RALEIGH - A painting pig, a celebrity cook and fried cookie dough stole the show other days. But on the last day of the State Fair, the star that shone brightest was an animal from farming's past -- the noble mule.

For many fans who watched all the equestrian shows at the fairgrounds' Gov. James B. Hunt Jr. Horse Complex on Sunday, mules were the highlight of the 10-day fair. The mules are whip smart and a hoot. People just find themselves laughing watching them.

"It's all hybrid vigor," said Tom Wadson, 55, a farmer from Bermuda who stayed to the end to see the mule show.

Born from a female horse and a male donkey, a mule has the combination of power and smarts neither of its parents can claim.

In an age of air-conditioned tractors, it can seem a mystery why people still breed this anachronistic animal. But mules still have their place.

More sure-footed than horses, mules are still coveted trail animals, relied upon heavily in areas such as the Grand Canyon. And they remain an icon of the American South.

"To people interested in agriculture and history, the mule holds a special significance," said professor Bill Ferris, of the UNC-Chapel Hill Center for the Study of the American South and a mule aficionado. "There's something about a mule that inspires storytelling and humor."

Since Steve Troxler became commissioner of the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, he has opened the fair riding in on a mule-pulled tobacco sled. Troxler, a farmer from Browns Summit in Guilford County, also asked friend Marvin Bost to lend a few mules to the fair's Heritage Circle to make it look -- well, a little more old-timey.

"It brings a little bit of yesteryear back to the fair," said Glenn Petty, the fair's horse show manager.

Petty said all equestrian people love their animals, but mule owners tend to be the most fanatical.

While many are wary of mules, noting their notorious stubborn streak and the truth behind the old phrase -- kick like a mule -- Buddy McCarter says they can't be beat.

"You can have a kinship with a mule," said McCarter, 66, of Laurinburg, who also has horses.

McCarter insists you can't make the same connection with a horse -- a stance bound to get him in trouble with horse lovers. Mules develop a bond with owners and are more like a dog than a cat in the loyalty department, but they take their time warming up to their human handlers, he said.

"It took that mule six months before she would accept me," McCarter said of his mule Sally -- the same name his wife has.

Compared to horses, mules are unpredictable, Chris Ann West said while she watched the mule show.

"With a horse you're always pretty sure he will do what you train him to do, but with a mule you're on a wing and a prayer," said West, 38, of Knightdale.

Parts of mule shows -- especially the beauty competition -- can seem a far cry from the hard labor the animals did in the old days.

On Sunday, Kim Foushee, 44, touched up Mr. Ike, her gray mule, with mascara, black lipstick and spray paint to conceal bald spots before her daughter showed him in the ring. Showing is a way for mule lovers to hold on to the breed, Foushee said.

But some of the best mule breeders still use them on their farms.

Wayne Hussey, a guru of mule training, rakes hay, sows oats and plows the soil with mules on his 30-acre farm in Seagrove, in Randolph County.

Sometimes he can hop on a tractor and be done quicker than he could harness a mule. But there's something more satisfying about farming with a mule, he said. It's the quiet satisfaction that a tractor would drown out.

"I can relax," he said. "You can hear the birds whistling and enjoy the country."