COEUR d'ALENE - Ed Burdick and his 24-year-old red mule Czar are proof that you don't have to be a young buck to enjoy horsing around.

Burdick, 76, of Rathdrum, competed with Czar in several speed and racing events at the Kootenai County Saddle Club Play Day in the Kootenai County Fairgrounds on Sunday morning.

"Between the both of us, we hope that we get to be 101 years old," Burdick said after weaving in and out of poles with the mule.

Burdick said aside from his gentle nature, Czar in particular is a special creature. He loves to jump on the treadmill and go swimming. His mother was a racing quarter horse, so he's a mule with racing in his blood.

"He's probably been the most decorated mule in the United States," Burdick said. "It started when he was just a youngster. He was the 3-year-old champion and then he was a two-time world champion race mule."

The red mule with the pointed ears and big brown eyes seemed to be listening as Burdick spoke, turning from his bag of hay. Burdick gave him a gentle pat and scratched him on the thigh.

"He's really been a hoot, we've really enjoyed him," he said. "But you know what, he came out of his mama that way. As a baby he just wanted to come right up and lick you in the face."

Mules and horses alike raced speed trials and zigzagged around poles as more than 60 riders participated in the events. The play day allowed opportunities for riders of all ages to earn points in their series toward the next competition.

Teresa Balderrama of Hayden is a member of the Wild Westerners 4-H Club as well as the saddle club. She helped with concessions during the day's races.

"A lot of these folks go from here, they also ride at the state competition, and then on to nationals," she said. "There's quite a few that are pretty serious about it."

Kootenai County Saddle Club Queen Sydney Wiggins of Post Falls, 19, was lane judging to make sure riders conducted the proper patterns and stayed in the lane. She waved a red flag with her right hand and wore a cast on her left.

"I got bucked off of my yearling," she said. "He's 3 and I'm training him. I actually broke him myself. I forgot to take my spurs off after the last play day. He dumped me, but it happens. It comes with the trade, you have to accept it for what it is."

Wiggins has been in the saddle club for more than three years.

"We're a very family-oriented club," she said. "We try to make it so it's very fair for everyone."

Wiggins said she plans to study equine science at the university level because horses are where her heart is and she is inspired by their spirit.

"They're so free and so powerful, and it's cool that they bond with a human to allow them to do stuff like this," she said. "There's something that I get when I train my horse. When I work with him, I just get so much emotionally out of it, because getting him to do one little thing, I taught him to do that. When I got on him the first time, I was like wow, I'm the first person to ever ride this horse and he's accepting it ... it's amazing, I absolutely love it."

The Kootenai County Saddle Club Play Day, also known as an "O-mok-see" event, offered age divisions, mule divisions, novice/schooling and leadline education for ages 8 and younger. It was free to the public.

Info: www.kcsaddleclub.com