54th Anniversary of Mule Days

The Greatest Mule Show on Earth

“Mules, Mountains, and Memories”

Every Memorial Day weekend since 1970, the town of Bishop, nestled on the eastern slope of the Sierra Nevada mountains, comes alive with the annual presentation of Mule Days. The outfitters and packers of the region wanted an event to start off the packing season and the businessmen wanted to draw vacationers to the Owens Valley. What began as an informal gathering and a test of skills, has grown into a fun filled, world class event.

There is no way to actually describe Mule Days. It is part mule show, part test of skills, and part Wild West show. It is an event the likes of which are held no where else in the world. Over the six days of the event, there are 14 shows featuring over 700 mules with their trainers, riders and packers. In excess of 30,000 fans converge on the Tri-County Fairgrounds and the Mike Boothe Arena to watch the events and visit the exhibitors. The fourteen mule shows consist of: Western, youth, English, cattle working, gaited, coon jumping, racing, musical tires, gymkhana, packing, shoeing, chariot racing, team roping and driving. For most competitions, veteran announcers, Bob Tallman and Bob Feist, take the microphone to both educate and entertain crowds.