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2008 Babies in the Nursery!

Left Side Right Side Hickory Hills Silk Stocking

Wow!  Look at those spots, and it's another outstanding jenny!  Tangueray is the dad, and this is the third spotted baby he and Maddie have produced.  Tangueray is registered as black/brown, and Maddie is dark brown MSF (she has a blaze face and 12 white hairs on her left hip)!  This little doll was born on Tuesday, March 18, and "hit the ground running!"  Her mom was sure glad when it got dark, and we put them to bed for the night!  These little creatures with the long ears are just terrific; the spots are a bonus! We name all of Tangueray's little boys by gin names (Junipero Gin, Magellan Gin, Sloe Gin Fizz and Cotton Gin), and the girls are named after sweet drinks (Shirley Temple, Margarita and Tequila Sunrise).  I had never heard of a Silk Stocking drink, but the name sure works for this little gal! Here's the recipe for a Silk Stocking:  1 1/2 oz tequila, 1/2 oz dark creme de cacao; 1 oz heavy cream and 1/2 tsp Chambord® raspberry liqueur.  Pour tequila, dark creme de cacao, heavy cream and Chambord into a cocktail shaker half-filled with ice cubes. Shake, strain into a cocktail glass, and serve.

Hickory Hills Black Gold

"Goldie" was born on St. Patrick's Day, and we thought about naming her for the holiday (Irish Rose, Irish Eyes, Irish Lace), but we kept coming back to Black Gold, so that's her registered name, but around the farm, she's Goldie!  She's another Smoke baby, and a full sister to Jus Smokin, the little two-year old jack that we are showing this year.  Harv's planning ahead; he already has dreams of this one in the show ring too!

Hickory Hills Holy Smoke

He was late .............. but well worth waiting for!  It's a boy!  He was due on January 29, but the joke was on us; Jazzy waited until February 4 to surprise us with an absolutely gorgeous little black jack with a big white star on his forehead!  His dad is Smoke, and we couldn't help it; we had to name him "Holy Smoke!" :)  No other name would fit!  He is an outstanding foal, and he has his dad's fantastic, laid-back disposition!  "Reserved" Many thanks to Copper Star Miniature Donkeys Woodbine, MD Brad and Emily have big plans for this little guy!  They have put together a nice group of jennys, and Holy Smoke will be the #1 man around the farm!

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Show Update:

2008 NMDA National Show - April 5 & 6, Waco, Texas

This was a good show for the little Hickory Hill donkeys; they worked hard and did a good job for Pa & Ma!  Merle won his "old man" halter class, and then went on to be named 2008 NMDA National Reserve Champion Jack, K.B. placed second in his two year old jack class; Chili placed third in his two year old gelding class and Jus Smokin "danced" his way to sixth place in the yearling jack class! 

The weather was beautiful, and Gulf Coast Donkey and Mule Association did a fantastic job of hosting the show for NMDA.  Friday nights exhibitor dinner was a lot of fun; they served delicious Texas barbeque and some of the best desserts ever!  We had a lot of fun and meet some great new donkey friends! 

Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo - March 16 - 17

This show will always be a big blur!  Two hours after we arrived, Harv had been kicked by a polo horse, blacked out and was in the hospital; our weekend changed dramatically!  We feel blessed that after four days of extensive testing for underlying causes, he was given a clean bill of health, and the intense pain of the injury was ruled the only cause of the whole ordeal!  We want to take this opportunity to thank those that came to our rescue with their prayers and get-well wishes and offers to help get the trailer and donkeys back home and anything that I might have needed; we have made some fantastic friendships through our donkeys!  A special thank you to our friends at Lil Foot Mini Ranch!  Kim and Shirley took care of our donkeys like their own; they fed them, tucked them in at night and bathed not only their donkeys, but ours too!  Kim showed Jus Smokin and Chili in their halter classes, and Steve Wilhelm showed Norma Jean in hers!  Our donkeys definitely missed Harv; actually, they took advantage of his absence and didn't cooperate with Kim and Steve.  Norma Jean wouldn't walk or trot, Chili acted like he was asleep, and Jus Smokin leaned on Kim the whole time!   In spite of it all, they all brought home ribbons!  What the donkeys didn't know was that our son video taped the show, and Harv was able to see it from his hospital room.   Needless to say, after we got back to the farm, they each spent time at the "thinking tree!"

San Antonio Show - February 11
 

Oh my goodness; how this Texas weather can change!   It was 81 degrees on Sunday as we drove over to San Antonio from our farm in Leon County, and it waited to start raining until after the halter classes were completed on Monday!  What a huge difference from our January trip to Fort Worth in 20 degree weather! 

