That Tevis Mule

[lyoness@castlenet.com (Joane White)]

Many of us in the Mountain region have a healthy respect for Ruby the Mule
as you only see her at the beginning of the ride and at the end when she is
being judged for best condition.  In between, she leaves most of us in her dust.

Sandy is a "he" (actually a medical doctor from Salt Lake City) who found
Ruby in a field as a 16H six month old.  I have read somewhere that Ruby's
dam is a TB but I cannot remember where I saw that info.

For those of you looking at the Tevis pictures, they don't do justice to
Ruby.  She is a striking animal.  Not only is she huge but she is also very
pretty--something I thought I would never say about a mule.  She is
definitely in a class of her own and you sense that the minute you see her.

I recall several Ridecamp posts from mule riders who like to ride mules but
admit that they can be unpreditable on the trail and often "have minds of
their own".  Ruby seems to have a special bond with Sandy and I've never
heard of her doing the stubborn thing with him.

We in the mountain region all hope that Sandy and Ruby will try Tevis again
next year and go for it. 

Joane and Herd
Price, Utah