Issuu

Association News World Champion Percheron — Blue Ribbon Farms Hercules WILD ROSE DRAFT HORSE ASSOCIATION

Californian mule clinician coming to Alberta ALBERTA DONKEY AND MULE CLUB

www.wrdha.com

www.albertadonkeyandmule.com

are welcome at the door at $30 a day. Contact Marlene Quiring at 403-783-5210 or find the form on our club site or at www.jerrytindell. com May 26-27, Strathcona Horse Showcase. Contact Russ Shandro for more information at 780-6327510. We hope to have a booth and some members come out to demo with their mules or donkeys. June 16-17 A new equine show at Nanton, Alta. This promises to be a fun, exciting event, with classes for mules, horses and donkeys. Come and spend a weekend in Nanton and enjoy all breeds and all sizes in one show! Contact Show Chair Alice Todd at 403-646-2624 for more information and also our website. For a small club, we seem to be able to get a lot done and the reason for that is we have good members, willing to give a hand when they can. Also we love and are proud of our longears and really hate it when people totally misunderstand them because they’ve heard too many negative (and untrue) tales about them. For this reason, there is always much work to do but in doing so, we sure do know how to have a ton of fun while we are at it! Come join us — you don’t even have to own a mule or a donkey, just a willingness to be open to the  world of the longears.

By Bruce Roy

By Marlene Quiring

orld champions in the equine world are few in number. Only the best of the best achieve that stellar honour. One such champion can be found in Alberta — Blue Ribbon Farms Hercules. Sean & Meggin Phillips and Son (Diamond Echo Percherons) of Didsbury, own Blue Ribbon Farms Hercules, World Champion Stallion at Lexington, Virginia’s 2002 World Percheron Congress. Purchased from Wishe Bush, Red Oak Percherons of Kanawake, Quebec, the 18-year-old sire’s first Diamond Echo foal crop arrives in April. Every female the veteran horse has covered since his arrival in the province is due to foal. A high energy horse, it took a skilled horseman to show Blue Ribbon Farms Hercules. Turned out at the Missouri, Iowa and Minnesota State Fairs in 1996, he was Grand Champion Stallion, an honour won at Calgary’s Exhibition & Stampede in 1997. Shown again in 2001, he was Grand Champion Stallion at the National Percheron Show (Indianapolis, IN), the Keystone International Livestock Exposition (Harrisburg, PA), the Michigan Great Lakes International Draft Horse Show (Lansing, MI), and the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair (Toronto, ON), four of North America’s largest draft horse shows. Fielded at Lexington, Virginia’s 2002 World Percheron Congress, Blue Ribbon Farms Hercules concluded his stellar tanbark career as World Champion Percheron Stallion. Blue Ribbon Farms Hercules was bred by Albert & Karen Cleve, Blue Ribbon Farms at Farmington. Missouri. Sired by the Ontario-bred horse, Blackhome Duke, Premier Percheron Sire of America from 1990 to 1998, his dam, Bittersweet Cheri Dragano, was a Highview Dragano mare. Alberta-bred, Highview

lub memberships are due and need to be sent into our Secretary/ Treasurer Alice Todd. Check our website at www.albertadonkeyandmule.com for a membership form. Membership is only $20 a year for a family. On March 4 at 2:00 pm we held our Annual General Meeting in Ponoka, Alta. As usual there was a lot to discuss in regards to firming up our many plans for exciting events this year. Make note of these events coming up in the next few months. On April 27-29 we will again have a booth at the Mane Event in Red Deer, Alta. It’s a great opportunity for us to get information out to the public and to meet other mule and donkey owners and lots of ‘wannabe’ owners. We will have some longears there also for daily demos and for the public to meet if they like. It’s always a great way to begin the year. May 4-7, we will again be hosting a clinic (for all equines) with Jerry Tindell of Oak Hills, California. This clinic will concentrate on safety and groundwork when working with young, green or problem animals. Limited registration. On May 10-13, Jerry will move into a riding PHOTO BY TANIA MILLEN clinic geared for those While we have many events planned for that can safely walk, trot the summer, some members also like to and lope their stock. All Jerry Tindell Clinics take to the mountains. Left to right: Steve Potter on Bud with a pack mule and then will be held at the Lakedell Arena, Westerose, Alta. brother James Potter and Jose’ with two pack mules heading from the Summit and will run from 9 a.m. – cabin to the Hardscrabble Pass in the 4 p.m. daily. A hot lunch will be available. Auditors Wilmore Wilderness last summer.

C Dragano was Premier Percheron Sire of America from 1985 to 1989. Needless to say, Blue Ribbon Farms is a genetic giant. Blue Ribbon Farms Prince, World Champion Stallion at the 2006 World Percheron Congress, is his maternal brother. He sold to South Africa in 2011 for $30,000. They are the only brothers ever in breed history to win this honour. Their ninth dam, Zaza, was World Champion Mare in 1904 at the St. Louis World’s Fair. When told Don Strandquist of Stettler had few equals schooling stallions, the Cleve’s shipped Blue Ribbon Farms Hercules to Alberta. In Strandquist’s care, the exciting colt became a gentleman, albeit an athlete fired with energy. Bred to a few Percheron mares, the 3-year-old was shown at Calgary’s Exhibition & Stampede, where he lifted the purple ribbon. Bred to a larger court of Alberta mares the following spring, Blue Ribbon Farms Hercules left the province following the breeding season. Rod Derrer of Milan, Illinois, took charge of the superb athlete that soon had American breed pundits talking. Derrer bred mares in America’s midwest to Blue Ribbon Farms Hercules for three years. In 2001, Blue Ribbon Farms Hercules was placed with Chad & Rhonda Cole, Pennwoods Percherons of Centre Hall, Pennsylvania. They drew semen from the proven sire that was chilled and shipped to Percheron breeders across the continent, as well as to Percheron breeders across the Atlantic and Pacific.

