3 minute read
The Stutzman Mules: No Horsing Around
The Stutzman Mules: No Horsing Around
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It’s very simple. Donna and Garon Stutzman simply adore their mules.
The love affair all began in the early 1980s when a friend suggested they might enjoy attending a large animal auction at the Fauquier Livestock Exchange in Marshall. From then on, they were off and galloping.
Photo by Tiffany Dillon Keen
Donna and Garon Stutzman share a love of mules.
This portrait of Sloe Gin Fizz is by artist Jessica Zupp Schengber. She was shown by Donna Stutzman in many of the nation’s biggest shows, she is now 24 and retired.
Photo by Tiffany Dillon Keen
John Coles on Candyman.
Photo by Vicky Moon
A bit of fun in the sun.
Photo by Tiffany Dillon Keen
The barn at Old Denton is filled with the Stutzmans’ Grove Creek Mules, among them Sloe Gin Fizz, Ellie Mae, Sadie, Jagermeister, Miss June Bug, Tom Collins, Natty Pat Bo, Stella Pearl Artois, and Candyman.
Photo by Karen Monroe of Middleburg Photo
Garon Stutzman rides out with Orange County Hounds on Ellie Mae
Photo by Karen Monroe of Middleburg Photo
Old Denton is listed on the Virginia Landmarks Register and the National Register of Historic Places. The main two-story brick dwelling in Fauquier County was built in 1860.
Photo by Tiffany Dillon Keen
They now own nine mules who live and romp on their 60-acre farm, Old Denton in Fauquier County. Garon has gone fox chasing on them for years and also used his mules to trail ride, coon hunt, pull carriages and race.
“I ride only mules because I think they’re safer than horses,” he said. “They have more endurance, are better behaved and are handier in the hunt field. They generally require a little less medical care and can be grazed together-- males and females.”
There is plenty of room to romp and play on 60 acres at Old Denton.
Photo by Tiffany Dillon Keen
Donna grew up riding and showing American Saddlebreds, including at the National Horse Show at Madison Square Garden. She also competed in dressage, hunter and pleasure events.
“When I met Garon he converted me to riding and showing mules,” she recalled. “I wouldn’t go back to riding a horse, especially at this point in my life. Mules are smarter, safer rides.”
When the Orange County Hounds met at Old Denton last November, John Coles, M.F.H., led the field riding Candyman, a Stutzman mule, as an end result of a fundraiser at the group’s dance and auction.
“He rode like a Cadillac and jumped like a deer,” Coles said that day. “Mules can do whatever a horse can do,” Garon said. “Best of all, my mules have created the opportunity for me to meet many more people and to make many more wonderful friends than you could imagine.”
In 2017, the Stutzmans were instrumental in getting an exact replica Twenty Mule Team Wagon built and brought to Washington, D.C. for the July 4th parade. Donna had a documentary made and the 38-minute film can be seen on YouTube by entering: Twenty Mule Team comes to Washington, DC July 4, 2017.
