Wallace the Dressage Mule! Wallace the Great! These are but a few of the titles being lavished on Wallace the Mule these days. But Wallace was once homeless, wondering a village in Ireland. What is the story behind this great change of fate?
Cowboy riding a mule
Wallace, the mule was taken to one of Monty's demonstrations where he charmed Monty, who declared him very intelligent and ready to be ridden.
© 2006 by Matt MacGillivray
Wallace was brought to Monty’s demonstration in England as a seven year old with the story that he was found in a village in County Antrim, Northern Ireland then was taken to a local animal refuge, eventually living at The Donkey Sanctuary in Devon, England. Lesley Radcliffe, being a mule lover, adopted and took him home. Lesley brought Wallace to one of Monty's demonstrations where he charmed Monty, who declared him very intelligent and ready to be ridden.
In 2014 Wallace appeared with Monty Roberts on Horse & Country TV. Introduced as smart and willing, Wallace willingly partnered with Monty, declaring to all that Join-Up® works on mules as well as horses.
Enter Christie Mclean to train Wallace, who seemed to take a liking to dressage. But when Christie tried to enter him in a British Dressage competition, she was told mules were not covered under the definition of ‘horse’ used by British Dressage and could not compete without a change of rules. British Dressage consulted with the FEI and updated their definition of ‘horse’ to match the FEI General Regulations:
‘Horse: Refers also to a pony or other member of the genus equus unless the context requires otherwise. A horse shall be born from a mare.’
Mules are indeed the product of a male donkey and a mare. Wallace and Christie performed for their first official British Dressage test at a competition scoring 67.6%, surpassing eight horses and gaining the winning ribbon. Wallace rose to international fame this summer after he became the first mule to be registered with British Dressage, and will be showing his moves at Monty’s demonstrations at Hartpury College in England on Friday, 19 October 2018 https://www.intelligenthorsemanshipshop.co.uk/collections/hartpury-college-19th-october-2018
Dressage legend Carl Hester supports Wallace The Great’s dressage career saying, "I started riding on a donkey so I’m glad British Dressage has taken this great opportunity.”
Monty Roberts also has an upcoming lesson series on the famous mule on www.MontyRobertsUniversity.com It is indeed a great year for Wallace the Great Mule!
You can keep up with Wallace’s adventures on his Facebook page, Wallace the Great.