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Hickory Hill Donkey Farm

Registered Miniature Donkeys

**** Click here to skip the updates and go directly to our 'For Sale' page! ****

Our farm is located in Leon County, just west of I-45, mid-way between Houston and Dallas and about 45 minutes east of Bryan/College Station (home of the Texas A&M Aggies).  As donkey collectors, we have nine outstanding breeding jacks, a herd of quality brood jennets, delightful yearlings, very sociable weanlings and a captivating nursery.  We breed for conformation, disposition, size and color. 

In August 2002, our collection changed dramatically; actually, we doubled the size of our herd overnight.  James and Geri Peterson sold Small Wonders Ranch and offered us the opportunity to purchase their herd of fantastic little donkeys. Since that time, we have been very busy building barns and loving on donkeys, digging water lines and loving donkeys, hauling hay and yes, loving on donkeys!  Life is great! 

We begin imprinting as soon as those little hooves hit the ground, and when they are a few weeks old, our babies  start "donkey" school ........... learning to walk, stop and stand quietly while wearing their new halters.  Of course the best part is sharing donkey hugs at the end of each and every training session!   
 

We are dedicated to the production of quality miniature donkeys for breeding, showing or to enjoy as a special family pet.  When you are in our area of Texas, please stop by; visitors are always welcome!

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Unfortunately, our website is a victim of the untimely death of Windows 7; Microsoft is no longer supporting
the program, and as a result, my older, but still my favorite, publishing software is no longer stable!

After several failed attempts to update our site, it was discovered that apparently the only resolution to
the situation right now is to follow Microsoft's suggestion and upgrade to Windows 10 and even then, there's no
guarantee that it will alleviate the problem.  Currently, all updates after 2016 (which is apparently when Windows 7
was installed on my computer) are locked out, and even though what I see on my computer screen is updated 2020
information, what our website visitors see on the internet is old 2016 and before news!

I'm working several hours every night to bring our website up to date; please pardon my 'dust!'  Actually, I've
enjoyed going back over double checking to see exactly what else is missing and what is just out of place.  I can't believe
that it was 20 years ago in January that we purchased our first two miniature donkeys, Ginger and Rachel, who each
presented us with a fuzzy baby, Buddy and Moses, the following April.  We were hooked from the beginning,
and just like Noah's Ark, the animals just kept coming two by two!

In the meantime, if you are looking for something specific, just let us know; we have weanlings, youngsters and a few

retirees available!  We had three babies last fall ........... Tucker, Oliver Twist and Amazing Gracie May, and one

more, Oliver Twist, who waited until after the first of the year to make his debut; surely we have something

that your heart just can't resist!  Call, email or text!  Thank you so much!

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We had a busy, busy summer in 2016!  We competed at one show during the month of June, the Texas Shoot Out, right here
in Texas, and we spent the rest of the month getting ready for July. We left Texas on July Fourth to compete at
the Great Celebration in Shelbyville, TN and were gone until the 17th and left again on the 24th headed to Lexington, KY
to participate at BreyerFest 2016. As many of you already know, Wally (Hickory Hills Wall Street) was chosen to be the
model for the 2016 Breyer donkey, plus, he was also invited to come to KY and be a part of the festivities! We knew it
was a huge honor for one of 'Pa and Ma's little donkeys, but we had no idea the magnitude of 'huge!' They told us at
our meeting the day before gate opened to expect 14,000 people, and they also said that there were people
already camped in the parking lots waiting for the gates to open!

We had a fantastic time sharing Wally and introducing everyone to the wonderful world of miniature donkeys, and of the 14,000,
I think we met 13,999; we may have missed one or two! We signed autographs, took pictures and just had an all around good
time visiting! Wally got so many hugs and kisses that I lost count, but he always had a smile on his face when another one approached. I do have to say that he seemed to love the little girls a bit more than the boys, but I think it was the cream
rinse in their hair that was the difference. The first thing he always with the other guest horses and the kiddos and their families; it was truly a once in a lifetime experience for Wally to be selected!

