We Ride Sport and Trail Magazine April 2017 | Page 13

We generally only breed one or two Sarplaninac litters per year. If you are interested in purchasing a pup from us, please visit our website to learn more: www.grazerie.com

everything. I rode each of the 7 days we were there, either alone or with friends, and logged over 160 miles, which included two 40-mile rides.

Finally, ride new trails and give them a job! My mule loves going new places just as much as I do. Beau would get bored if we rode the same trail day after day. I have ridden more new trails this summer than any other time in my life. As a member of the Beartooth Back Country Horsemen we clear a lot of public trails. He has benefited from jumping in stock trailers with unfamiliar horses, being tied, hobbled, and high-lined with different equines. His one constant is me. I love that he has been exposed to chainsaws, obstacles on the trail, work crews, pack animals, hikers, bicycles and ATV’s. He loves people. On a recent work project, it was raining like very hard, so Beau joined us under the eve of the forest cabin. Smart mule! His energy, interest and harmony simply make me smile and keeps me going.

NASMA’s Versatility Trail Program (VTP) is supportive and fun! If you don’t have a mule, there are lots of breed specific and other programs for tracking miles, time in the saddle, etc. One riding program that is open to all equines is Top Trail, the ride mileage program for Open Trail. It is a fun competition with sponsor prizes. Beau and I compete and upload every GPS trail we ride to Top Trail and all our hours to VTP. Both NASMA’s VTP and Top Trail’s programs include Facebook forums, where you can share your rides, enjoy the rides of others, and make likeminded friends. I have made many wonderful friends from all over the country. This summer several of them will be traveling from Michigan and Ohio, to join Beau and me, riding in the mountains of Montana.

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For more information about NASMA and their Versatility Trail Program visit them online: www.nasma.us

My mule loves going new places just as much as I do