Budweiser Clydesdales to visit fair Wednesday
FREMONT - The internationally famous Budweiser Clydesdales will appear for a brief walk around the Sandusky County Fair Wednesday, according to a fair official.
Fair Board Director Martin Jay detailed that the horses and their red beer wagon are scheduled to be present between noon and 2 pm, where they will be prepared and hitched by their handlers, make the rounds of the fairgrounds for approximately 20 minutes, be unhitched and loaded into their trailers for departure.
"They'll take a turn around the grounds for us and then unhitch them," he said.
Fairgoers may watch preparations
"It's really a sight to watch them dress these horses and get them hitched," said Jay, who saw their last appearance at the fair eight years ago. He said that fair attendees will be permitted to watch the horses' staff handle them as they are prepared for their walk around the grounds. The horses will be handled in the race track infield.
"My hope is to have some bleachers set up," Jay said, adding that the crowd's interaction with the team during the preparation phase is very popular. "It's a really big crowd that we'll have come back there. It's (been) well-attended in the past."
Jay noted that the appearance of the team was made available by John Hipp , vice president of Norwalk's Maple City Ice, the fairgrounds' beer distributor. Hipp's company had hired the team, at great expense, for other appearances and Hipp generously offered time to the fair when the distributing company was not using them during the week.
"It's Maple City Ice that really made this happen. They're a really big contributor to the Sandusky County Fair for making this happen," said Jay. "They said, 'We have one day open and we would love to bring the Budweiser Clydesdales back to the fair.'"
The teams are rich in tradition
The Budweiser Clydesdales are owned by the Anheuser-Busch Brewing Company of St. Louis. The company first acquired the horses and wagon as a six-horse hitch purchased in August, 1933, by August A. Busch, Jr., and Adolphus Busch, as a surprise for their father, August A. Busch, Sr. Since that time, the number of horses has increased to eight and the company continues to use the teams for promotions and commercials. In 1950, a Dalmatian was added the hitch as the Budweiser Clydesdales' mascot.
Clydesdale facts
Clydesdales have been very popular as war horses due to their weight and size, but also their extremely calm disposition, which allowed them to enter hectic situations without being easily spooked.
A single Clydesdale can pull up to 8,000 pounds for a short period of time and can pull a carriage weighing 200-400 pounds for up to eight hours a day.
A Clydesdale normally eats double the amount of food of other horse breeds; 25 quarts of whole grains and 60 pounds of hay. On a hot day, one horse can drink 30 gallons of water.
A Clydesdale horseshoe is the approximate size of a dinner plate, weighs over five pounds and measures over 20 inches, tip to tip
Clydesdales have evolved long hairs around the hooves and ankles, called "feathers," which provide additional warmth in cold climates.
Clydesdales originated in Scotland, in the valley, or "dale'" of the River Clyde.
Clydesdales are rare, having numbered no more than 80 individuals worldwide in 1975. Today there are more than 5,000 in the world, with around 600 registered in the U.S.
This article originally appeared on Fremont News-Messenger: The Budweiser Clydesdales are to appear at the Sandusky County Fair.
