Calling all mules!
Southern Arkansas University is calling all mules for the “Great Southern Arkansas Mule Ride,” scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 19, 2009. The event is part of a year-long Centennial Celebration and will pay tribute to the University’s heritage and unique athletic mascot – the Mulerider.
“The Great Southern Arkansas Mule Ride will be really special,” said Dr. David Rankin, president of Southern Arkansas University. “We’re going to recreate a part of our history, and we’re going to have a good time.”
Southern Arkansas University was founded in 1909 as the Third District Agricultural School, and it wasn’t long until athletic teams were fielded. According to Dr. James Willis, university historian, poor roads and the lack of automobiles in south Arkansas made travel to away ballgames difficult. As the story goes, athletes rode mules from the school’s farm to the train station in McNeil, Ark., five miles north of campus.
As told in Willis’s book, The Mulerider School’s Centennial History, it was during a visit to the coach’s home in 1912 that the Mulerider name was first associated with the team: “A few days after the game, Coach Turrentine invited the players to his home, also located on the road to McNeil. As the riders dismounted in his yard, Turrentine walked onto his porch and shouted a greeting: ‘My Mule Riders!’”
The Third District Agriculture School became Magnolia A&M in 1925 and Southern State College in 1951. With the addition of graduate programs in 1976, it took on its present designation – Southern Arkansas University. The term “Mule Rider” has also evolved over the years from two words to one. SAU holds federally registered trademarks on the words “Mulerider” and “Muleriders.”
The Great Southern Arkansas Mule Ride will recreate the act of riding mules from the University to the location of the former train depot in McNeil. There will be no fee to participate in the ride, and the University hopes to attract riders from across the country.
On the morning of the ride, participants will depart from Mulerider Stables. After traveling across the University farm, the caravan will travel north to McNeil on Columbia County Road 13 – also known as Mulerider Road – just as the early athletic teams would have done. Plans are underway for events to take place in McNeil before the group rides back to the Magnolia campus.
The SAU Mulerider, Sunny Wilcox, will lead the mule ride atop the University’s famous mule, “Molly B.” No motorized vehicles will be allowed to participate. Although the event is primarily for mules and mule-drawn buggies, others farm animals will be able participate. “We might let a few horses in,” Rankin said. “But they’ll have to stay at the back of the line.”
The events will not end with the return to Magnolia. The University is planning a steak dinner for participants and members of the community. The dinner will be on the grounds of Mulerider Stables, and tickets will be sold. The steaks will be prepared by teams from the World Championship Steak Cook-off which is held each May in conjunction with the Magnolia Blossom Festival.
For more information on the Great Southern Arkansas Mule Ride, contact Southern Arkansas University at (870) 235-5090 or visit www.saumag.edu/100.
August 25th, 2009 at 12:07 pm
[...] and the Dedication of the Alumni Bridge at the SAU Welcome Center. On Saturday, September 19th, the Great Southern Arkansas Mule Ride will take place. This is a continuation of the year-long Centennial Celebration and will pay [...]