August was spent with kids, grands and great grands ..................... and that too was tons of fun, but we took the last little visitor back home today, and now summer's over, and it's time to get back to donkeys! In other words, I need to get our website updated really soon as we have five delightful spring babies that I haven't even introduced!

OMG!  We are double delighted and smiled all the way home from Houston!  What a great little guy!
Wally doesn't seem to be bothered with all the fuss, but Harv and I were a mess!

It rained most of the week before the show, and that in itself made it hard to get him trimmed, but our temps also dropped

from spring-like back to semi-winter, and we were putting the blanket on and taking it off every morning and night so he

wouldn't get fuzzy!  The day before the show when we should be bathing animals, it was still pouring down rain, so we grabbed the brushes and got busy trying to get as much dirt/grime off!  Don't tell anyone, but this little redhead had to present to the judge without a bath, just lots of elbow grease!  Wally and Harv brought home both the Champion Jack award

and also the Model Miniature Donkey award for the second time back-to-back; it was a great day for the little guy!

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Recently, we delivered three jennys to their new home in Corpus Christi, and it was love at first sight! Here's a picture of Shirley's little granddaughter, Sydney, and Rockette sharing a special donkey moment!  I love the look on Sydney's face ........... those eyes say it all!  Happy!  Happy!  Happy!

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Oh my goodness ............. way back last April, we were contacted by Breyer to have Wally 'sit' as a model for the new 2016 Breyer line; naturally, we were delighted, but couldn't say a word until finally last week when we were notified that his model was ready to be announced .............. presenting Hickory Hills Wall Street, one of the newest additions to the Breyer line!

We will be traveling to Lexington, KY to participate in the 2016 BreyerFest Carnival, a family festival for equine lovers.  The dates are July 22, 23 and 24!  As part of the festivities, Wally will sign autographs, pose for pictures and take part in several parades!  We are so excited to join this fabulous presentation; Wally will be the only donkey there, but he will do his best to make the wonderful world of miniature donkeys proud!
 

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Congratulations to two of our favorites .............. Wall Street and Rockets Red Glare!
They were honored at the GCDMA ASSpiring to Greatness awards banquet in January! Wally was named Model Junior Miniature Donkey and Rocket came in right behind him as Reserve Model Junior Miniature Donkey! Thanks so much to these two boys for working hard and making 2015 a fantastic year for Hickory Hill!

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For the last three years, we have retired some of our older brood jennys and offered them
as pets, and although I was super over-protective of putting them in new homes, but it
has been a rewarding experience. Each new family has been more than I could have hoped
for, and those that know me, know that I hope big! :)
Last spring, we delivered three of our girls to a couple who moved to the States from Norway and have recently purchased a home with acreage ......... the rest is history; the girls are enjoying their retirement, and Per and Elisabeth are head over heels in love with the miniature donkey breed!  The picture that I'm sharing is of Per and Kate (17 years young)
                               napping together ......................... it just doesn't get any better!

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Halloween 2015 - This little trick or treater didn't scare us at all! This is Braxton, our newest great grandson;
he was the football while big sis, Kinley, was a Dallas Cowboy Cheerleader!

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October 6 - Little Lola is one month old, and she's a sassy little thing!  She is our first fall baby and has no competition
in the nursery right now, so at 18" tall, she runs the show!  When I walk outside and call her name, this is how she looks
at me, and I know she is thinking  ................ 'I'm going to stand right here by mom and make Miss JoAnn walk all the
way out here!'  What a little toot!

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September 21, 2015 - Is there anything sweeter than a baby donkey?  For those of you that know me and my passion for the breed (and know that I've never met a donkey that it wasn't love at first sight) may have a hard time answering this question, but yes, and it's a new great grandson ............. it's been a long time since we've had a new little boy in our family! 

Our first 'great' was born three years ago on my birthday, and now this little one shares the same birth date as my wonderful late grandfather who would be this baby's great, great, great grandfather! 

