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9-06-2007 By MICHELLE MILLER Staff Writer The beverage industry's most recognizable mascots, the Anheuser-Busch Budweiser Clydesdales, are no strangers when it comes to appearing in parades and other special events, according to East Coast Hitch supervisor Hans Jager. However, bicentennial chairperson Grace Kull said it is a unique opportunity for the village of Cooperstown. As part of the scheduled events planed for the weeklong bicentennial celebration of the incorporation of the village, the Anheuser-Busch Budweiser Clydesdales will march in the parade and are on display at the Iroquois Farm on River Road at no charge to the public. The East Coast Hitch arrived in Cooperstown on Sept. 5. They were at the farm on Wednesday from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. and will be there on Thursday and Friday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and on Sunday from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. The Clydesdales will also be in a parade in Oneonta on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. and in the Cooperstown bicentennial parade on Saturday at noon. Horse handler Amy Trouc said the crew that travels with the horses to each event consists of about seven people. She said a lot of work goes into getting the horses ready for an event like the one in Cooperstown. "We are on the go all the time," she said. Trouc said the crew has adopted a weekly routine to make sure things run smoothly. The fist day the horses arrive for an event they are unloaded and lowed time to rest and the second day is called "prep" day because this is when the horses get hair cuts, bathed and ready for the show, according to Trouc. According to budweiser. com, the horses are groomed daily, however, on performance day they get extra attention when the grooms spend about five hours before a show washing and grooming the horses, polishing the harnesses, and braiding ribbons into the horses' manes and tails. The website also says it takes a 50-foot tractor-trailer to transport the horses, the beer wagon, and other necessities. When fully loaded the trailer weighs 24 tons. The Budweiser Clydesdale tradition began in 1933 when August A. Busch Jr. presented his father with a team and a bright red brewery wagon to celebrate the end of Prohibition. The official home of the Budweiser Clydesdales is in an ornate and stained-glassed stable built in 1885 on the historic 100-acre brewery complex in St. Louise Missouri, according to budweiser.com. The Budweiser website says Anheuser-Busch owns anywhere between 225 and 250 Clydesdales at a time making the Budweiser herd the largest of any Clydesdale herd in the world. In addition to the geldings working the hitches and at the tour locations, there are about five stallions and 40 mares in the heard. The site also says approximately 25 foals are born each year and the Clydesdales that are too old to work the hitch retire to one of the Anheuser- Bush tour facilities where they help younger Clydesdales in training and are on display for the public. Clydesdales are a powerful breed of draft horses that originated in the Clyde valley of Scotland in the eighteenth century. When fully mature, a Budweiser- quality Clydesdale will stand 72 inches at the shoulder and weigh anywhere between 1,800 and 2,300 pounds. They are generally fully grown at age four. The ideal appearance of a Clydesdale is bay in color, has a blaze of white color on the face, a black mane and tail and white feathering on all four legs and feet, according to the Budweiser website. The Clydesdales are also known for their high-stepping gait. Each horse can put away 50 to 60 pound of hay, 30 gallons of water and 20-30 quarts of feed daily, according to the Budweiser website. |
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