We hope you enjoy this FREE Information Guide and look forward to seeing you in Mt. Hope! TM – 27th Annual Event – Mt. Hope, Ohio • July 2nd & 3rd, 2021 www.horseprogressdays.com Subscription Rates Canadian & Foreign subscribers pay in U.S. Funds only. Iowa Residents please apply your local option sales tax. Published four times a year. PO Box 670, Dept. HPD | Waverly, Iowa 50677–0670 | subscriptions@drafthorsejournal.com 1 YEAR $40 U.S. • $45 Canada/Foreign 2 YEARS $72 U.S. • $82 Canada/Foreign your l imelight Keep draft horses in with a subscription to the World’s Foremost Heavy Horse Publication Visit our booth in the vendor area! HORSE PROGRESS DA YS 2021Small F armer ’s J ournal PO B o x 1627 Sist ers , OR 97759 w w w .smallfar mersjour nal .c om 800-876-2893 • 541-549-2064 Small F armer ’s J ournal PO B o x 1627 Sist ers , OR 97759 w w w .smallfar mersjour nal .c om 800-876-2893 • 541-549-2064Table of Contents TM RHORSE PROGRESS DAYS 2021 1 HORSE PROGRESS DAYS 20212 LThree Locations to Serve You Better! Nolt’s Midwest Produce Supplies Specializing in Vegetable Growing Supplies and Equipment (641) 228-4496 3160 140th Str. Charles City, IA 50616 Nolt’s Produce Supplies (717) 656-9764 Leola, PA 17540 & Nolt’s Greenhouse Supplies (717) 354-8376 Ephrata, PA 17540 Water Wheel Transplanter Pull-type Plastic Lifter Please contact us for our free commercial grower’s catalogs. Greenhouses & High Tunnels Pull-type Raised Bed Plastic LayerWelcome TO HOR SE PROGR ESS DAYS 2021 MT. HOPE , OHIO After postponing the 2020 event due to the COVID-19 epidemic we welcome you to the 27th annual event at the Mt. Hope Auction in the heart of Holmes County. Home to the world’s largest Amish community where farming is still done with horses. The purpose of Horse Progress Days is to showcase a complete line-up of the latest equipment innovations and hitching techniques in the draft horse industry; and educational seminars and clinics to guide you on your journey with draft animals whether you are just getting started or looking for ways to broaden your knowledge. Come see the horses and equipment up close and in action. You will see many different draft horse breeds, plus mules, ponies and oxen, in harness, doing what they do best. Demonstrating plowing, tillage, haymaking, produce farming, logging and more. Start your day with The Pony Express and on to the many field and produce demonstrations, how-to seminars, logging demonstrations, and woodlot walks. Profes- sionals will be sharing valuable information from round pen training to seminars on equine and farm related topics. We are excited to announce our new Homesteading area. We will have seminars and vendors sharing educational information on projects possible on small acreage, and for children. The Homemaker area will display a wealth of information and seminars on home health care, healthy foods and more. Children’s area will be exciting with a petting zoo, swing sets and other activities. Be sure to check out the new rope making machine in the children’s area. The Breed Presentation is the final activity of the day, showing many different breeds and hitch configurations, anything from a single up to a six or eight horse hitch. Bring the whole family; this event is truly “Something for Everyone.” The rolling hills and sprawling farms of Holmes County are beautiful; enjoy them, be our guest, slow down, drive safely, and come again. The Local Planners TM HORSE PROGRESS DAYS 2021 3 RHORSE PROGRESS DAYS 20214 LExpress Wagons & Pony Wagons, Easy Entry Pony Carts, Laundry Carts, Custom Steel Fabrications.R5 HORSE PROGRESS DAYS 2021 Staying at Mt. Hope for 2021 By Thurman Mullet Hosting what we hope to be the 2021 Horse Progress Days is always an exciting time, not only for us at the Mt. Hope Auction, but also for the communities of Holmes & Wayne Counties. Seeing that it is going on the sixth time of cycling through Mt. Hope, makes one pause to reflect on the actual amount of years Horse Progress Days has taken place. The amount of coordinators, volunteers, participants and visitors that have taken part in this event over the years is quite remarkable. Coming back to Mt. Hope, I was asked to give a brief overlay of the Mt. Hope Auction and some of the factors that have led to where we are in 2021. The Mt. Hope Auction has seen its fair share of changes throughout the years. My information of the beginning years is limited to non-existent, but it is believed to have started around 1941. The move from near the square in Mt. Hope to our existing livestock auction happened in 1979 with the first Mid Ohio Draft Horse Sale occurring on Friday, March 7, 1980. Run as mostly a weekly livestock auction with a monthly horse sale, the auction relied heavily on the feeder pig and hog markets throughout the ’80s up until near the mid ’90s. Dairy cows and calves were also a staple of the weekly sale as there was an abundance of dairy farmers throughout the area. Midway through the ’90s there was a change in contracting for pigs and hogs, and we watched that market become decimated. I can remember my dad’s last hogs selling for $9 per hundred at the sale. We laugh now, but it was no laughing matter at the time. Livestock numbers from 1996–2003 dropped significantly and there was Mt. Hope Auction Grounds (Continued on page 7)HORSE PROGRESS DAYS 20216 L• ONE, TWO, OR BENCH SEAT AVAILABLE • 8219 County Road 192 · Holmesville, Ohio 44633 330.600.2861 CONVERTIBLE CART EZ RIDE jog carts STICK | MIG | TIG WELDING MACHINING . MOBILE WELDING PRODUCTION RUNS . MODIFICATION MANUFACTURER OF E-Z RIDE JOG CARTSHORSE PROGRESS DAYS 2021 7 Rconcern on what we could do to survive. I remember speaking to our employees at our Christmas banquet during one of those years, and voicing that we did not know what the future held. These were tough years, but the Auction’s Special Sales such as the Machinery, Exotic (now Alternative Livestock) & the Mid Ohio Draft Horse Sale were growing which helped stabilize the business. It was in 2004–2005 that we saw a rise in sheep numbers, and at the same time, our horse numbers began to increase as well. From there, we have seen a steady growth in all aspects of the weekly livestock auction to the point now where it has become a full day each Wednesday. In the past several years the horse business in multiple breeds has been excep- tional. The Mid Ohio Draft Horse Sale, The Superior Friesian Sale and now the Memorial Trotting and Yearling Standardbred Sale have attracted people from all over. The Memorial Sale, started by Robert Hershberger, has become a favorite for people to attend. Held on the outside during Memorial Day weekend, it has grown each year and draws a crowd like no other. We have seen some of the best driving Standardbreds go through this sale and it is a sale that has continued to grow. As mainly a weekly livestock auction, all of these special sales along with the Event Center and the Farmers’ Produce Auction keep us hopping throughout the year. We have been blessed with a dedicated workforce over the years who have put a lot of work in making Back at Mt. Hope (continued from page 5) Fresian Event Center 2019 Spring Draft (Continued on page 9) Livestock SaleNext >