Of horse and mules

Attending the 28th Annual Idaho State Draft Horse and Mule International Show provided interesting weekend entertainment.

Howard made reservations for the event at the Bonner County Fairgrounds, in Sandpoint, Idaho. We went last year but it was a first-time experience for Becky.

It's fascinating to watch the large Belgian, Clydesdale, Percheron, Shire, American Cream and Suffolk draft horses perform. Draft mule teams were well matched and responded quickly to driver's commands.

Clydesdales, with their prancing gait, always remind us of the Budweiser commercials. Mules bring an instant memory of the U.S. Forest Service pack team.

Animals with fancy braided manes, tails, beautiful harnesses, the unique carts and variety of wagons, added to the event. Announcer Scott Knight, Seattle, referred to the "muleskinners and teamsters" competing.

Afternoon events included single cart, heavy-draft hitch team, farm-team driving, four-abreast and senior-driving team. Some were for both horses and mules, while others were either horse or mule. Women and men skillfully held the reins, and the large animals, from 16 1/2 to 19 hands in height, obeyed commands.

We sat next to a couple from British Columbia. She asked if I had horses. I admitted "I was a town gal and only knew horses had four feet and a tail." She belongs to the Rotary in Canada, and we talked about our Lions district composed of Alberta and Montana members.

We enjoyed visiting with Peg and Stu Sorensen at her Embroidery Plus booth. We don't know Mark and Shirley Schmidt, from Whitefish, but have watched them at the Northwest Montana Fair. They competed in a variety of mule team events and were among the winners at Sandpoint.

Winner's names were written down by Robert Andrewjeski, show judge from Eltopia, Wash. He then tied the list on a rope, and it was pulled up by the announcer, who described it as a "technical rope."

Back in the Flathead, we went to the North Fork for Becky's first visit in two years. She found several shaggy mane mushrooms along the road. We marveled at the way our favorite Hellroaring Creek had recovered from road construction, which eliminated it several years ago.

Another of our special places is Great Northern Flats. We wondered why pole fences had been erected, trees cut and large piles of brush left in that area. We saw burned trees, which had been planted by Hot Shot crews in 1968 when they were not flying to other regions to fight fires. We met Mitch Linne, Gail's husband, when he was a Hot Shot crew member stationed at the Big Creek Work Center that year.

Other exciting event during the weekend was my first four-wheeler ride with Aaron Shay, grandson.

Gladys Shay is a longtime resident and columnist for the Hungry Horse News.