Donkey and Mule Foals - Breeding for Competition

One of our long-term goals at the Circle Z is to establish a breeding program that promotes great conformation, and at the same time, produces donkeys with strong performance potential to be winners in competition. At the present time we have one jenny, Desert Song, who has jump-started us towards this goal by producing some great foals. In the past we have also accumulated some quality miniature donkeys in our breeding program. We also have one mare, Nellie, who is producing some great mule foals. As our program develops, and we establish the performance records on our jennies, we will began to breed more of them to outstanding geldings in the pursuit of accomplishing this long-term goal.

Mammoth Donkey Foals

Circle Z Mo Vision is the first mammoth donkey foal born at the Circle Z out of Desert Song. He is the ambassador for the farm and has established his place in the show arena, both in conformation and performance. His sire is the famous TJC Clyde. He has won multiple High Point and Model Donkey awards, including Reserve Model Donkey at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo in 2012. Mo only had one year in the Training Level/Green Division in 2011, winning many High Point Awards, including NASMA Year End High Point Training Level Donkey.

Circle Z Riata is the first mammoth jenny to be born at the Circle Z out of Desert Storm. Her sire is the famous TJC Clyde. Riata's show career to date has been limited to halter conformation, where she has done very well. At the 2012 Texas Shootout, Riata and her full brother Mo Vision won both the Get of Sire and Produce of Dam classes.

Circle Z Texas Rain is the second mammoth jenny out of Desert Song to be born at the Circle Z and the only spotted jenny on the Farm. Her sire is Jarratt's Jubilee. Jubilee was owned by Tex Taylor at the time of breeding, but, unfortunately, he was not alive to see this beautiful baby. Rain belongs to Sophie Judson, who has been working with her since she was 6 months old. She is currently driving and riding, and will be entering the show ring in 2014 in the Training Level/Green Division.

Circle Z Micaela, Desert Song's fourth foal, was born on March 16, 2014. Her sire is Clyde's Gallant Fox, or "Ted" as we all know him. Ted was the 2013 NASMA Leading Jack and has a show record that exceeds any jack that has ever been shown. He is owned by Dwain and Samantha Francis from Richards, Missouri, and was trained and shown by Signature Equine, which is owned by Dan and Tabitha Holland in Morris, Oklahoma. This foal is Ted's first donkey foal.

Miniature Donkey Foals

Circle Z Shadow was the first miniature jack to be born at the Circle Z and what a pistol he was. I realized immediately that I did not want to be in the jack business, either small or big!! Shadow's dam is Quarter Moon Annabelle, and his sire is Circle C Main Event. He is now the herd sire at Lazy J Farms, owned by Rose and Dickie Jones in Splendora, TX. He has been producing some pretty awesome foals that have been competitive in both conformation and performance.

Circle Z Liza Jayne is the newest miniature donkey foal at the Circle Z. Her dam is Circle Z Nadia and her sire is Quarter Moon Blockbuster. Liza Jayne will probably be our last miniature foal at the Circle Z, but what a beauty to end with. Liza Jayne entered the show ring in 2013 with a bang. At the Texas State Championships she was Grand Champion jenny in her age division, and first place in the Green Division Trail class. She is going to be our introduction back in the world of miniature donkey showing and we are excited about her potential in the upcoming years.

Mule Foals

Louise is a bay mule filly. Her dam is Nellie and sire is RO Black Jack. She has been sold to Canyon Creek Ranch in Fredricksburg, TX.

The X Factor is a beautiful bay john mule. His dam is Nellie and his sire is the 2013 NASMA Leading Jack, Clyde's Gallant Fox. The X Factor took home the first place buckle against three year olds in halter at the 2013 National Western. He is owned by Tabitha Holland of Signature Equine.

Lola is the newest baby from the breeding of Nellie and Clyde's Gallant Fox. We are confident that Lola is going to be very successful as both a halter champion and a great performance mule. She is owned by Tabitha Holland of Signature Equine.

Our breeding program at the Circle Z has been very diverse. However, we are now focusing on breeding the best quality mammoth donkeys (both conformation and performance) that we possibly can. We will continue to breed Nellie, our brood mare, because of the outstanding mule foals that she produces. We have always tried to choose just the right jack for each breeding, always striving for that all-around donkey or mule that has quality conformation and can perform at the highest possible performance level.