Meredith Hodges - Biography

Born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Meredith Hodges is the daughter of renowned cartoonist and Peanuts creator Charles M. Schulz and Windy Valley Mule Ranch founder Joyce Doty. Meredith grew up around horses, but her mother’s interest in mules was catching. Shortly after going to work at Windy Valley in 1973, Meredith came down with a case of “mule fever” she’d never kick. More than 30 years later she has a successful mule ranch of her own and is widely regarded as the world’s leading authority on saddle mules.

In 1980, Meredith moved to Loveland, Colorado. She bought a 10-acre spread, named it Lucky Three Ranch and began her own breeding and training program. In the years since, Meredith has paired top-quality mares with outstanding jacks to produce a line of mules exceptional in their conformation and athletic ability. She’s also developed a comprehensive training curriculum specifically designed for mules and donkeys and trained several world champions using her own techniques. Meredith’s mules have competed successfully against horses in breed shows and in dressage and combined training. She trained Lucky Three Sundowner, the first mule ever to reach fourth-level dressage, and she also claims the only formal jumping donkey, Little Hack Horner, who still holds the world record with a four-foot jump.

Meredith has earned international recognition as a breeder, trainer, educator and advocate. She has dedicated her energy, her time and innumerable resources to promoting mules and donkeys and sparked renewed interest in these remarkable animals. Since 1980, she has been an animal inspector, representative and judge for the American Donkey & Mule Society (our national mule and donkey organization). Her column, “Mule Crossing,” has appeared in the ADMS bimonthly publication, The Brayer, for 15 years and in more than two dozen other equine-related publications internationally. She and her mules have studied with some of the best equestrians in the industry, including Major Anders Lindgren (Swedish Olympic team), Denny Emerson (US Olympic team), Bruce Davidson (US Olympic team), Jim Graham (US Olympic team), Richard Shrake (AQHA Congress judge and international instructor/trainer), Pat Parelli (Natural Horsemanship), and numerous others. Her mules appeared in the Tournament of Roses parade in Pasadena in 1988 and in the Inaugural Parade in Washington, D.C., in 1993, and she was instrumental in the successful effort to convince the United States Dressage Federation and United States Equestrian Federation to allow mules into dressage competition.

To date, she has written seven books on mule and donkey training and produced an award-winning series of 10 training videos. She has also produced 36 half-hour shows for television, including a new three-part documentary titled, Those Magnificent Mules and The Lucky Three Ranch. Her programs have appeared on the Discovery Channel and Outdoor Life Network and now air several times a week on the rural lifestyle network RFD-TV, Dishnet Satellite Channel 9409 and on Direct TV Satellite Channel 379.

Meredith’s famous father was proud of her achievements and encouraged her to write something about mules for children. So, in 2003, in his honor and with inspiration from her mother, Meredith wrote and published her first children’s book, Jasper: The Story of a Mule. The inspiration for Jasper came from a letter Meredith wrote to herself in 1990 from a little mule who was abused and confused by humans. The letter was published in “Mule Crossing,” to remind people that mules have feelings, too, and to encourage compassion for all animals.

Since releasing the first book, Meredith has published two more in the series: Jasper: A Christmas Caper and Jasper: A Precious Valentine. Jasper: A Fabulous Fourth is scheduled to be released later this year. Meredith has also produced a half-hour, animated DVD adapted from Jasper: The Story of a Mule. The program has aired frequently on RFD-TV and is available along with the rest of the Jasper the Mule series at www.jasper.com. The series introduces children to mules and donkeys in a favorable, educational and entertaining way, and whimsical illustrations by Tennessee Mule Artist Bonnie Shields paired with wholesome lessons about life and love make these books treasures to be passed down from generation to generation.

Meredith recently celebrated her 25th anniversary in Loveland, and she hasn’t slowed down a bit. In addition to working on her training correspondence course, the Jasper the Mule series and her television programs, she also devotes a great deal of time to advocacy and philanthropy. She supports important equine causes such as the fight to end horse slaughter in this country, and she gives time and resources to charitable organizations such as Hearts & Horses, a Loveland based therapeutic riding organization, which now incorporates mules into its programs. She has also sponsored longears research at Colorado State University and Louisiana State University, and she continues to lend financial support to the American Donkey & Mule Society.

At home, her show mule and donkey champions are now the stars of her video and television productions. Lucky Three Ranch, now a sprawling 127-acre spread, is home to 19 mules, two jacks and eight horses. It is also a showcase for longears-related art. In addition to several life-size bronzes Meredith has collected over the years—not to mention the more than 2,000 smaller pieces in her home—she has commissioned three life-size bronzes of her own stars. “Sundowner” and “Mae Bea C.T.,” by Cheyenne artist Robin Laws and Fort Collins, Colo., artist John Taylor, and Little Jack Horner’s “Leap of Faith,” by Bonnie Shields, have helped create a one-of-a-kind sculpture park. Meredith gives frequent tours of the ranch and intends to establish a longears museum. Whatever her plans—and she’s always working on something—you can be sure that she’s got the best interests of mules and donkeys in mind.