PrintAudrey Goldsmith went to the Bishop Mule Days Celebration (Calif.) in 2001 for fun. But what began as an amusing equine-themed diversion for the hunter/jumper professional became a full-fledged obsession after seeing the mules in action.
“I tried to buy a mule there, but it was already sold,” said Goldsmith. “I stole the breeder’s flyer off the bulletin board and tried for two years to get them to sell me a mule. They called me when Porter was born, and I saw a photo of him at three days old, and I called them back and said I would send a check.
“It was one those amateur things professionals aren’t supposed to do,” she added. “It was a totally unprofessional decision.”
But Goldsmith has no regrets. Heart B Porter Creek, her first mule, has opened up a new world of equestrian possibilities and reinvigorated her riding career along the way. In 2011, Porter won the U.S. Dressage Federation All-Breeds award at third level for the American Mule Association—with a median score of 62.13 percent—and took the Performance Horse Registry Silver Stirrup award at third level.
“It’s a total endeavor for Porter and myself, and it’s a blast,” said Goldsmith. “I take it one year at a time. We didn’t think he’d do training level, let alone first, now he’s at third level doing half-pass and flying changes.”
Love At First Smell
When Goldsmith went to pick up her mule from his breeders, Tom and Bonnie Lee at Heart B Ranch in Emmett, Idaho, more than eight years ago, Porter wasn’t sure about his new owner at first.
“I’d pet him, and he was fine, but then Tom handed me the leadline and said, ‘Go ahead and play with him.’ I’m holding the rope, and Porter’s looking at me like, ‘Who are you?’ The first instant was not even that great, but it got better,” said Goldsmith.
The weanling loaded up for his seven-hour drive to Goldsmith’s farm.
“You know how you’re always supposed to take one more trip around the trailer and make sure all the doors are closed? I did that,” she said. “I climbed up on the wheelbase and was looking in there, and I noticed that he smelled my hand. I drove about three hours, and it was awfully quiet back there. I walked to the back and did the same thing—climbed up on the wheel and looked in and put my hands up—and he smelled my hand again, and he brayed at me. From that moment on, whenever I open my truck door, he brays at me.”
When Goldsmith bought Porter (and, the next year, his half brother Heart B Lonesome Tuxedo), she thought she’d compete him in mule classes at Bishop Mule Days. But when Porter was a yearling, he started having some bizarre neurological symptoms. First he started pacing, and then he was tripping and falling down.
“The pacing has gone away, but the tripping comes and goes,” Goldsmith said. “I had a horse in training that I needed to take to some horse trials, and I asked a friend who was an L judge to come help me. She was totally intrigued with the mules. I said, ‘You know, he falls down.’
“I get on Porter, and she gives me this totally adorable dressage lesson at the walk,” Goldsmith continued. “I said, ‘Listen, I don’t need to cross his legs to make him fall down. He’ll fall on his own.’ But having a strong dressage background myself, I understood the benefits of it. As bad as he was at that point, I wasn’t going to jump him, and I was going to stop riding him. The dressage thing has been an amazing experience, and it’s helped him so much.”
