JUNE 21, 2019
A MULE FIT FOR A MAKEOVER
On April 5, Shane Vaughan and 10 others gathered in Springfield, MO to draw their cards. These cards determined which un-broke and un-trained mule they would receive. These mules, declared as “Mule Makeovers” were then sent on to spend 150 days with their new caretaker, to become trained. As the previous Mule Makeover winner in 2018, Shane said he loves this competition because they take mules with no destiny that were donated or bought, and transform them into usable ones. This year, Vaughan is working with a five-year-old mule named RUBIES AND DIAMONDS, referred to as “Ruby.” He immediately started working with her and attempted to ride her on the third day, which Vaughan stated might not have been the best choice. One part to training her is that he had to ride on his horse next to Ruby, so that she could get used to seeing him off the ground, and above her. “She had very limited human interaction, besides the man that raised her before I got her,” said Vaughan. “She was scared of people and loud noises.” While Ruby’s kind and loving personality wasn’t always clear at first, she has since felt more comfortable to be herself around more people. “She would’ve never been able to stand next to you like she is right now, at the start of this,” exclaimed Vaughan in excitement of how far Ruby has come. In the end, the group of the 11 will meet back Labor Day weekend with their made over mules. From there, the mules will be auctioned off and the competitors
can either decide to take the money, or keep their mule. “I still haven’t decided yet whether I want to keep Ruby or not,” said Vaughan, “But this year is sure to be a tough one as there’s a lot of good competitors.” We wish Shane Vaughan and Ruby the best of luck when they return back to Springfield, in addition to the rest of their time here at the Pinto World Championship® show.