Do It All; Do It Well
A
donkey proves he has what it takes to excel in
almost every sector of the industry.
By Tracy
Williams
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| For
some members of the horse industry, you are born into a specific
discipline. Perhaps your parents’ barns of glistening,
long-legged Warmbloods or corrals of slightly dusty, close-coupled
Quarter Horses drew you into the sports of dressage or barrel
racing, for example. Those born into such an atmosphere have
the equipment needed to excel at a certain activity before they
are old enough to be inundated with the equine industry’s
possibility. For those not lucky enough to be born into a choice,
the possibilities are a little daunting. Horses are an expensive
acquisition, so you must choose your sport carefully; skim through
the breeds of horses, and you will find that most have a niche
in one or two sections of equine sporting.But if you have watched
the greats |
Together,
Karl & Joshua have won over 15 world championships and numerous
other awards including the most versatile donkey award. Here,
they are pictured after winning the 2006 NASMA Ride & Drive
World Championship. They
have held the title for 3-consecutive years now.
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in dressage, show jumping, barrel racing, driving, etc and wanted
to take part in the thrills each unique equine sport brings
to the participant, you want an equine that can do it all. Consider
joining the ranks of those who embrace mules and donkeys as
their tools to this kind of fulfillment.
Nestled in central Florida, Karl Schneider and his mammoth gelding,
Joshua, are living proof that one can do it all and do it well.
They have participated in a generous chunk of equine sports,
and their long list of accomplishments, titles and awards are
proof they weren’t idle participants.
A World Traveled |
| Karl
Schneider, like many who grew up on farms in the Midwest, knows
the benefits of having a hardworking donkey or mule as part
of the farm staff. They are sensible, level-headed and hardy
enough to survive humid summers, icy winters and every level
of difficult labor. However, he left these roots behind when
he chose a career as an aeronautical engineer, a decision that
sent him jet-setting across the world. He has seen the Eiffel
Tower, threaded his way through crowds in China, walked the
streets of Portugal, and sampled the cuisine in Singapore, but
the one city that captured his heart is far down under. “If
I had to live |
Joshua,
now 10-years old, was rejected by his mother and raised on a
bottle. |
outside
the United States, I would live in Melbourne, Australia. It
is a modern city that has stayed true to its roots, although
my friends in Sydney say it’s the world’s largest
cemetery with street lights,” Karl says with a chuckle
of remembrance. After filing all these stamps in his passport,
Karl settled down to retirement in Cincinnati, Ohio, determined
to never set foot on a plane again.
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Five
years ago, he moved his entire farm to Florida. “We
were tired of breaking ice out of water buckets,” he
says of the frigid Midwestern winters. However, their move
was short-lived. “We are halfbacks,” he says.
“We moved to Florida; we found we missed rolling hills
and seasonal changes, so we are moving halfway back –
to Tennessee.” The move is a daunting prospect, however,
due to the eclectic menagerie Karl has collected. He and his
wife, Nancy, own 37 equines: Friesians, Connemara ponies,
Thoroughbreds, Quarter Horses, mules and donkeys. However,
it is their mules and donkeys, especially |
Brat
and Karl studying the trail pattern before their class.
|
Joshua,
who have won them their crowning achievements.
Return
to Grassroots
After travelling the world, perhaps attaining that level
of sophistication that experiencing other cultures brings,
Karl returned to his roots, acquiring mules and donkeys
like those who had been indispensable cogs in the farm days
of his youth. It is a decision he has never regretted. Not
only have they brought him success on the show ring circuit
but they have enriched his life with their unique personalities.
They are nearly unflappable, rational and more intelligent
than horses, according to Karl. “A donkey won’t
expend unnecessary energy,” he says. “If a donkey
runs away on you, he only goes so far before he starts looking
behind him. If nothing’s chasing him, he stops running.
And as you get older, you start looking for a safer equine,
one that won’t keep running.”
They are independent but people-oriented, lovers of humor
and attention. “A horse will sometimes meet you at
the gate; a donkey will always meet you at the gate, looking
for a treat or looking for some attention,” he says.
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They
are versatile, able to compete well in any avenue formerly
reserved for horses. Karl’s wife, Nancy, a dressage
enthusiast, was not a donkey-lover before she married Karl.
“She was absolutely a horse person; donkeys and mules
were a complete waste of time for her, but she had never been
exposed to them,” he says. Since their wedding three
years ago, and partly due to a mule wedding gift, her mindset
is changed, and she is currently training her mule to compete
in dressage.
Karl and Nancy have a thriving donkey breeding program, but
it is more of a hobby |
Brat
& Karl’s wife Nancy took first place in English
Equitation at the National Show, Cheers for Ears in Virginia.
|
than
a business. They are more interested in finding their precious
donkeys homes that will appreciate the winning qualities they
perceive in these beasts than worried about what price they
bring. Their breeding program is focused on the health of
the animal, which means sometimes bucking tradition. “Some
breeders breed at two years-old; well, donkeys don’t
mature until five years old, so we don’t breed until
a few years later,” Karl says. “We don’t
start driving them until three, riding at four, and nothing
strenuous until five. This way, the babies are thriftier,
and they can be all they should be.” With this philosophy,
Karl avoids the trap that some equine businesses fall into
– sacrificing an animal’s health for profit.
