the barrier is covered so they can't see on the other side of it. And then from that, they have a certain period of time whenever they step into the box, they have 60 seconds, I believe, 60 seconds to before they have to jump and they get two tries.

Crowd gets into it, too. They cheer on the mules to make sure to get them to jump higher. Our record is 72 inches by a mule that was 51 hands high. So horses are measured by hands, so we separate them between 51 is the break point, under that is one class, and then above that is the other class. So 51 hands, that's about maybe five and a half foot, something like that?

Probably, yeah. It's kind of natural for a mule to jump. And like I say, some mules want to jump, some don't. It's just like some people are good at basketball. They're just naturally good at it. And you can run the 100 yard dash.

Some people just naturally good and some mules will just jump and others won't jump. Hello, I'm Don Shockley. I'm Harold Shockley. Yeah, I was born in 1941 at Star Holler in a family of 13. Six boys and seven girls. And those boys all hunted.

So my dad's coon hunted all of his life. So I was just probably two or three years old when I first started. You know, when I growed up here, we had two channels on TV. We didn't have an air conditioner.

We had one box fan. You didn't sit in the house. I mean, there was no video games. You went fishing or hunting.

That's why dad, like I say, he was growed up with 13 brothers and sisters in a little house. You went hunting. You got out, you and your buddies across the hill, you went squirrel hunting. And it was something to do.

Now there is so much, my grandkids and kids, it's just life has got so fast. Why do you use mules for coon hunting? Well, it's so much easier to ride a mule up and down these hills. When you're coon hunting on them, you'll run into a fence. You know, when you're riding back, you'll come to a fence and just put your coat over it. And then jump your mule over it, then get back on and go on. And, you know, that's where the mule jumping come from. So we made a little mule jump and just started jumping them over a board, just raise the board higher and higher and see whose mule can jump the highest. Well, we started this, us and then we went down there at Pea Ridge. It kind of created a lot of enters. So the town of Pea Ridge then, they tuck it over and turned into a big deal. It's won over ever since.

That was like 33 years ago, 34. You have different rules. There is no really official mule jumping rules, just whatever. But Pea Ridge, you've got to bring your mule up to the jump and bring him to a complete stop, like at least 10 foot from the jump.

And then you can let him go, but you can't get a running start at it. So he's got to more or less walk up there and stop and get set, and then just flat footed jump over. If you want a good jumping mule, you need to jump work them every day. Just keep raising it up and jumping them.

And get one that likes to jump. Some mules just like it. Yeah, they're just good at it.

You can tell by jumping them a little bit. The mules kind of take on the demeanor of their handlers. Some of them are pretty excited when they're coming out, and then you'll see the mules prancing with them. Some of the older gentlemen are a little bit slower. They walk a little slower. The mules are walking slow. They're really calm and cool.

So it's pretty neat to see that. And we've had some really young kids that have trained mules. And I remember one time we was there, and this one little girl that was normally riding her mule, and her granddad had taken the mule and was running him through the obstacle course. And the mule wasn't wanting to go through part of the obstacle course.

And pretty soon you hear this little girl, you hear her voice, Grandpa, you're ruining my mule. It's fun. You know, that's the best memory. I mean, we've had some good jumps. We've won a lot of money. My boys won a lot of money down there. Bought them a pickup.

Each boy bought them a pickup. That's good memories, but the family and the friends and the gathering and all your buddies there, you talk hunting and riding. And a terrific job on the production, editing and storytelling by our own Monty Montgomery. A piece of Americana here on Our American Stories. Folks, if you love the great American stories we tell and love America like we do, we're asking you to become a part of the Our American Stories family. If you agree that America is a good and great country, please make a donation. A monthly gift of $17.76 is fast becoming a favorite option for supporters. Go to OurAmericanStories.com now and go to the donate button and help us keep the great American stories coming.

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