WOW, what an event! There were close to 40 members in attendance with a couple coming all the way from Indiana. We arrived early to see if there was anything we could help with before the day started and found 
that everything was perfect. It was obvious that Joe and Dayle had been hard at work for weeks, the ring was in fantastic shape, there were tents set up for extra shade, it was wonderful. As the members started to arrive we were so excited to see the number of youth that we had in attendance, and there were plenty of novice adults also. There were a few that had never worked with a donkey before. For the day to work the way we had planned, we also needed a large number of veteran show people and donkeys to aid in making this teaching event a success, and they didn’t let us down.
Each class in the mock show was demonstrated by a veteran, then that veteran would judge that class. Each novice person or donkey in that class was then paired with a veteran show person to help them with that class. We would like to thank each and every one of the veterans that braved the heat to come out and help
these novices learn how to show and play with their donkeys. Joe designed a challenging trail class which left even some of the veterans scratching their heads in disbelief. Lunch came and it was a welcome break, giving everyone a chance to duck in the house, grab a piece of pizza and suck in a little air conditioning. After lunch everyone was excited to get back to the fun because driving was next on the docket. Many could hardly wait to get their hands on a set of reins. We started the driving portion with again a very tough obstacle course! We were so impressed that one of our youth members (Shyanne) stepped up
to play her part as a veteran, helping a very green youth snake her way through the course.
Next on deck was pleasure driving, where each novice learned proper seat position along with rein and whip placement. It maybe a while before some of the novice get comfortable with reins and a whip at the same time. The only way to finish off this wonderful day was of course every ones favorite, the panty race. If you would like to see the results from the mock show check out our web site at
http://www.tennessee-donkeys.com/TDAFunShow2011.html .
This day is what many of our founding members had in mind for this organization when it was conceived back in 2002. Helping others learn about these wonderful long eared creatures that we all love so much. I would like to share with you a quote from Travis Henderson about this event “That was one of the greatest days that I have had as a member of the TDA. I just loved seeing all those kids who had never worked with donkeys having a time of their lives.” Again I need to thank everyone involved in making this a wonderful event. Also a great big thank you to Joe and Dayle for opening up their home to us and working so hard to make everything perfect! Everyone seemed to have had a blast, well maybe not all the donkeys.
