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Alberta Donkey and Mule Club Newsletter
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**Remember to share your adventures with us on our Facebook Group, or email them to us so they can be featured on the website!**
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Time to Renew Your Membership!
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Memberships run from Feb 1/23-Jan 31/24
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**Those that previously purchased a 5 year membership, you are due to renew now**
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**HIGH POINT OPPORTUNITIES FOR RECREATION AND COMPETITIVE MEMBERS**
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Whether you are a competitive rider/handler/driver in any discipline, or someone who enjoys recreation and community events, we have a program for you! Earn points while you carry out your summer plans (or even add something to get a few extra points). High point winners will be acknowledged and rewarded with prizes! Check out the forms below. If you have any questions or would like to sign up please email us! You can also elect to sign up on our membership form, and send the additional fee with your dues. *Links are updated*
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**Get in your high point forms ASAP**
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2022 High Point Winners will be announced next month!
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First Aid Course Feb 11/12
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Come learn from our own Erica Zacharuk!
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Feb 11th- Basic First Aid Course
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Feb 12th- Advanced First Aid Course (if enough interest)
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**Basic First Aid Course cost will be 50% subsidized by the club for members! All members who complete the course will also get a first aid kit!
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*Please email info@albertadonkeyandmule.ca to register. Payment is required upon registration. E-transfers can be sent to info@albertadonkeyandmule.ca
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Location: 5223 54 st Olds, AB (Ag Society)
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2023 Events
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Check our website and Facebook Group for events also!
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February 25- Bruce Stampede Appreciation Supper
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- For all volunteers, sponsors, and participants. Contact Russ at mules780@gmail.com to join
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April 14-16 2023- Everything Equine On The Border- Lloydminister
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- We will have a booth and provide demonstrations. If you are interested in helping please email us!
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April 28-30 2023- Horse Expo Canada- Red Deer
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- We will have a booth and provide demonstrations. If you are interested in helping please email us!
- **ANNUAL MEETING WILL BE HELD HERE** Will also be on zoom
May 7- Bruce Pasture Ride and Horn Search- Bruce, AB
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- Contact Russ at mules780@gmail.com for more information
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May 19-28- Hummingbird Staging Area Ride
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- Come for any amount of time that works for you! Contact Keith at 403-843-3293
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May 27 2023- Trick Training Clinic with Amanda Preston, Onoway, AB
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May 28 2023- ADMC Fun Show, Onoway, AB
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June 3/4- Amy Dorland Clinic-How to Talk to Your Horse/Mule- Blackfalds, AB
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July 29/30- Bruce Stampede, Bruce, AB
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- Mule Race, Parade, Pro Rodeo
Sept 8/9- Grizzly Bear Coulee Trail Ride, Wainwright, AB
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- Look at our website for photos from previous years!
- Contact Russ at mules780@gmail.com for more info
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Please email if you have any events you would like to see on the website and newsletters!
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Expense Compensation
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Did you know you can apply for expense compensation for attending events and promoting your long ear?
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Did you know you can organize a club event in your area?
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Our club bylaws lay out our objectives as a club, and our casino funding help makes that happen. The executive wants as many members as possible to benefit from our casino funds, and to promote long ears.
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**All funding must be applied for and approved by the executive PRIOR to submitting expenses**
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Facebook
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Our Facebook group is a great place to connect with other members. Sharing your adventures with your long ear, asking questions, posting good articles, sharing humor, etc... is what it is all about. If you haven't joined or shared much, start today!
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2023 Planning
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Help plan 2023! We welcome ALL ideas- email anytime with thoughts or ideas. Thank you to those who filled out the survey. The results have already sparked the planning of a few events!
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Saddle Up
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Our club enters a monthly article in this great magazine. Remember to check it out (it is free online) If you have a story you would like to share about your long ears please email and we will get it published.
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In Memoriam
Our club has lost two very special members who contributed greatly to the long ear community.
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Don Fossum’s Life With Miniature Donkeys
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By: Anne Fossum
When Don Fossum learned about how wonderful miniature donkeys were, he
just had to have some. In 1997 he purchased 4 yearling jennets which were
registered with the Canadian Donkey and Mule Association. He wanted good
quality breeding stock. Each year more donkeys were purchased, including a
jack from the United States. The jack’s pedigree went back to an import from
Sardinia.
Over the years the the size of the herd grew and Don became interested in
training geldings for driving. Donkeys are smart so Don enjoyed training them.
Since he had been a school teacher, he was able to use some of the same
principals in his training. The next step was to take donkeys to miniature
donkeys shows in Calgary, Red Deer, Oregon and California. He found the other
competitors friendly, so made new friends.
His farm was known as Berry Ridge Miniature Donkeys. People were always
welcomed to the farm to learn more about donkeys, how to care for them or
how to drive them. Miniature donkeys are so reliable for children to be around,
as well as adults and they love the attention given to them. Berry Ridge jennets
were sold at auction sales in Alberta and Colorado, resulting in some going to
other parts of the US, England, Ireland and Holland.
