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Thirty
eight years ago the first Draft Horse and
Mule show was held on the Bonner County
fairgrounds in Sandpoint, Idaho, a small
picturesque town on the shores of Lake Pend
Oreille in the ruggedly beautiful Idaho
Panhandle.
Back in the old days, loggers used their
teams of draft horses to fell massive trees
and haul them, often in winter, to timber
markets. Now days, you are more likely to
see them in a beer commercial. Some still
use these gentle giants for farming.
The
program is varied – don’t miss the
crowd-pleasing pulling competitions where
burly horses pull more cinder blocks on a
sled than you can believe. Or see the women,
dressed to the nines in old-timey
equestrienne gear right down to hats and
gloves, drive the lightweight carts. You can
also enjoy the driving classes, farm
classes, junior and senior drives and end up
the show with the magnificent eight-up horse
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Feel
the earth shake as the teams and wagons
rumble by the bleachers. Visit the barns and
get up close and personal with these gentle
giants. If you ask the owners respectfully,
they just may let you pet the velvety noses
of some of these horses and mules.
Whether
it is nostalgia for a bygone era, the joy of
watching these magnificent animals competing
in the various classes, or, just something
that came into being at the right time and
the right place, whatever the happy
circumstance, it has made this show a
delight to its fans, and as special as
Autumn itself. Learn more about the Draft
Horse and Mule Show at
Web Site
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