                          Welcome Braxton Wayne Hendricks - 8 lbs. 8 oz. and 20 1/2" long

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September - We had a great time at the 2015 Texas Championship Mini Show!

On Saturday, Harv and Wall Street won the blue for Junior Halter Champion!

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Mr. & Mrs Clinton J. Hendricks		'Papaw' and the cutest bride ever!

August - We haven't posted in a few weeks because we have been busy, busy, but today is a good day to catch up!

Our oldest granddaughter married her high school sweetheart on Saturday, August 8, less than a week after having gall bladder surgery!  She had a beautiful 'barn' wedding complete with burlap and sunflowers!  Emily is a sweetheart, and she looked so darn cute in her wedding gown and cowboy boots!  Gotta love my cute little Texas girl!

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Like father; like son ............. let the fun roll on!

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He truly is following in his dads hoof prints ............ Hickory Hills Wall Street was named 2015 Junior Champion at Halter at the Great Celebration in Shelbyville, TN last week! We are so pleased with this little guy and look forward to watching him mature!  Blue Chip (another Dow Jones boy) placed second in the two year old gelding class, and Ramblin' Rose who just turned three years old last month, won the third place ribbon in a class of 14 three and four year old jennys!  That was a great class! Love seeing young jennys growing up and maturing! The two little yearling boys, Rocket and Ricochet, made their debut at the show and walked away with a first and second place; they are both sired by our senior red herdsire, My World Red Alert, who will be turning 20 years old this year .............  but he is still producing outstanding foals for us!
 

We have three shows left on our 2015 show schedule and will finish out the season with three red boys, Wally, Rocket and Ricochet!  'Chipper' stayed in TN and will finish out this show season with Sean, his new eight year old owner; Rosie romanced the last two weeks with Zydeco and stayed in Shelbyville to live with Robert and Linda Bunn and her best Texas friend ever, Hollywood, in their TN home. Linda is looking forward to this time next year when she has a new little redhead around the farm!
 

We had a super great time in TN, caught up and visited with so many good friends and had a safe, but loooooong trip back home!

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Texas finally had a little bit of sunshine today and guess who rolled in the mud before I could take his picture?  Zig N. Along who turned three years old last February! We love the way this boy is put together!  Zig N. is waiting patiently for our weather to clear up so a cute little jenny can come visiting!

Harv is working hard to get those ears up!

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May - 'Happy Mother's Day!'

                                                 Of all the pictures from Mother's Day, here are two of our favorites!

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OMG! How quickly time flies ......... guess who is two years old already!  If you guessed Rooster, our bottle baby,
you are right! He taught us so much, and it's funny how quickly you forget those two-hour bottle feedings ........... well, sort of! 
 

He is still 1/2 donkey 1/2 puppy, but he is a happy little guy!  He really was a trooper throughout the whole ordeal!
Never complained even when we hauled him with us to Shawnee, OK at five weeks old for a donkey show that we had already entered before he was born! The trip did take a bit longer because we fed him at each fuel stop, and of course everyone

at the gas station wanted to know what we had in the trailer that we were feeding with a baby bottle!

Happy Birthday, Rooster; it's been a great two years, and we look forward to many more!

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April is here, and it's still cold and wet!  Personality Plus and growing like a weed! Smokemifugotem was one month old yesterday, and he is absolutely gorgeous, outstanding conformation and a delightful disposition, and that's as honest and unbiased as a mother can be! He is full of 'play' but young enough to still want to sit in your lap for donkey hugs ............... I do have to admit that those 'hugging sessions' are getting shorter because he would rather be up running and bucking and 'teasing' the yearling/two year old girls that share his pasture! Mom, Rockette, is fine with his antics, but reels him in just before dark and takes him to the barn for the night! His dad, Smoke, was my Christmas present in 2002 and the first donkey that we ever took to the show ring; he is still tightly tied to my heartstrings, and in many ways, Smokem' is 'just like dad!'

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Goodness, March came in cold and wet ................. brrrr! 

