Vendors on the green of the Wallowa County Fairgrounds had saddles and tack for horses and mules during the weekend's Hells Canyon Mule Days in Enterprise.

ENTERPRISE — It was another resounding success when the 42nd annual Hells Canyon Mule Days wrapped up summertime in Enterprise again.

“We had a tremendous turnout,” organizer Sondra Lozier said. “You couldn’t have asked for better weather.”

Not only were the mule-related activities a success, she said, but the entertainment by singers and cowboy poets also drew large crowds.

Fellow organizer Diane Knox said there were 89 classes of competition with more than 80 mules braying in Enterprise and more than 70 muleskinners from Oregon, Idaho, Washington state and Montana.

She said there were just a few from Wallowa County and most were from out of town. The crowd who came to see the mules and muleskinners was a bit larger than normal.

Mule winners

Highlights of the mule competitions included the High Point Mule, Scarlett, owned by Matt Fournier of Bend.

The High Point Performance saw Fournier winning in the 18 and older category, Ryleigh Phillips of North Powder taking the age 14-17 category and Reagan Lash of Rathdrum, Idaho, taking the 13 and younger age group.

High Point Gaming saw Laurice Webb of Rathdrum winning the 18 and older group, Marianna Bullington of Rathdrum winning in the age 14-17 group and Jenni Barnhart of Post Falls, Idaho, winning in the 13-and-younger group.

Among Wallowa County Mules: Team Bat & Bird, it was Miss Barley that won. The mule is owned by Dennis Brennan of Enterprise.

The Hard Luck Award went to Mike Price of Whitehall, Montana.

Parade winners

The nonmotorized parade that was a highlight of Mule Days had 26 entries in nine categories on its trek from the Wallowa County Fairgrounds through Enterprise to downtown and back to the fairgrounds Saturday, Sept. 9.

The largest category was that of Western Mule with 10 entries. Placing first was Athena Bork, with a tie for second between Pattie Junks and Mark Mattox and a tie for third between Sequoia Webb and Laurie Web. Mark Stanley came in fourth.

In the Horse-Drawn Vehicle category, Travis Hampton placed first.

In the Mounted Group category, first prize went to the Gem State Mule Co., second went to Suzanne Burkhart and third to Rafter F. Mules.

Of the Mule Team contestants, first went to Ray Woodside, second went to Laun and Ginger, third went to Wayne Beckwith and fourth to Tammy and Neal McCool.

One of the few local entries was in the Club category, where Wallowa County 4-H took first.

Other single-entry categories were Nala Speegle placing first as a Junior, Lydia Wahls placing first in English Mule, Comedy Mule saw Merle, Natalie, Addie and Brenda Johnson placing first and “mountain man” Gideon Lerner placed first in the Single-Drawn Mule category.

Dutch Oven Cook-off

In Sunday’s Dutch Oven Cook-off contest, first place for a main dish of mini beef Wellington went to Alex and Catherine Thompson of the NW Dutch Oven Society — Hot Iron. Second place for a main dish of baked chicken thighs and homemade rice-a-roni went to Dutch Oven Deb & Her Dude, aka Debra and Brett Basquez.

First place for a dessert dish went to Riata Brown and Alissa Dennis, the Richland Dutch Oven Mamas, for their camp pineapple upside-down cake. Second place went to Dutch Oven Deb and Her Dude, aka Debra and Brett Basquez, for their cinnamon apple cake.

The People’s Choice award went to The Longshots, Collbran Meeker and Gary Bond, for their taco casserole.