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Each year in August, Jim and Sharon Stevens host a wagon ride to celebrate the birthdays of several of the
members of the Southern Indiana Draft Horse and Mule Association, including Jim himself. This year, due to various health issues both Jim and Sharon have been having, Mike and Carla King
stepped in to sponsor the annual Birthday Ride over the weekend of August 16-19, 2018. They arranged to host the group at the Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial in Lincoln City in southwestern Indiana. The club has a very good
working relationship with the US Park Service staff at the memorial and holds some plowing exhibitions for them and their visitors each year. Several of the members of the group arrived
on Thursday afternoon and we had 4 wagons who hooked up on Friday for a nice 15 mile ride around the countryside near the park. The weather was ideal. When we returned, various people
got together and fixed us a very tasty supper. As the evening progressed, several visitors showed up and a few more wagons also arrived. Saturday morning there were 6 wagons, each with several
riders, ready to go when we hit the road. The weather was a little hotter on Saturday and we went about 20 miles. If you know anything about this part of Indiana, there are miles
and miles of corn and soybean fields with a minimum of shade, so the pace was rather slow. We took plenty of breaks and spent the entire day covering this distance. On Saturday evening, we
had another great meal and spent the evening doing a lot of visiting (some might call it lying). When the sun came up on Sunday, everyone got together for one last breakfast together
and then hit the road for home. As always, it was a great weekend with lots of camaraderie.
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