We have decided that we are only clipping one donkey for the mid-month Houston Show, and poor Wally drew the short straw!
 

Standing tall in the 'winner's circle' Hickory Hills Wall Street was named Grand Champion Miniature Donkey at the

2015 Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo!  He truly is following in his dad's hoofprints, and we couldn't be prouder!  He has

done so well for us in the show ring, we can hardly wait for him to get old enough to use for breeding!

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Last weekend, we had two delightful visitors! Andrew called and wanted to know if we gave farm tours as he wanted to surprise his girlfriend, Caitlin, with something special for Valentine's Day! They spent several hours with us loving on donkeys and just getting to know the breed up close and personal! Before they left, they had one special request; would I please take their picture with Rooster, our 2013 bottle baby who is going to be two years old in April    ..... and of course, we still haven't caught up on our sleep!  :) Andrew sent me a copy of the photo this morning and said that he and Caitlin wanted to come back when Rockette has her foal in a couple of weeks!  I think they have fallen in love with these wonderful little creatures with long ears!

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To Jerry and Betty Sircy
of Cross Bar 'S' Miniature Donkeys

Hickory Hills Heat Wave was named Grand Champion Jack

for the Tennessee Donkey Association's 2013 Show Year

at their annual awards banquet Saturday, March 29, 2014!

Great Job, 'Heater!'

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Texas State Fair - Dallas, Texas - October 3 & 4, 2014

Son - Hickory Hills Wall Street (left) and Dad - Hickory Hills Dow Jones (right)

Changing of the Guards ...................... last show of our 2014 season! Texas State Fair - Grand Champion Jack and Reserve Champion Jack! Congratulations - Hickory Hills Dow Jones and Hickory Hills Wall Street!  It was a great day for Hickory Hill Donkey Farm!  2014 was DJ's last year to show, and his first born, Wall Street, made his debut!  Next year, DJ will stay at home
and become an 'official' breeding jack, and Wally will carry the load in the show ring! We are confident that he will live up to
his dad's legacy and his 'Git-Er-Done' attitude!

Dow Jones is an amazing little jack; he has done everything that we have ever asked him to do and then some; we absolutely
couldn't be more pleased!  Harv has always said that there are two signs of an outstanding jack .............. what he does
in the show ring and the quality of babies that he produces ............... DJ has done both exceptionally well!

While Dad is at home romancing the ladies in 2015, Wally will show as a two-year-old, and we expect him to continue living up
to the high standards that his daddy has set, bringing home the blue ribbons and making us proud!

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On the 'girly side' of the Texas State Fair ................. Hickory Hills Ramblin' Rose earned the title of Reserve Champion
Jennet at Halter! Congratulations to her new owners, Robert and Linda Bunn in Tennessee!  Rosie is carrying on a family
tradition as she competes in the show ring; she is foal #6 out of the breeding cross of My World Red Alert and 758's Allie,
and she definitely has big shoes to fill. Foal #1 was sold as a yearling to become a herdsire for a farm in Alabama; foal #2
was sold to compete in the show ring, but suffered a severe foot injury before her career even got started, but then came
#3, #4 and #5, all winning multiple halter championships. Rosie will compete at The Great Celebration in Shelbyville next summer
and then go home with her new owners and reunite with her BFF, Hickory Hills Broadway Joe (better known around the farm as Hollywood)!  Foal #7, Rocket's Red Glare, will be weaned next month and hopefully make his debut at Houston in March 2015!

We don't have a formal picture of Rosie and her ribbon from the State Fair, because her halter class was the first one
of the morning, and as soon as she was finished, we bundled her back up in her blanket and took her back to the horse barn
where it was much warmer.  Sometimes the weather in Texas can really catch you off guard; we had a 30 degree drop in temperature overnight ............. 97 to 67 really makes a difference when you are clipped for a show!   Brrrrrr!

