Ag Day at Philomont Community Center brings the farm to the children

A lot of children in Northern Virginia grow up without ever seeing working farm animals, so for the third year, on April 4, the Philomont Community Center hosted “Ag Day – A Day in the Country.”

“It’s an outreach program for children,” said Community Center Manager Debbie Ludtke. “Children from throughout the county, from other counties, come here and learn about animals."

The community center provided snacks – free popcorn, and very reasonably priced hot dogs, chips, cookies and water.

Several 4-H clubs brought their animals to the Ag Day – rabbits, ponies, sheep, goats, and poultry and for the first time, the donkeys.

These were not the more familiar donkey about the size of a good sized German shepherd (there were German shepherd pups as well, courtesy of Breezewood Kennels) but Mammoth Jacks, 15 hands tall at the shoulder and weighing in at about 1,000 pounds. Audrey Cadle, of Purcellville, started importing Mammoth Jacks – an endangered breed of riding-horse sized donkeys – from Tennessee four years ago. She has eight at home now, and brought Gus and Hoss to Philomont for a very popular donkey ride.

They don’t train like a horse at all, Cadle said. “They get bored quickly. If they get bored, they stop. If they get tired, they stop. If they don’t understand what you are asking, they stop.”

Her daughter is in the 4-H dairy club, and at last year’s Loudoun County Fair, Cadle set up a booth to see if there was interest in a donkey club. Nearly 20 signed up, and the fledgling club meets once a month at her house. They’ll have their own classes in showmanship and in-hand obstacle course and their donkeys will participate in the Virginia Draft Horse and Mule Association’s demonstration.

George Washington, who wanted to produce a bigger, sturdier mule for farm work, imported some of the first Mammoth Jacks to the newly formed United States. Mules are the sterile hybrid offspring of a donkey and a horse.

At the other end of the community center grounds, ponies from Sunny’s Corner Farm in St. Louis were busy giving rides.

Jean Brown was on hand with a poster advertising her Oakland Green Farm all-natural, grain finished Angus beef, available by the cut at the Philomont Community store next door. Also participating were the Loudoun County Animal Shelter, Loudoun County Master Gardeners and the Loudoun Heritage Museum.

Adrienne Freeland just moved to Philomont in December, from Bryceville, Fla., where she was a 4-H leader for the Bryceville Busy Bees. She brought Lucy, her 10-year-old Haflinger/pony cross mare, and Eyeore, a more traditional donkey, and the Blue Ridge Veterinary Associates in Purcellville set up an information booth and brought Buzz, a miniature horse.

And a good time was had by all.