Watching the famous Budweiser Clydesdales running free in the pasture at Folsom’s Oak Hill Ranch was like watching Sumo wrestlers performing a ballet dance—one-ton horses prancing and stomping about like thoroughbreds. One could tell they were having fun, as well they should; these are some of the hardest working and most traveled horses in the world.
Although impressive even from a distance, one can only really appreciate the Clydesdales’ beauty up close. Not as lithesome as their racing cousins, the breed exhibits exceptional power and grace; when not working, and free of the wagon hitch, they enjoy a good romp in the fields as much as any other horse.
These gentle giants are probably the most recognized and beloved commercial mascots in existence, having served as a symbol of Budweiser beer and the Anheuser-Busch company since prohibition ended in 1933. The first team of Budweiser Clydesdales delivered the first keg of post-prohibition beer in St. Louis, and later, a team delivered beer to the White House.
The Clydesdale breed originated in the Clyde Valley of Scotland during the mid-1700s, and was bred as a draft horse for working on farms and hauling coal. The first official appearance of the breed under the name Clydesdale was in 1826.
Anheuser-Busch maintains the largest herd of Clydesdales in the world, with 200-250 horses at any given time. The perfect Budweiser Clydesdale stands around 18 hands at the shoulder; weighs between 1,800 and 2,300 pounds; is bay in color with a blaze of white on its face, a black mane and tail; and, most importantly, has white feathering on its legs and feet.
The horses are bred at farms in St. Louis and Temecula, California, where selected foals receive initial training. Six hitches, or teams, of Clydesdales are based in St. Louis, San Antonio, Temecula, San Diego and Merrimack, New Hampshire. Anheuser-Busch also has horses at Clydesdale Hamlet attractions in its SeaWorld and Busch Garden theme parks.
The Budweiser Clydesdales travel approximately 100,000 miles each year in their extremely well-appointed 18-wheeler trailers. They appear in parades, festivals, rodeos, state fairs and other events around the country, including the annual New Year’s Day Tournament of Roses and Orange Bowl parades and, of course, Mardi Gras parades in the New Orleans area.
2005 Mardi Gras Clydesdales
For the Mardi Gras 2005 northshore parade season, a ten-horse hitch from St. Louis was stabled at Oak Hill Ranch. Another hitch, from Merrimack, New Hampshire, rolled in the southshore parades. Each show team includes eight horses; two are brought as alternates.
Local distributor Champagne Beverage held an open house at the ranch on one of the horses’ “off” days. Champagne’s employees and customers—and their kids—enjoyed a gorgeous afternoon in the country hobnobbing with the four-legged celebrities. Some of the horses were allowed to run free in the pasture, while others remained in their stalls waiting their turn.
The Clydesdales were dressed in their best Budweiser blankets, bright red with the Anheuser-Busch “A & Eagle” trademark emblazoned on the rear. Braver children in the crowd pulled up handfuls of grass and offered it to the horses that ventured up to the fence. These horses know who they work for, as visitor Jamie Gebbia found out while posing for a photo with her son Nicholas; the horse they were posing with stuck his head over the fence and tried to drink from the bottle of Budweiser’s new Select beer she was holding in her hand.
Traveling with the horses were handlers Dale Lawson, Loren Knoche and Scott Morrison. They treated visitors to an up-close-and-personal session with a Clydesdale named Scott, who was a perfect example of the breed’s gentle temperament, standing still while the kids swarmed around him. Handler Dale Lawson answered everyone’s questions while holding Scott’s rein.
The hitch’s last appearance for Mardi Gras 2005 was in Slidell’s Krewe of Perseus parade January 25. The crowd at the parade’s assembly point, Salmen High School, was lucky enough to witness the sight of the horses as they were harnessed and hitched to the Budweiser wagon one by one.
The process began much earlier in the day in the stables of Oak Hill Ranch as the eight horses making up the team were prepped for the parade. To get that shine needed for show, every inch of the six-foot-tall, one-ton beasts is brushed and then vacuumed, their manes and tails braided, and their distinctive white feathers (the long hair around their ankles) washed. The huge leather harnesses, weighing in at 130 pounds, get a fresh coat of polish and the brass fittings are cleaned to a sparkle.
After loading the horses up in their 18-wheel travel trailers and arrival at the parade site, the handlers unload and polish the Budweiser wagon and all of the rigging needed for hitching up the horses. On rainy days, the horses are displayed in the trailers with the sides open.
Each horse is taken out in turn, with the hitching order determined by the individual horse’s function in the team. It’s a three-man job to put the massive harness around the horse’s neck; once this is in place and secured, all of the other rigging—blinders and bridle, consisting of the headpiece, brow band, cheek straps, noseband, bit and reins—is placed.
The horses closest to the wagon are hitched first; they are called the wheel horses and are usually the largest and strongest of the hitch. Their larger size is necessary at this position because they must be strong enough to start the wagon rolling and heavy enough to slow or stop it. Scott and Bud—yes, one of the Budweiser Clydesdales is named Bud—were the wheel horses for the Perseus parade.
The rest of the hitch was composed of Smokey and Ace as the body, or second position, and Luke and Duke on the swing, or third position. The body and swing pairs must be agile to turn the wagon. Mick and Archie were the leaders in front, farthest from the wagon. Lead horses must be the fastest and most agile pair of the hitch.
Once the hitch was completed, the wagon was ready to roll. Handler Loren Knoche, now in the driver’s distinctive green uniform, mounted the circa-1900 red Studebaker wagon, taking the reins as the non-equine member of the team. Doc, a five-year-old Dalmatian dog, hopped into place next to him. Dalmatians traditionally accompanied beer wagons in the early days to protect the horses and wagon while the driver made deliveries, and have ridden with the Budweiser wagons since 1950.
Following their last parade of the 2005 carnival season, the hitch traveled to Fort Bragg in North Carolina to participate in the Super Bowl weekend salute to the troops at the base. And next year, after journeying many more miles, these magnificent horses will return to the New Orleans area, once again delighting throngs at Mardi Gras parades.
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