While holding court at Pennwoods Percherons, Blue Ribbon Farms Hercules was shown with inordinate success. When World Champion Stallion at Lexington, the 8-year-old horse’s hocks were clean as hound’s teeth; the lateral cartilage on his heels soft as putty. Breed enthusiasts in number visited the Pennwood Percheron stalls at Lexington, Virginia’s 2002 World Percheron Congress to inspect Blue Ribbon Farms Hercules. The veteran sire, three times an All-American stallion, was the star of the show. Blue Ribbon Farms Hercules was purchased by Wishe Bush, Red Oak Percherons at Akwesasne, New York, in October, 2004. When this Mohawk horseman left America, to take up residence at Kanawake, Quebec, he brought his Percheron stallion with him. In Bush’s possession, Blue Ribbon Farms Hercules continued to cover Percheron mares owned in Quebec and Ontario’s Ottawa Valley. Impressive as his tanbark record is, Blue Ribbon Farm Hercules is best known as a sire. His Albertabred daughter, Lakeview Herc’s Heather, was designated a Premium Alberta Bred Percheron in Alberta Agriculture’s 1999, 2000, 2001 Horse Improvement Program. She was the only Alberta Bred Horse ever, light or heavy, designated a Supreme Alberta Bred Horse in this provincial program. The last chapter in the life of Blue Ribbon Farms Hercules is far from complete. However, it will likely be spent here in Alberta. 

Trail rider in wreck; amazing people help out TRAIL RIDING ALBERTA CONFERENCE www.trailriding.ab.ca

By Mary Boulware

uly 1, 2011, Happy Canada Day! A week of preparation was over and it was time for Brule Lake Combined Ride. My husband Ken and I would ride Endurance the first day and then manage the Competitive Trail Ride the second day. We knew the trail and our horses were accustomed to the altitude so we decided to aim for our personal best. “It’s 8 am, have a good ride” and we were off. My horse, AD Gangez (Spud) was eager to take the lead so we were the first across the start. Spud was up to the challenge that lay ahead of us, 28 miles of trail with altitude ranging from 3,100-

4,300 feet, mud, bog and a strip of corduroy that earlier in the week had removed one of his shoes. At 12 miles we cleared our vet check and one hour hold, back out for the second half of the trail and we were way out in front. Our daughter, Tabatha and her fiancé, Peter were our ride photographers and had placed themselves at the two mile marker to get some great photos. Ken and I smiled, waved and continued on our way. At 27.1 miles all my summer plans changed. As we entered the curve around a tree while cantering I felt Spud’s feet slip out from under him, my last thought before landing on the quad trail was please don’t roll over top of me. Spud sprang back up, I quickly grabbed his reins and tried to stand. As I sat down we looked at my leg, knee pointing up — foot lying off to the side, not good! But not a mark on Spud, whew! A message was sent to Tabatha to come with the Kubota. Tabatha is an RN and in no time had my leg splinted with sticks, a saddle pad and strings from my saddle. X-rays revealed

4 fractures, so off to Red Deer hospital for surgery the next morning. Although I wished my accident hadn’t happened I certainly learned a lot: healing takes time- be patient, don’t ride faster than your guardian angel can fly, be sure you’re on the correct lead, helmets save heads! One of the most important things I’ve learned is about people. When we drove out of camp we saw Naomi and Leah presenting our horses for their final vet check they then fed and cared for them. Paul and Karen stepped forward to take over managing the ride, Charlene, Laurie and Jane took care of all the paperwork. Many helped Ken to get out of camp and on his way home, people stayed behind when the ride was all done to help our co-manager, Dianne with camp and trail clean up. Thank you to all who helped! After the weekend was over, we asked Peter what he thought about our sport. Peter’s reply explains why we are involved in TRAC. “As a city boy I don’t get the whole horse thing, but what  great people.”

Snow didn’t dampen team penners event in Olds detailed results available online at chinookpenning.com. Also, take a moment to browse through the list of great Sponsors who support Chinook Team Penning.

CHINOOK TEAM PENNING ASSOCIATION www.chinookpenning.com

By Lillian Dalton

either rain, nor sleet nor snow shall keep a Chinook penner from attending the Co-Sanctioned Cam Clark Ford & Trailers two day show. On February 25 and 26 at the Olds Cow Palace, 235 teams braved the cooler temperatures and possibility of challenging road conditions for the opportunity to feed their addiction…team penning! Often in this sport, luck seems to breed luck — winning a class often leads to winning or, at the very least, placing in the next class — and this trend is continuing in 2012 as you will see from the

The Hi-Point Teams over the two days were awarded gift certificates from Irvine Tack and Trailers and they are as follows: • Open Class: JT Bell, Lesley Marsh, Dusty Wigemyr • #10 Class: Hope Poole, Devin Antony, Barb Doran • #7 Class: Ray Antony, Josie Abraham, Carther Rice • #5 Class: Drew Parker, Dale Glover, Clayton Glover

JUNIOR YOUTH • Saturday: Haydn Ohlmann & Sonya DiStefano • Sunday: Sonya DiStefano & Mandy Schalk

SENIOR YOUTH • Saturday: Hope Poole, Kyle Dingreville, Josie Abraham • Sunday: Josie Abraham, Shane Hamilton, Hope Poole. 

HA120401