So we did the next best thing!  As soon as we unloaded and before we turned her back out in the pasture, we took this picture
for Robert and Linda!  It was a good thing that we got the better photo before taking her halter off, because five minutes later, she was rolling in a favorite dust pit!  A girl can only stay dressed up for so long, and then they just need to be a donkey!

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Best Friends hanging out at Shelbyville, TN
Hickory Hills Broadway Joe and Hickory Hills Ramblin' Rose

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Texas State Championships - Bryan, Texas - August 8 - 10, 2014

ADMS Nationals  - GCDMA/NMDA Sanctioned

Great show for Hickory Hill; fun, fun, fun!  We only took the two boys, Dow Jones and Wall Street; Hollywood stayed with his new owners in Tennessee after the Shelbyville Show, and because we didn't have time to get our yearling gelding conditioned for halter competition, Ramblin' Rose didn't have anyone to stall with, so we were 'walk-ons' meaning that we didn't have stalls/RV spot, we just drove over (about an hour) the morning of halter classes!  Wally won his yearling jack class, and DJ was first in the three/four year old jacks at halter class and then went on to be named Grand Champion Jack at Halter and then, Best of Breed!  We were delighted; DJ is definitely the little redhead with the big heart!  But then the biggest surprise of all was Wally,
as the only 'non-spotted' donkey in the class, bringing home the blue ribbon in the Spotted/Color Class. It was terribly hot,
but an exciting and rewarding trip for our little Hickory Hill donkeys!

Hickory Hills Wall Street 1st Yearling Jacks at Halter 1st Spotted/Solid Colored Class		Hickory Hills Dow Jones 1st ADMS/NMDA Three & Four Year Old Jacks at Halter ADMS/NMDA Grand Champion Jack at Halter ADMS National Champion Miniature Donkey   NMDA Best of Breed

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The Great Celebration - Shelbyville, TN

July 10 - 12, 2014

We had an absolutely fantastic time in Shelbyville this year; renewed old friendships and met some new donkey owners that love the breed as much as we do!  A&B Minis (Amanda Stuart and mom, Brenda Farris) were stalled right across from us, and in the group of donkeys that they entered were Hickory Hills Rusty Nail, Hickory Hills Pilgrims Pride and making her debut in the show ring was Hickory Hills Elvira!  Stalling right behind us was Jerry and Betty Sircy with Hickory Hills Heat Wave; we were so excited to see 'our kids' with their new families!  We had lots of time to donkey talk! 

Wednesday afternoon, we had the traditional exhibitors cookout with hamburgers/grilled chicken and all the fixings! 
Thursday brought on fried fish dinners and watermelon, and Friday was the delicious pulled pork sandwiches with cole slaw. 
Wow; it was all fantastic!  And then of course, Amanda and her family brought us fresh tomatoes and corn from their garden,
a loaf of homemade cinnamon bread for breakfast and one of her delicious pecan pies .......... complete with Jack Daniels syrup!  You just can't beat good friends and good food at a donkey show!

Thursday morning NMDA Halter Classes started the show off in Champions Arena!  First up for Hickory Hills was the youngsters, Wally and Rosie; Wally just turned one year old and Rosie had her second birthday two weeks before the show.  Wall Street placed second in the yearling jack class, and Ramblin' Rose placed third in her two year old jenny class!  In the mature division, we entered Dow Jones and Broadway Joe; these two have worked hard for us this whole year, and they gave 100% at this show also!  Broadway won his three/four year old gelding class and then went on to be named Grand Champion Gelding!  This was an 'icing on the cake moment' for his new owners, Robert and Linda Bunn; it was their first donkey show!
 

Last, but certainly not least, came Dow Jones; I call him the little redhead with the big heart ........ we put a lot of responsibility on his shoulders when we retired Zydeco two years ago, and he has worked hard for us and come through with flying colors,
and this show was one of his best!  DJ won the three/four year old jack class, was named Grand Champion Jack, and then he went on to be named Best of Breed!  OMG!  We were delighted and proud!  It's a long way back to Texas, but we smiled all the way!

