"Be careful what you wish for", is a saying all have heard since being little.  It still holds it's place in society today.

Buyers, traders, on-lookers, visitors, consignors, etc in the mule industry have always hollered 'more is better, you need more mules to sale, you need more to choose from, you need more blacks, grays, sorrels, bigger, smaller, etc, etc, etc.  Well, the past three years all of this has been given to the public  .... more of everything.

Not only has the sales offered everything ask for, the sale management teams has made improvement after each sale to make the next better. 

Let's visit memory lane ..... three years ago Hoovers had a sale that put a lot of ole time excitment in the air.  They have continued to grow in their yearly sales for colts and mature mules and horses as well.   This year their sale was just as exciting with lots of stock and lots of visitors. 

Another sale that grew this year was the Stoltzfus and Smucker colt sale.  Buyers wanted more colts to choose from and the need was met at this sale as well. 

Before we, as spectators or buyers, find fault in these bigger, more crowded sales, we should look harder at the positive.  We should see the newer sale management like Reeses, Hoovers, Stoltzfus/Smucker making decisions to meet the need of todays times.  They are working hard as new players in a ball game to make it better for not only local, regular customers, but carrying the load of bringing more players into the game.

First, larger sales and larger crowds are a positive sign for the mule industry.  It means more are interested in the mule industry and provides another year of stability.  Another fact we, as supporters, should take time to see is this new sale management takes each sale and makes an improvement.  They improve the technology of the sale getting more information out to new people; they are having sales at new facilities, they are making these sales family friendly and the list goes on and on. 

All sale management is to be congratulated on jobs well done.  Not just on the auctioneer block but those getting this stock to the right place at the right time.  They constantly are handling problems, make split second decisions, all the while making it look simple to us sitting back watching.

Dixie Longears proudly found improvement at each sale attended in January this year.  Whether it was more stock, better stock, better management, new buyers, etc, the fact is each sale has thus been an improvement.  If history repeats itself, the 2023 sale management has already seen where they can make improvements in the 2024 sales.

Hats off to some great 2023 sales!