If you drive by the parking lot behind the Oneita Wagnon Senior Center in Muleshoe and look at the north side of the lot, you can’t help but notice a bright gray mule on the side of the storage container. And if you look closer, you will see the mule is overseeing a muleshoe pitching pit. That simple sporting facility and its mule are the results of the community coming together at the direction of Annette Orozco, manager of the senior center, who wanted to put empty space behind the senior center to good use and add an activity people could enjoy doing.
When I asked Annette to share the history of the pitching pit, she smiled when she told me the whole thing was a blessing because community businesses and individuals came together to get it built and kept the center from having to spend much money on it. Gary Don Gartin and crew donated the clearing and leveling of the area, and added gravel afterwards. Matthew Edwards, Justin Price, and Weldon Smith from Bailey County Electric Cooperative dug the holes, and Kenneth Henry, Ronnie Wills, and Garret Wilson set the poles donated by Five Area and West Plains Communications. Gary Don Gartin also donated funds to have Steve Phillips spray for weeds. Garret Wilson and LeAnn Helton had the 4-H kids set up the benches and paint the cinder blocks for stools. Brandon Thomason and daughters MacKensie and Braylee power-washed the side of the container and Allen and Carolyn Smyer sprayed it blue so that it could be painted by Sharon Burris who had a vision of how it should be decorated. Dal Grumbles cut out the metal mule of Sharon’s design that she would paint. BCEC donated the tarp covers, brackets, hardware and such, and misting fans to be used in the summer to cool things off.
Then, when that was all finished, it was time for the decorating to be done. You may, or may not know, Sharon Burris is a hairdresser here, and has cut hair since 1987. She cuts my hair. She also has had a career with paint, something I didn’t know until recently. She graduated from Muleshoe High School in 1981, after moving here from Vega at the age of one year with her parents Jimmie and Betty Carpenter. She took art classes from Elizabeth Black at MHS and also learned about art from an uncle, Carl J. Smith, who had a gallery in Amarillo and designed cards for Leanin’ Tree. In the summer, Sharon said the family would go to his house at Palo Duro Canyon where the kids would paint and hike and have a good time. She also helped Mom paint houses and hang wallpaper off and on for twenty years. They also embellished store windows with holiday designs here in Muleshoe, as well as nearby towns, including Tucumcari, Vega, and others. When daughters Tessa and Morgan came along, they also got into painting and helped with the window decorations. So, painting is in the family.
Sharon had designed this mule and painted versions of it before, but she added eyelashes and gussied this one up a bit for the muleshoe pitching pit. Thanks to the eyelashes, Annette named it Agnes Mulefritter.
Sharon worked on the mule off and on for a week, and then painted the background of the cactus and corn field. Morgan helped with the ears of corn and tassels. That took two days.
The pit was then open and ready for business around November 9, 2025. This pit is for throwing muleshoes, not horseshoes, since, obviously, this is Muleshoe, and Agnes who oversees things, is a mule. Anyone in the community is welcome to throw these muleshoes; there is no charge and you don’t have to be a member of the senior center. Just make arrangements with Annette-and leave the place neat and tidy.
So, now there is something new to do in Muleshoe when you have friends or out of town visitors and would like to get out in the sunshine.
What a deal!
Thanks to Sharon Burris and Annette Orozco for their help with this story.
If you are interested in doing a little pitching, contact Annette at 806-272-4969.
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