On Friday, just for the fun of it, we entered Wall Street in the color class; that's any donkey, any size, any sex, any age and judged strictly on color!  The class was double judged, and Wally and I didn't make Judge A's card, but we were #1 on Judge B's card and finished up fourth place in the class ......... that's a huge feat considering all of the loud colored spots that entered!  Way to go Wally; the judge said he loved your leg garters!

Hickory Hills Ramblin' Rosie Two Year Old Jennets at Halter

Hickory Hills Wall Street Yearling Jacks at Halter

Hickory Hills Broadway Joe Three/Four Year Old Geldings at Halter   That's Hickory Hills Pilgrims Pride and his new owner, Garrett, standing just across from Broadway Joe!

Hickory Hills Broadway Joe Grand Champion Gelding

Hickory Hills Dow Jones Three/Four Year Old Jacks at Halter That's Hickory Hills Heat Wave in second place; we are extremely proud of both boys!

Hickory Hills Dow Jones Grand Champion Jack

During the Celebration, there was also an exhibition class for miniature donkeys fifteen years and older;
we took 758's Allie and her 2014 foal as our entry!  Allie is an exceptional brood jenny, and we are extremely fortunate
to have her in our sorrel breeding program!

Allie was born December 1, 1996, making her 18 years of age this year, and was purchased from Small Wonders Ranch in August 2002. Since that time, she has been bred seven times to My World Red Alert, Hickory Hill's senior red herdsire (who by the way is 19 years of age), and together they have produced seven outstanding foals .......... three boys and four girls.

Allie's first foal was a little jack and was sold as a yearling to become a herdsire in Alabama; her second foal was a beautiful show quality jenny who unfortunately was prevented from even starting a show career by an injury to her hoof as a youngster. The next three foals (one jack/gelding and two beautiful jennys) all had extensive show careers, each bringing home multiple championships to Hickory Hill. Foal #6 is Hickory Hills Ramblin' Rose who has just join our show string, and #7 is Allie's most recent foal, Hickory Hills Rockets Red Glare, who should be weaned and ready for next show season!

Allie has definitely been an asset to Hickory Hill's breeding program and show ring success!

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Texas Shoot Out - 06/13 - 06/15/2014

We only took Wall Street to this show; he still needs some practice standing still for the judge!  He just turned one year old on May 2, and his time limit for 'still' is about 15 seconds, and then he dances!  We think he's an outstanding little jack, and today, the judge thought so too!  Wally won his Yearling Jack Class, was named Grand Champion Jack and then captured the Best of Breed award!  It was a long day, but a great day!

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Finally, we are back up and running with our new computer!  As most of you already know, we were victims of Microsoft XP,
and have been slowly migrating over to our new Windows format, and believe me when I tell you, I don't do electronic

changes easily or gracefully! So with that, let's begin catching up with what's going on at Hickory Hill ...............

Memorial Day, we drove up to Kansas to participate in the 2014 NMDA National Miniature Donkey Show!  We had a great time

and enjoyed the competition with 108 halter animals!  It's been several years since 'numbers' have been that good in halter! 

The Five and Older Gelding Class was the largest, and it had 19 entries!  The smallest class was the Yearling Gelding Class,

and that's to be expected as it's difficult to get one gelded and ready to show that young!  From a breeder's point of view,

the class that proved to me that the miniature donkey market is alive and well was the Foal Class, and there were 12 entries

in that class!  Congratulations to those that accepted the challenge of showing babies!

Hickory Hill wasn't able to show in the foal class because our youngest animal turned a year old just two weeks before the show, but he did represent himself well in the Yearling Jack Class ................ Wally (Hickory Hills Wall Street out of our Dow Jones) won his class of six entries; Rambling Rose placed second in her Yearling Jennet Class (there were 11 entries) and our hero of the show was 'Hollywood' (Hickory Hills Broadway Joe); he placed first in the Three/Four Year Old Gelding Class (six entries) and went on to be named Grand Champion Gelding!  The youngsters really stepped up for us, and for those that don't know, we started Hollywood less than a year ago as a three year old when we sold Pilgrim and found ourselves without a gelding to show!  He has done fantastic for us, and we expect him to continue with his successes for his new owner!  Yes, we are sending another excellent show gelding to Tennessee and will be starting all over again after Shelbyville with Blue Chip (also sired by our Dow Jones).