Don was kind and gentle with the donkeys and when he was in the pastures,
there were always several following him around to get their turn at being
brushed or petted. He always socialized the foals starting from the day they
were born. Among other things Don picked up the hooves right from the start
so there was an easy time for both the animal and the farrier when hoof trimming
time came around.
As the size of the herd grew, Don had an arena sized barn built with attached
winter pastures. The hay could be stored inside, as well as the harness, carts
and his 2 carriages which were used for team driving. Also included was a large
heated room for training and driving. That way training could take place in the
winter months too.
When Don was diagnosed with cancer, he continued to work with the donkeys
and found that it was therapeutic. They helped him through his journey with
cancer, until he passed away in 2021. Don was an active member of the
Canadian Donkey and Mule Association as well as the Alberta Donkey and Mule
Club.
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Write up by: Linda Leggette
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Robert (Bob) Leggette—1936 to 2022Bob passed away at the Olds Hospital and Care Centre, Olds, Alberta on Saturday, September 17, 2022 at the age of 85 years.
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Bob was born in Grand Valley, Ontario on November 30, 1936. From a young age the family involvement with horses began. The boys raced ponies and showed horses in Ontario and through the New York state, in the United States. Bob remembered racing on cement, sod, sand, dirt and ice tracks on the Rideau Canal on Ontario. Bob loved to race, and that included almost any kind of race on or behind a horse. The Leggette boys were a force to be reckoned with, no matter the area they raced in.
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Bob married at the tender age of 17 to Janet Alberta Rae, and was blessed with three children; Debbie, Jim and Tom. Horses, rodeo, and showing was a family affair. Many happy hours were spent going down the road, as the kids excelled at their chosen events. In the 70’s the kids moved to Alberta to continue horse events, and soon after Bob and Bert followed. They moved to an old school property 4 miles east of Innisfail. Bob worked construction by day, then trained horses, trimmed and shod horses, and judged rodeo events. Bert passed away in December 1982, and Bob started dating one of his farrier customers in the spring of 1983, Linda Larsen. Their first date was a horse sale. The love of horses tied them together, and they married in late 1983. They
were Blessed with two children; Donald and Amanda. Horses and eventually mules continued to be the main part of Bob’s life and were passed onto these kids as well. Linda wanted a mule, and when Bob saw one at the Daines horse sale, he called to let her know. Linda bid on him, and Rudy became an important part of the Leggette home. Bob trained Rudy for Linda, and enjoyed him immensely. A few years later Linda traded a horse for another molly mule, and since Bob had become interested in Rudy, Linda gave this mule, Jessie, to him. Jessie became a huge part of Bob’s life, and he treasured her until the day he passed on. Rodeo was wasn’t a part of the lifestyle anymore, but training, riding English and Western, driving and showing were
all taught, and enjoyed by the whole family. The family was very busy with the local 4H Clubs, the Bowden Light Horse Association and the Alberta Donkey and Mule Club. Bob even had the great privilege of competing on Team Arabian at Spruce Meadows Battle of the Breeds. Live revolved around horses and there were always plenty on the
property.
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Unfortunately Bob and Linda separated after Donnie and Amanda left home. Bob spent the remainder of his years, happily, with Ida Newell. She was Bob’s constant companion, and loved horses, as he did. Of course, horses and his treasured Jessie continued to be a huge part of his life. He was still showing, riding, driving, training and trimming well past his 80th birthday. He was an active member of the Chinook Driving Club in his later years, and showed at the Golden Age Horse Show annually. Bob worked as carpenter for the better part of his life, but was also training, trimming and shoeing horses for many people in the area.
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Bob served on the executive of the Alberta Donkey and Mule Club in past years, and did what he could to promote donkeys and mules. Bob will be lovingly remembered by his spouse Ida Newell, his sister Bonnie, (Gord) Stickwood, his sister-in-law
Marie Leggette, his daughter Debbie (Pete) Wallace, his son Tom (Linda) Leggette, his son Jim Leggette, his son Donnie Leggette, his daughter Amanda (Thomas) Leggette, his grandchildren, and his great grandchildren, as well as numerous nieces, nephews, cousins and close friends
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Classified Ads
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ISO: Mini Jack for breeding. Contact Deb Gray at: 306-830-7545
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ISO: Mammoth Donkey- Contact Kristen at: kristenn.foreman@gmail.com
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ISO: 2 year old or younger mammoth donkey near Grand Prairie. Contant Trevor at:
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trevorboutilier@hotmail.com
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ISO: Trained guard Jenny. Contact Michalene Boulding at: 306-699-2421
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Camptown Harness in excellent shape. Fits 13.2hh-15hh horse. Please contact suzannelegars@hotmail.com
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Email Classifieds to:
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