Fathers Day

Fathers’ Day

As I was growing up, my dad, George Washington, was the best father in the world. I was not only proud of him being called, “The Father of our Country,” I was proud of his character. With my father, there is only right or only wrong. He paddled me a few times when I was younger and learned my lesson.

My father was usually soft spoken. Shouting was for ill-bred individuals. So why did I hear him raise his voice more often when he was in the old brick barn? Maybe he was fussing at the groom. I had to find out and managed to slip out of the mahogany chair with no notice. The darkness of the night turned chilly, but I took no notice.

I was startled when I saw the situation with my own eyes. A nicely built jack, a male donkey, was standing quietly next to a mahogany colored thoroughbred mare. Why was everyone complaining? I looked at Father. He never wore a shirt that was not clean and pressed, or even mud on his well-shined boots. Now, it was his turn to talk loudly.

The focus of the dispute was Royal Gift, an expensive Spanish Jack. He had waited a year in 1785 for this outstanding jack. The mare stood calmly in the sturdy wooden breeding chute, while Royal Gift showed no interest. “He’s ‘jenny stuck,’ is what he is,” mumbled the groom. If Father heard, he chose not to care. It gave him a bright idea.

“Oliver?” he asked, “Do we still have that little ‘tease pony’?” Oliver nodded and set off to fetch him. Father asked one of the others to find a jennet in heat. That was easy because jennets shows are more obvious. When both animals were in the barn, the jennet stood next to the mare. The groom handled the tease pony, getting the mare ready. It was not long before all of the livestock was ready.

They checked Mahogany in 21 days with the tease pony and she showed no romantic inclinations. It was safe to say the Spanish Jack, Royal Gift, had settled the mare. About 11 months later, the mare produced the most beautiful filly mule anyone had ever seen. She was the deep rich color of her mother, and shorter versions of his father’s ears. George Washington was closer to his plans.

Farmers from throughout the Mid-Atlantic States sent breeding stock to Mount Vernon. So intense was the demand for the services of the famous Spanish Jack, my father, George Washington, “The Father of our Country,” sent Royal Gift on a thousand mile tour of the Southern States.

Henry Clay, along with Washington, had big plans for the American Mule. They needed a superior American Jack to breed the finest mares. Henry Clay paid a visit to France to bring back a curly coated jack much taller than any horse at that time. It took Clay a lot of fancy horse-trading and they said piles of money changed hands.

Soon after, he stepped on the dock, the newest jack, Warrior, had arrived in front of a large crowd. My father told me, “This is history!” Indeed, it was important history. Here, all shaggy and curly, who would have known this large jack would be so important to the United States. Mixed with Poitou, Catalonian, Majorcan and a few other fine jacks, the end result was: "the American Mammoth Jack.” All mammoth jackstock has the DNA of Henry Clay’s Warrior.

I was proud to be part of important history, and so terribly proud of my father, because our President had the foresight and knew what very few others knew. At that moment, I told Father, “You are now the Founder of American Jackstock!” He patted my shoulder and told me, “I really needed your help and you came through for me ---as always. I’m proud of you, too, son.”

Washington’s son, George, Jr. did make his father proud. He kept the donkey and mule business thriving by only using superior mares to breed to superior jacks. The results were superior mules. Mules out of Tennessee walking horse mares had the “rocking chair” smooth gaits and when bred to a Belgian mare or draft horse made flashy carriage mules. In fact, given the numbers of horses and jacks, the looks, builds, temperaments and uses stem from a large and vast gene pool.

We owe it all to George Washington and his son, George Washington, Jr. It is as true as what they said back then, “George Washington is the Founder of American Jackstock.” He changed the attitudes of many people. There are hundreds of thousands of donkey and mule societies, all know about "The Founder of American Jackstock."