For the first time in two years, Columbia has a new King Mule and her name is Jane.
The prized animal was awarded the title of King Mule at the culmination of the Skillington Draft Show on Saturday.
The event is a longstanding staple of the Mule Day celebration in Maury County.
“There is not much to say,” said Randy Welch, June’s trainer. “She is one good mule.”
Gregg Tabor of Scottsville, Kentucky, is Jane’s owner.
“We are just awful proud,” Welch said. “It’s a huge honor when you can come out with all this competition. We have done well today.”
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The Skillington Draft Show is one of Mule Day’s flagship events and has been the foundation of the community celebration.
Draft Mule Show Chairman Ricky Skillington previously told The Daily Herald the King Mule crowning started back in late 1940s as a way to award the most attractive mule.
His grandfather had the King Mule in 1950, which the patriarch rode to Nashville to invite the governor to Mule Day.
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Contestants from Tennessee, Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Arkansas and other states travel to Columbia to present their best draft mules with the hope of earning the title.
The event is commonly described as a beauty pageant for the animals.
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Competitors are judged on their conformation, or build, and how pleasing they are to the judges’ eye. Features the judges look for is a good rounded hip, short back, good bone structure, muscle build and long, cupped ears.
About 95 out of 100 times, the king mule is a mare mule, Skillington said.
The competition remains a long-standing display of the American tradition and the last of three enduring shows in the U.S.
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