2008 Midwest Horse Fair 
Dancing with the Horses!

April 18-20, 2008 - Alliant Energy Center - Madison, WI

  2008 Photos  2008 News Article

Horse Fair History:   2008  2007  2006  2005         Future Horse Fair Dates

WDMS participated in the following at the 2008 Midwest Horse Fair:

1. Exhibit booth & Breed display:
        -- Barn # 9 - Stalls 9050-9056 & 9057-9063
        -- Grounds Map

2. Donkey/Mule breed demos:
          -- Friday, 8:40 a.m. in Coliseum  (all WDMS animals)
          -- Sunday, 11:10 a.m. in Coliseum  (all WDMS animals)

3. CANCELLED  Parade of Breeds:  (prior to each evening performance)
          -- Friday, 6:50-7:30 p.m. in Coliseum (1 donkey + 1 mule)
          -- Saturday, 6:50-7:30 p.m. in Coliseum (1 donkey + 1 mule)

4. Demo Practice in Coliseum :
          -- Thursday, 11:45 a.m. in Coliseum 

5. To Participate, see info below

• Hal Burdsall with Tennessee Walking mule, Gabby Hayes
• Sandy Burdsall with Tennessee Walking mule, Tucker
• Jeff Isenring with 3 mini donkeys
• Lenore Mangles with standard donkey, Bad Ass Killer
• Jenny & Katie Maurer with standard donkey, Milton
• Jeremy Nelson with jumping mule, Pete
• Megan Nelson with jumping mule, Jack
• Dian Pinney with 2 mini donkeys, Stella and Daisy
• Leslie Schmidt with mammoth donkey, Mizz Izzie
• Rachael Schmidt with mule, Molly

Please contact Leslie Schmidt for additional information,
to offer your assistance,
or to express your interest in participating with your mule/donkey:

Leslie Schmidt (Westfield):   608-296-4496   theschmidthouse@verizon.net

• Your animal should be a good example of the breed.
• Have your mule/donkey “show ready” when you arrive at the MHF grounds on Thursday. 
• ** This is a 4-day commitment.**
  • Thursday we move our animals in and decorate our barn area and hospitality booth. Grounds open 8:00 a.m.
  • Friday morning the grounds open to the public at 7:30 a.m. and your animal will not be allowed to leave until 6:00 p.m. Sunday evening.
  • Friday, Saturday & Sunday we greet visitors to our area, answer questions about our breeds and participate in Horse Fair events (see participation schedule above).
  • Sunday at 6:00 p.m. we pack up all our decorations and clean up our barn area before leaving. 
• Your animal will need to be well behaved and be able to accept a variety of unusual situations. There are so many things going on that you never know what you may encounter.
• Animals should be willing and able to perform in the Coliseum demos. 
• Participants and helpers who receive free wristbands will need to help out at the hospitality booth for a few hours each day and/or help in the Saturday and Sunday demos. The spectators ask a lot of questions about our breeds. Be friendly, polite and answer their questions the best you can. How you handle yourself and treat the spectators is a direct reflection on the WDMS. 

Participating in the MHF is an excellent chance to show the rest of the world what wonderful animals our longears are!!  If you are interested you can call me at 608-296-4496 or e-mail theschmidthouse@verizon.net  Also, I would suggest checking out the MHF web site at www.midwesthorsefair.com 

Leslie Schmidt                     
                                               WDMS President                                    

Midwest Horse Fair web site:  www.midwesthorsefair.com

Midwest Horse Fair Grounds Map  (PDF file)

Horse Fair History - WDMS at Midwest Horse Fair

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