For this mindset and his contributions to the mule/donkey
industry in the United States, Karl was the 2006 recipient
of the North American Saddle Mule Association Lifetime Achievement
Award. The award was based on nominations and judgment by
a jury of Karl’s peers, and it has placed his name among
other greats who have endowed much to the industry. “It
is a great honor just to be nominated, let alone to win,”
Karl says.
Joshua, the “Brat” |
Joshua,
better known as “Brat” by all that know him well,
is a 10-year-old mammoth donkey born in December 1998 on Karl’s
farm in Ohio, a fateful birth that unwittingly shaped his
character. Because Karl was in Seattle at the time, his first
wife handled Joshua’s birth and helpfully dried the
damp, little donkey with a towel on that frigid December evening.
Unfortunately, the fabric softener scent on the towel caused
a rejection reaction by Joshua’s mother. “She
tried to kick his lights out; she was having none of it,”
Karl remembers. “So, they decided to milk the jenny
and bottle-feed Joshua.” Thus, Joshua was raised by
Karl’s wife, and because of this beginning, he considered
himself quite human. “He thought he really wasn’t
a donkey; he was a person,” Karl says with a chuckle.
“He’s still not 100 percent convinced that he’s
not a person just being treated as a donkey.” |
Surviving
and Thriving |
| Donkeys
are considered easy keepers with fewer digestive problems
than most horses and the ability to survive on many
different types of feeds. Karl, however, doesn’t
use this fact as an excuse to skimp on the nutrition
for his donkeys and mules. He wants them to thrive not
just survive. |
 |
| Thus,
Karl and Nancy feed Seminole products to all the equines
on their farm. “Seminole was recommended to us
by the University of Florida when we moved down here,”
says Karl. “We think it’s the best.”
|
|
But
when Karl’s wife passed away, Joshua’s raging
hormones made him a nearly unmanageable two-year-old who,
during one incident, almost took a chunk out of Karl’s
arm. “If I hadn’t been wearing so many clothes,
he probably would have bitten my arm off,” Karl remembers
wryly. “So, we performed what we call brain surgery
and gelded him.”
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With
the hormones neatly settled, Joshua emerged as an athletic
competitor. Because he is only 14 hands tall (on the smaller
end of the scale for mammoth jacks), Joshua is extremely agile
and has conformed to fit the mold of many equine sports to
compete well in each. Over the years, he and Karl have won
15 World Titles among other awards: NASMA World Titles in
all gymkhana events (barrels, poles, key hole and pylon) in
both open and amateur divisions, World and National Titles
in English and Western riding events and single hitch driving,
World Title in Drive and Ride for three years running, numerous
and various State Champion Titles, and the Most Versatile
Donkey award. He has even participated in the Chicago Thanksgiving
Day Parade twice, walked in President Bush’s first inaugural
parade in Washington and has been invited to participate in
the Rose Parade in Pasadena, California.
Even with such a show record to his name, Joshua has managed
to retain his endearing personality, traits that would have
made him precious to Karl with or without his accolades. Joshua
has an almost human sense of humor. “He and Nancy have
a love/hate relationship,” Karl says of the “Brat”
and his new bride. “Once as she was leading him across
a stream, she was walking across the bridge, and Joshua was
walking through the water. The water was rising – about
up to Joshua’s knees – and he kept walking further
and further away from Nancy until the lead rope was taut.
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|
North
American Saddle Mule Association |
| The
North American Saddle Mule Association was developed to
preserve saddle mule records (mules are defined as horse/donkey
crosses) and also functions to promote the quality and
versatility of saddle mules and donkeys on a national
scale in English, Western and Driving disciplines. NASMA
provides information on shows and contests as well as
encourages recreational riding and driving of saddle mules.
NASMA is at its core a family institution working to promote
strong family values. Part of that plan includes a focus
on youth, the future of the organization. NASMA maintains
an active youth and scholarship program that seeks to
involve youth in saddle mule competition and reward them
for their efforts by providing scholarships for higher
education. Contact NASMA to find out more information
on the many benefits of becoming involved with saddle
mules and donkeys. |
|
Then,
with a toss of his head, he pulled her off the bridge and
into the water. It absolutely was intentional.” Although
his years of showing have exposed him to almost everything,
making him almost unflappable, Joshua has paranoia of manhole
covers. “He’s absolutely convinced that they
eat donkeys,” Karl says. Even though he is a little
burnt out on travels and show ring performances, he still
maintains a willing spirit. “He’ll do almost
anything you ask, and usually, he’ll do it joyfully,”
says Karl, an attitude that has earned him a generous retirement
to “live at ease.” But, Karl’s favorite
characteristic of Joshua is his independence. “He
always keeps you guessing. He has the ability and the knowledge
to do whatever you ask him, but you are never sure if he
will give it to you until you ask. He’s a little independent;
he keeps you on your toes.”
End
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Tracy
Williams is a graduate of Colorado State University
with degrees in Equine Science and Journalism. She is
a freelance writer and photographer living in New Mexico. |
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