We took four donkeys with us to SA; Norma Jean, Smokin, Chili and K.B.  This was K.B's first show since his allergic reaction to horse flies back in June.  We think he still needs to gain a few more pounds, but he placed second in the three/four year old jack class; he will be three years old this summer!  Good job K.B and good job to the other three; they all worked hard and brought home ribbons too! 

Norma Jean and Harv are set and waiting for the judge!		Here comes Smokin! But he better get those feet set and still before the judge gets there or Daddy's going to be mad!
K.B. never missed a beat!		Ears up, Chili ..................... The judge is looking your way!

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January, 2008

We are busy, busy, busy clipping three of our donkeys for the Fort Worth Show; the weather has been nasty and cold so we waited as long as we could to start, hoping the conditions would improve, but not so lucky!  We are only taking three (Smokin, Norma Jean and Chili) because after we clip for a show, we have to keep blankets on them 24/7, and that's a huge job; three is plenty in bad weather!  No matter how snug we pull the straps (we also pin the two openings with blanket pins) Smokin is always going to get out of his during the night, and the first thing we have to do every morning is go out in his pen, find his blanket and dress the boy again! 

Fort Worth Show, January 20
(temperature 20 degrees - brrrrrrrrrrrr!)

We had a great time despite the cold weather!  Well, after we are at home in front of the fireplace, we can say that, but actually, it was too cold to smile; your face actually hurt to move!  Each donkey had on three blankets and a heat lamp in their stall; they were warm and snuggly.  About an hour before show time, we took off their hoods and one layer; they looked at us like we were crazy!  In the holding area, we took over another layer, and then a class before their class, we took off the third and final layer; as soon as they left the arena, we bundled them back up again!  They were great little troopers, and besides being troopers, they brought home some ribbons, a belt buckle and a halter with leather inlays!  Pa and Ma were delighted with their little donkeys!  :)

Norma Jean was cold, and she wasn't in the mood to put her ears up! Norma Jean will be two years old in May; she showed in the two year old jenny class and placed second.	Smokin, standing at the front of his class!  He is so much like his dad!  He likes to have  fun in the arena, and Harv really has to work hard to keep his feet from dancing! Jus Smokin will be two years old in July, and he showed in the two year old jack class; he won his class and then went on to be named "Reserve Champion Halter Jack" for the show!	Here's Chili; first in his class!  .What can I say!  He always has his ears up and knows when it's show time!  Chili (Red Hot Chili Pepper) will be three years old the end of October, and he won the three year old gelding class and was named "Fort Worth 2008 Grand Champion Gelding!"

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Showing:

Here's a list of some of the 2008 shows that we will be attending; if you happen to get to one of them, be sure to stop by and introduce yourself!  One of the greatest things we do at donkey shows is to meet new people, put a face with an email address, and of course, trade donkey stories!  :)

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Dragging your little ass!  (Chapter 2)

Here's one of my favorites; Harv and Jus Smokin leaving the arena at Fort Worth
to collect their ribbon and halter awards for Reserve Model Jack.  Harv is two-stepping and
Smokin isn't ready to leave; he's still having fun!

Chapter 1:  Like father; like son!  Here's Harv "dragging his little ass, Smoke" several years back after finishing a lead-line obstacle class.  It's almost spooky how much Smoke and Smokin's personalities are alike!  Smoke was so much fun to haul and show!  He loved meeting people and introducing them to the wonderful world of miniature donkeys!  Of course, now he is content to stay home and romance the jennys, but I still miss him traveling with us!  He was a fantastic PR donkey!

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Our "Home Page was getting so large that some folks with dial-up internet service were having trouble downloading the pictures, so I have moved the older stories and pictures to a separate page. 
 

Just click here on Dazee, the donkey, and you will go to our second page, or you can go directly to the bottom of this page and click our For Sale Page or one of our other pages!  We hope you enjoy visiting our website as much as we enjoy putting it together; as you can surely tell, we love sharing pictures of our wonderful little creatures with the long ears!

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Our farm is located in Leon County, just west of I-45N between Madisonville and Centerville.  As donkey collectors, we have acquired seven nice 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 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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Welcome 
Donkey hugs can change your life forever! 

This little donkey is is one of our most cherished gifts. Our youngest granddaughter, Shelby, "designed" Dazee as a cut-paste project in pre-school, "Santa" had it framed, and now it hangs near the front door to meet and greet our farm visitors.

Christmas, 2007, "Santa" had Dazee's face put on a farm flag, and now it proudly waves in the wind just below the flags of the U.S.A. and Texas! 

Rachel doesn't mind sharing Baby Phoebe!

Last Updated May 10, 2008

 Copyright © 2002 - 2010 / Hickory Hill Donkey Farm - All Rights Reserved

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