Wall Street had trouble keeping his feet still in his halter class (Harv really worked for that blue ribbon), but the Solid Color Class proved to be his favorite ........... this class is judged on color and contrasts; the more 'chrome' the better, and Wally's white accents against his deep red color, plus those flashy garters on all four legs proved to be the judge's favorite out of 17 entries!  This was a really fun class to watch!

Here's several pictures, but the lighting was dim, and no one wanted to put their ears up and smile!

Hickory Hills Ramblin' Rose 2nd Place Yearling Jennets at Halter

Hickory Hills Wall Street 1st Place Yearlings at Halter

Hickory Hills Broadway Joe 1st Place Three/Four Year Old Geldings at Halter Grand Champion Gelding

And here's Wally and the color class!
 

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Things are beginning to settle down a bit, and we now have time to catch our breath and
enjoy our donkeys ................. 2013 was certainly a roller coaster ride!

We began the year with Mimi's (Mimosa) broken leg and just about the time she was able to have the cast removed, we had our first bottle baby born after 12 years of breeding miniature donkeys!  OMG!  He's a sweetheart and a real trouper, but getting up at all hours during the night sure is hard on the old folks! 

With all the things we had going on at the farm, we only made six donkey shows this year (Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo in Houston TX, River Valley in Shawnee OK, The Great Celebration in Shelbyville TN, Tennessee State Fair in Nashville, Texas State Fair in Dallas, and the Texas Championship Show in Bryan, TX),  Our donkeys worked hard to bring home some new blue ribbons and several championships, and we had the opportunity to visit with old friends and meet some new donkey owners!  There are so many wonderful people who have a love affair with the miniature donkey breed!

More news and photos to come later in the week, but I just wanted to touch base and let you know that Harv and I are still 'kicking' and enjoying our donks!  Thanks to all who have called and/or emailed to check on us because our website hasn't been updated in an eternity; good friends are gifts to be treasured!  Thanks again!

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Just had to share a quick picture of little Zig N. Along!  He was named 2013 ACOSA National Champion Jack at Shelbyville last month!  As most of you know, we are concentrating on showing our redheads this show year, but we took this little spot along with the four sorrels to TN just for 'the fun of it,' and it turned out to be just that .......... lots of fun! 

Congratulations to Zig N. and Harv for their good job in the show ring!  A gorgeous mammoth jack was named Reserve Champion. I kick myself now for not getting a picture of 28" Zig N. and the giant mammoth animal, but we were so excited that I didn't even think about it at the time!

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Guess who is celebrating his first birthday this week?

Give up?  It's Rooster, our bottle baby last year!

What a little trooper he has been ............... raised by two old retirees
and hauled to three out-of-state donkey shows by the time he was
five months old, and he made it all with flying colors! 

Hickory Hills Sunday Sir Prize
DOB: Sunday, April 21, 2013

and I'm so sorry, I don't have a clue about his birth height, everyone asks
about that, and unfortunately we were so darn busy, I didn't even think
to measure him then, but he measured 26 1/2" on his first birthday! 
He loves everyone and everything and never meets a stranger,
and he's totally all boy ......... running and playing from morning to night!

If you are interested in reading more about 'life' with a bottle baby, click here and it will take you
to a separate page for Rooster's story!  We hope you never have to take on this responsibility,
but if you do, our story might give you some ideas!  We learned everything the hard way through trial and error,
but our little guy was as determined as we were that he would grow up to be a healthy/happy little donkey! 

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Welcome 2014 ........ and we have our fingers crossed that this year is a much smoother year than last!  We were really tested last year with Mimi's broken leg and Rooster, our first bottle baby, but thankfully everything has turned out fine, and we are looking forward to another good year with donkeys!

