RIDING HIGH IN THE SADDLE - EMILY BURTON RIDING MULE DAISY TO NATIONAL HONORS

There are probably not too many 12-year-old girls around that would be extremely excited if they got a mule for a Christmas present. But, there’s probably not too many girls like Emily Burton around either.
Emily, the daughter of Eddie and Annetta Burton, has grown up around horses, working with and showing them with her father, Eddie, and uncle, Donnie Burton, since an early age. And, her mother said that she’d mentioned that she’d like to have mule.
So, for Christmas 2006, dad and mom bought her a young mule, hid it in the barn, and put a picture of it in a wrapped box under the tree. “When Emily opened the box with the picture in it, she forgot about her other presents, and had to go to the barn to see it right then,” Annetta noted.
The mule was christened Emily’s Diamond Daisy – Daisy for short – and Emily and her family began working with Daisy and training her right away.
Emily rode Daisy in some shows last year, but this year has proved to be a showcase for the pair, as they have soared into the top echelon of youth mule riders nationwide.
Their big breakthrough came at the 17th Annual Great Celebration Mule and Donkey Show held in Shelbyville, Tennessee in July.
At the show, which for mule and donkey enthusiasts is equivalent to the famous Tennessee Walking Horse Celebration held annually in Shelbyville – the best show in the nation – Emily and Daisy won several top awards, including the American Gaited Mule Association (AGMA) Youth High Point Gaited Mule and Ride Award, which is presented to the youth rider who accumulates the most points in the various classes at the competition.
At the show, Emily and Daisy captured the AGMA World Grand Champion Walking Mules Lite Shod, Riders 18 and Under title; and were named World Reserve Grand Champion in two other classes for riders 18 and under – Walking Mules, Flat Shod, and Western Gaited Trail Pleasure, Flat Shod. In addition, they also placed fourth in the World Grand Champion Gaited Mules to Halter, Handlers 18 and Under competition.
On Aug. 2, Emily and Daisy continued their winning ways at the Third Annual Kentucky State Championship Mule and Donkey Show held at Liberty. There, Emily captured the Kentucky Mule and Donkey Association (KMDA) Youth High Point Award, was named Youth Gaited Western Trail Pleasure Champion, Youth Gaited Mule Champion, Youth Lite-Shod Gaited Reserve Champion, and placed fifth in the Kentucky State Open Walking Mules Lite-Shod Championship.
Emily’s winning efforts this summer have vaulted her to a fourth-place standing in the North American Saddle Mule Association youth rankings nationwide.
When asked if showing mules is any different from showing horses, Emily said that mules are a little more difficult.
“You have to work with mules quite a bit more than you do horses,” she said. “It takes more training to get them ready for a show.”
Mule and donkey shows are gaining popularity across the nation, with more and more shows and more and more competitors. And being a girl showing mules, Emily finds herself in a minority.
“There’s not a lot of girls who show mules, and the ones that do are mostly older than me,” she noted. “I compete mostly against boys.”
Emily’s next big competition will be in November, when she travels to Louisville, where she will compete at the North American International Livestock Exposition’s Mule and Donkey Show. There, she will compete in both the Youth Class and the Ladies’ Class.
Emily says she truly enjoys showing horses and mules, especially Daisy, and has no plans to stop. When asked how long she is going to continue showing, she replied, “I’m going to show until I can’t.”