Ada, Oklahoma, Fall 2025 Mule Sale
High selling mules Big Casino (left) consigned by Loren Basham/Pairadice Mules and Dudley (right) consigned by Jason Griffin/ JG Performance Horses and Mules both sold for $24,000
by Lenice Basham
Published in the November 2025 issue
George Clooney, consigned by Pete Luchau of Argyle, TX brought $17,000
Saturday, October 4, found mules from across the country gathered at the Ada, Okla., AgriPlex for the annual fall Ada Oklahoma Mule Sale. The sale is held each spring and fall by Johnny, Justin, and Jody Kelso and their families, along with Mark and Jennifer Bailey of Wild Bunch Mules.
All cataloged mules are required to go through a judged trail course on the Thursday before the sale. For driving teams, the trail course evaluated the teams for ease of hook, walk, trot, and stand (demonstrated while a mule circled them in the arena to simulate what a buyer may use them for on a wagon trail). The trail course for riding mules had two obstacles before entering (bridling and lifting all feet) and nine obstacles inside the arena (leading in the arena, mounting, crossing a bridge, walking through the brush, leading a pack mule, loping a circle, stopping, backing, and turning two 360’s to the left and two 360’s to the right). The trail course was won by Mark Bailey riding Pearl, a 10-year-old, 13.3-hand gray appaloosa mule consigned by Mark and Jennifer Bailey of Linden, Texas. Second place went to Big Casino, an 8-year-old, 15-2-hand brown john mule, ridden by Loren Basham/Pairadice Mules.
Chrome, consigned by Cory Drake of Dallas, TX, sold for $15,500
On Friday, a tack sale is held, with products of every kind available to bid on. This is a huge tack sale and goes on for 8-10 hours each year. You will find any tack you are looking for and may end up going home with tack you didn’t know you needed. Before the start of the livestock sale on Saturday, a wagon sale is held.
When the last catalog mule sold, the high-selling mules were Big Casino (lot #21) consigned by Loren Basham/Pairadice Mules, and Dudley (lot #57) consigned by Jason Griffin/JG Performance Horses and Mules, both selling for $24,000. One mule stayed in Oklahoma, and the other headed to California. Dudley was an 8-year-old bay john mule who stood 15 hands.
Coming in next as the third highest-selling mule was George Clooney (lot #31), consigned by Pete Luchau of Argyle, Texas, who brought $17,000. He was a 7-year-old, 15-hand chestnut john mule. The fourth highest-selling mule was Chrome (lot #11) consigned by Cory Drake of Dallas, Texas, who sold after the catalog sales as he was unable to participate in the required trail course on Thursday. Chrome was a 10-year-old, 15.3-hand dunn molly mule who sold for $15,500.
There were 68 riding mules and six teams consigned to the sale, as well as nine horses. Of the cataloged mules at this sale, 44 were molly mules, 24 were john mules, and 32 of the 68 cataloged mules consigned were under 14 hands. In addition, there were nine colts (2 and under). The colt prices ranged from $450 for an 18-month-old john mule to $2,800 for a 2-year-old molly mule. The average price was $1,300 for the consigned colts. Four donkeys were also sold on Saturday (not as part of the catalog sale). Prices for jackstock ranged from $600 for a 4-year-old mini jack to $5,300 for a 4-year-old riding jack.
The sale reported that the top five catalog mules averaged $19,100, the top 10 averaged $14,920, and the total catalog average was $6,365. The top five open consignments averaged $7,350, the top 10 averaged $5,931, and the total open average was $2,290.
This sale had mules for all buyers’ price ranges. The spring Ada, Oklahoma, Mule Sale will be April 9-11, 2026.