'Crowd just went plum wild' over jumping mules

Paul Ruehling of Pocahontas has been in the business of jumping mules for more than a decade.

With the help of his grandchildren, his quarter horse mules compete at several fairs and events in the area, including the upcoming East Perry Community Fair in Altenburg, Missouri. This year, the competition is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. on Saturday.

The mule-jumping competition has been a staple at the East Perry Fair for 34 years, and has been part of the Ruehlings' way of life for the past 12.

The competition is based on which mule can jump the highest. First, the mules are divided into three classes based on height: 47 inches or fewer; between 47 and 52 inches; and more than 52 inches. The competing mules then go in rounds, where they must jump over a horizontal bar covered by a canvas cover. The cover serves to protect the mules' undersides in case they brush against the bar mid-jump. The bars also collapse if they experience pressure, and fall to avoid hurting a mule if something were to go wrong during a jump.

Ruehling said he tries to take two mules from each height class every year to compete.

Paul Ruehling watches as Lily Ruehling gives his quarter horse mule a peck at Ruehling's Pocahontas farm. (Laura Simon)

Mackenzie Gass, Ruehling's granddaughter, said she began jumping mules at age 9.

"I had this little pony named Suzie, and she got bred by my grandpa's jack, and we had a little baby mule and his name was Romeo, and me and my friend Casey would take him all over the farm, leading him around," she said. "We started jumping him over stuff, and then my grandpa's friend Curt Bronenkant had the jump, and we started jumping him, and then we all started doing it. It was kind of just a fun thing we started."

Romeo was only 4 months old when he appeared at his first jumping competition, with Gass coaching alongside. He would go on to win his division with a jump higher than 50 inches.

"That year Romeo jumped that high, I could have walked out of that arena on stilts. I mean, you've never heard a crowd holler like they did," Ruehling said. "It's never been the same since then. ... I mean, the crowd just went plum wild."

Since the early competitions with Romeo, the Ruehling farm has seen a number of mules come and go, and with the majority of his older mules recently sold, Ruehling is working on training the younger generation to be successful jumpers.

Mackenzie Gass retrieves one of her family's quarter horse jumping mule from the family farm in Pocahontas, Missouri. (Laura Simon)

Gass, a sophomore nursing major at Southeast Missouri State University, said she and her cousin, Dustin Aden, a freshman at Jackson High School, are two of the only younger people who participate in the mule-jumping competition, which makes them stand out among the crowd. She said she is hopeful that more young people will gain interest in the hobby, especially because the competitions are so laid back and fun.

"I like when we go to the fair, and you're jumping them -- and it's not even really a competition -- you're just there with everybody. And even if they knock it [the horizontal bar] over, it's not like you're mad about it. You got to go," Gass said.

She recalled a year when heavy rain plagued the fair, and the mule jump continued under significantly muddy conditions.

"We were like the only ones there, and we were trying to jump in the mud. I remember that we'd get to the other side and the mules, when they'd jump, they'd drag us, like we'd ski across the mud because it was so muddy," Gass said with a laugh. "That was a fun year."

Gass said working with the mules helps bring her family together because, "they're always out and we have to chase them." She said catching and running with the mules is a team effort, and that the payoff is getting to go to the fair and spend time together as a family.

Paul Ruehling walks one of his family's quarter horse mules to mule's practice jump in Pocahontas, Missouri. (Laura Simon)

Another plus is having the opportunity to compete with the mules they've been working with all year. This year, Hiney, Mackenzie (a mule named after Gass), Polly, Sadie, Katie and Slick all will compete with Aden, Gass and Ruehling at the fair in Altenburg.

"You get to go down there and joke with everybody ... and the announcer is really good. He cracks me up. He calls him [the mule] Paul's Hiney, Paul jumping his Hiney, and we just make it a big joke."

Ruehling said he takes the competitions lightly, and that the mules have created other hobbies for the family as well, such as taking traditional wagon rides and showing them off during parades.

"We've got these for fun, and we do enjoy wagon riding with them, but we have a lot of fun with them," he said.

Ruehling said he enjoys interacting with people from the community after the competitions, and finds fulfillment in the possibility of bringing joy to others with his animals.

Paul Ruehling prepares one of his quarter horse mules for jumping practice in Pocahontas, Missouri. (Laura Simon)

"It's fun listening to the crowd when you're jumping them, but you really get a good feeling after you put the mules in the trailer and the people that come up to you and tell you how they liked your mules," he said. "You know, it just gives you a good feeling. ... It's just a hobby to have. I enjoy just the company that I receive; even after the mule jump people will talk about your mules. And if it makes somebody happy, let's do it."