Donkey Pals

Donkey wins equine show

Friday, July 11, 2008

By Dean Shipley
Staff Writer

It was an uncharacteristic move by a diminuitive member of the equine family that made history in the equine show Monday at the Madison County Fair.

Bumper, a 6-year old jack donkey, won the Equine Showman of Showmen. Shown by Samanatha Briggs, Bumper performed better than all other horses and donkeys when the chips were down.

It wasn’t chips that were down but Bumper’s rear foot during his moment in the show ring. Briggs was putting Bumper through the pattern of cones set up in the arena. At one point in the pattern Bumper was told to stop and then pivot on one rear hoof.

“Donkeys don’t do that normally,” said Brian Briggs, Samantha’s father and 4-H equine key leader.

But Bumper is not your “normal” donkey. By holding the pivot, Bumper scored an additional half a point on judge Shawn McDaniel’s score sheet to give Bumper the winning margin.

“He drilled that foot into the ground,” said Jayne Fisher, former owner of Bumper, who literally helped in Bumper’s birth, pulling him from his mother.

Fisher said when he was still small, he would lay on her lap.

Now at 260 pounds and capable of carrying three times his weight, Bumper has become an exceptional show donkey.

“He did it perfectly,” Samantha Briggs said. “He kept it on the ground the whole time. He really did good this year for me. He trotted, he set up for me, he did his pattern.”

Briggs has been showing Bumper for four years. Over that span of time, she and the jack have spent many hours together, not only training in showmanship but also just being pals.

A recent graduate of Madison-Plains High School with a 3.66 GPA, Briggs will be attending Columbus State with her eye on a degree in Veterinary Technology.

Fisher has been showing donkeys and encouraging children to show them since 1996. She saw the donkey as a way for younger children to become involved in showing in equine events without the intimidating size of a horse. Plus they’re lovable.

“They’re so darned cute,” she said with a smile.

Fisher credits the Briggs, Brian and Cathy, for sustaining the donkey portion of the equine program in Madison County.

(Jayne Fisher is a good friend of mine and she sent this article to me to brag about her “baby”!! I posted it to show everyone that donkeys CAN show and CAN win and Can make us all proud! Thanks to Jayne for sending this article and being a great ambassador for donkeys!)

 DonkeyPals will again be participating at the fair this year. Unfortunately, our quest for a larger space and bigger tent is not looking too favorable.

Carol Cooper of Windview Farm in Montville has enthusiastically taken over this year as fair organizer and has been talking with Randy Bennett from the Fair board along with others who we hope can volunteer time and material to make this year’s fair experience a success. With limited space we will be restricted to only a few donkeys so anyone who would like to bring a donkey needs to get in touch with Carol.
 
Fair rules require that you bring your donkey on Wed. evening August 27th and leave it there the entire fair until Monday evening September 1. (Last year we had 3 weanlings, 1 yearling and 1 mature jennet) Current vaccines are not a requirement but are HIGHLY RECOMMENDED for everyone’s safety and animal well being. Anyone bringing a donkey for display will be required to be there every day for some period of time to help maintain the tent and animal maintenance for their own donkey as well as the others on display.

I will again be staying nights to provide donkey security but this year we will ask that anyone with a donkey on display also commit to at least one or two nights in case I for some reason need to be at home (Plus, it would be nice to have the company!:^) We are going to need volunteers to work the tent during the day in shifts and we hope that even if you don’t have a donkey that you will be able to commit to several days of talking to folks and helping us educate people about the wonderful world of donkeys.

Fair rules also require that we do not sell our animals at the fair but they do not restrict us from handing out literature on our farms, animals we have for sale and/or contact information where people can get in touch with us after the fair is over if they have an interest in our donkeys. A space will be provided for anyone who wants to distribute literature and this year due to finance crunches everywhere, everyone will need to provide their own promotions at their own expense. There will also be a small area provided to post a “few” For Sale fliers for anyone who has something for sale.

 ADMS and NMDA will be sending “sample” magazines again this year for us to hand out from the tent and hopefully we will have a new video made with some great music, new pictures on our display board, and also some ideas to keep things fresh and fun at the FAIR!
 
Please RSVP for the picnic if you can or can not come and we will be discussing the Fair at this picinic so come ready with ideas and suggestions! You can email me new pictures for the fair video and display board if you have some, email Carol or myself if you know you want to bring a donkey, are willing to work a few shifts, can donate ANYTHING we might need like flowers or items to make our tent look great, straw for display, panels for fencing or inside or outside donkey corrals, etc, etc, etc!!!!!
 
Hope to see you at the picnic and hope this years fair experience is as much fun as last years was!!!!
Thanks!

Lori Wargo

www.cabinwoodfarm.com