Before we welcome a new year, we want to announce the final results of our 2013 show season!  We are so proud of our little donkeys; they worked hard for us and came home with lots of ribbons and awards!  Dow Jones and Texas Red Rose hauled all year with us, plus we started three newbies along the way!  Ramblin Rose started the year off at the Houston Livestock Show and placed second in the yearling class; Broadway Joe made his debut in the three/four year old gelding class at Shelbyville and came home with the blue ribbon!  Little Zig N. Along was our entry in the ACOSA classes at Shelbyville, and he surprised us all by winning his two year old jack class and then going on to be named Grand Champion ACOSA Jack!

In January, Dow Jones was named GCDMA Grand Champion Jack, Texas Red Rose won the GCDMA Grand Champion Jenny award and Ramblin' Rose tied with another yearling as GCDMA Junior Champion!  It was a hard year, but a really good one!

Zig N. Along won the first Hickory Hills sponsored Halter Futurity with his winnings at Shelbyville; we've ordered his award blanket and will be announcing information on our 2014 futurity in the next few weeks!

Dow Jones Shelbyville 2013

Sandy & Texas Red Rose Texas State Fair 2013

Broadway Joe Shelbyville 2013

Ramblin' Rose Shelbyville 2013

Zig N. Along Shelbyville 2013

One of my favorite 2013 pictures ......... Harv and DJ waiting for gate call at the mid-November show! 
They were both so ready for show season to end! 

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Things are beginning to settle down a bit, and we now have time to catch our breath and
enjoy our donkeys ................. 2013 was certainly a roller coaster ride!

We began the year with Mimi's (Mimosa) broken leg and just about the time she was able to have the cast removed, we had our first bottle baby born after 12 years of breeding miniature donkeys!  OMG!  He's a sweetheart and a real trouper, but getting up at all hours during the night sure is hard on the old folks! 

With all the things we had going on at the farm, we only made six donkey shows this year (Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo in Houston TX, River Valley in Shawnee OK, The Great Celebration in Shelbyville TN, Tennessee State Fair in Nashville, Texas State Fair in Dallas, and the Texas Championship Show in Bryan, TX),  Our donkeys worked hard to bring home some new blue ribbons and several championships, and we had the opportunity to visit with old friends and meet some new donkey owners!  There are so many wonderful people who have a love affair with the miniature donkey breed!

More news and photos to come later in the week, but I just wanted to touch base and let you know that Harv and I are still 'kicking' and enjoying our donks!  Thanks to all who have called and/or emailed to check on us because our website hasn't been updated in an eternity; good friends are gifts to be treasured!  Thanks again!

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Just had to share a quick picture of little Zig N. Along!  He was named 2013 ACOSA National Champion Jack at Shelbyville last month!  As most of you know, we are concentrating on showing our redheads this show year, but we took this little spot along with the four sorrels to TN just for 'the fun of it,' and it turned out to be just that .......... lots of fun! 

Congratulations to Zig N. and Harv for their good job in the show ring!  A gorgeous mammoth jack was named Reserve Champion. I kick myself now for not getting a picture of 28" Zig N. and the giant mammoth animal, but we were so excited that I didn't even think about it at the time!

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2012

This little guy is truly a legend in the making ...............
Introducing Hickory Hills Rocket Red Glare
 

His sire (My World Red Alert) is 19 years old, and his dam (758's Allie) is 18 years old, and together, they are still producing outstanding babies!  We purchased both Red Alert and Allie in 2002, and counting this little guy, they've produced six foals for us; we sold three and campaigned the other three in the show ring, where they brought home many honors and championships!  Allie came to us with Gabriel, a yearling jenny, that we sold and later purchased back.  She never made it to the show ring, but many of you will recognize her last foal, Hickory Hills Dow Jones!  Allie is his grandmother on his mom's side! 
Oldies but goodies!  Gotta love them!