The Author - Meredith Hodges
In 1980, Meredith moved to Loveland, Colorado. She bought a 10-acre spread, named it Lucky Three Ranch and began her own breeding and training program. In the years since, Meredith has paired top-quality mares with outstanding jacks to produce a line of mules exceptional in their quality and athletic ability. She’s also developed a comprehensive training curriculum specifically designed for mules and donkeys, and using her own techniques, has trained several world champions. Meredith’s mules have competed successfully against horses in breed shows and in dressage and combined training. She trained Lucky Three Sundowner, the first mule ever to reach fourth-level dressage, and she also claims the only formal jumping donkey, Little Hack Horner, who still holds the world record with a four-foot jump.
To date, she has written seven books on mule and donkey training and produced an award-winning series of 10 training videos. She has also produced 36 half-hour shows for television, including a new three-part documentary titled, Those Magnificent Mules and The Lucky Three Ranch. Her programs have appeared on the Discovery Channel and Outdoor Life Network and now air several times a week on the rural lifestyle network RFD-TV, Dishnet Satellite Channel 9409 and on Direct TV Satellite Channel 379. Meredith’s father was proud of her achievements and encouraged her to write something about mules for children. So, in 2003, in his honor and with inspiration from her mother, Meredith wrote and published her first children’s book, Jasper: The Story of a Mule. The inspiration for Jasper came from a letter Meredith wrote to herself in 1990 from a little mule who was abused and confused by humans. The letter was published in “Mule Crossing,” to remind people that mules have feelings, too, and to encourage compassion for all animals.
Meredith recently celebrated her 25th anniversary in Loveland, and she hasn’t slowed down a bit. In addition to working on her training correspondence course, the Jasper series and her television programs, she also devotes a great deal of time to advocacy and philanthropy. She supports important equine causes such as the fight to end horse slaughter in this country, and she gives time and resources to charitable organizations such as Hearts & Horses, a Loveland based therapeutic riding organization, which now incorporates mules into its programs. She has also sponsored longears research at Colorado State University and Louisiana State University, and she continues to lend financial support to the American Donkey & Mule Society. At home, her show mule and donkey champions are now the stars of her video and television productions. Lucky Three Ranch, now a sprawling 127-acre spread, is home to 19 mules, two jacks and eight horses. It is also a showcase for longears-related art. In addition to several life-size bronzes Meredith has collected over the years – not to mention the more than 2,000 smaller pieces in her home – she has commissioned three life-size bronzes of her own stars. “Sundowner” and “Mae Bea C.T.,” by Cheyenne artist Robin Laws and Fort Collins, Colo., artist John Taylor, and Little Jack Horner’s “Leap of Faith,” by Bonnie Shields, have helped create a one-of-a-kind sculpture park. Meredith gives frequent tours of the ranch and intends to establish a longears museum. Whatever her plans – and she’s always working on something – you can be sure that she’s always got the best interests of mules and donkeys in mind. The Illustrator - Bonnie Shields
A longstanding member of the Cowboy Cartoonists Association, her wide variety of “mule art” can be viewed at numerous venues, mule and draft horse shows, Western arts and crafts shows, Western trade shows and on the internet at her website at www.Bonnieshields.com. Her talents include drawing, painting and sculpture. She has done a wide variety from ink drawings to acrylic painting to bronze sculpture, from commissioned work to originals, all revering the mule. She has also written a multitude of articles for such publications as “The Brayer,” a bimonthly magazine put out by the American Donkey & Mule Society, “Mules & More,” and the “Bishop Mule Days program,” and her yearly publication of the “BS ‘ogram” is always a welcome read! Bonnie worked for 20 years with Marguerite Henry illustrating her last book, “Brown Sunshine Of Sawdust Valley.” It was the only piece of fiction Marguerite ever wrote. In keeping with “Brown Sunshine,” Bonnie designed the first Breyer model mule and is currently working on yet another. Her work has appeared on select Leanin” Tree greeting cards over the years on such products as t-shirts, note cards, calendars, jewelry and other novelty items. In the past five years, Bonnie has illustrated the workbooks for Meredith Hodges’ video series, “Training Mules & Donkeys” and illustrated Meredith’s two children’s books, “Jasper: The Story Of A Mule” and “Jasper; A Christmas Caper.” She is currently watching her drawings be brought to life in a new animated series beginning with these two books, produced by Meredith Hodges and Media Tech Productions, narrated by actor, Lee Horsley, musical score by “Riders In The Sky” and animated by Bill Melendez Productions, producer of the “Peanuts” holiday specials. Despite public demand, Bonnie always makes time to spend with her mules during the year exploring the beautiful scenery and experiencing the wonder that the mountains have to offer. Her mountain adventures are never dull and invariably contribute to her diversity of work and her infectious sense of humor! |
Born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Meredith
Hodges is the daughter of renowned cartoonist and Peanuts creator
Charles M. Schulz
and Windy Valley Mule Ranch founder Joyce Doty. Meredith grew
up around horses, but her mother’s interest in mules was
catching. Shortly after going to work at Windy Valley in 1973,
Meredith came down with a case of “mule fever” she’d
never kick. More than 30 years later she has a successful mule
ranch of her own and is widely regarded as the world’s
leading authority on saddle mules.
Meredith has earned international recognition
as a breeder, trainer, educator and advocate. She has dedicated
her energy,
her time and innumerable resources to promoting mules and donkeys
and sparked renewed interest in these remarkable animals. Since
1980, she has been an animal inspector, representative and judge
for the American Donkey & Mule Society (our national mule
and donkey organization). Her column, “Mule Crossing,” has
appeared in the ADMS bimonthly publication, The Brayer, for 15
years and in more than two dozen other equine-related publications
internationally. She and her mules have studied with some of
the best equestrians in the industry, including Major Anders
Lindgren (Swedish Olympic team), Denny Emerson (US Olympic team),
Bruce Davidson (US Olympic team), Jim Graham (US Olympic team),
Richard Shrake (AQHA Congress judge and international instructor/trainer),
Pat Parelli (Natural Horsemanship), and numerous others. Her
mules appeared in the Tournament of Roses parade in Pasadena
in 1988 and in the Inaugural parade in Washington, D.C., in 1993,
and she was instrumental in the successful effort to convince
the United States Dressage Federation and United States Equestrian
Federation to allow mules into dressage competition.
Since releasing the first book, Meredith has published two more
in the series: Jasper: A Christmas Caper and Jasper: A Precious
Valentine. Jasper: A Fabulous Fourth is scheduled to be released
later this year. Meredith has also produced a half-hour, animated
DVD adapted from Jasper: The Story of a Mule. The program has
aired frequently on RFD-TV and is available along with the rest
of the Jasper series at www.jasper.com. The Jasper series is
an ideal way to introduce children to mules and donkeys in a
favorable, educational and entertaining way. Whimsical illustrations
by Bonnie Shields and wholesome lessons about life and love make
these books treasures to be passed down from generation to generation. 