Budweiser Clydesdales Team Will Visit Island Next Week
By Eric Fish

An eight-horse Budweiser Clydesdale hitch parades through the countryside, towing the traditional red and white Budweiser wagon. The Clydesdales will be in the Mackinac Straits area starting July 23 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Mackinac Bridge. They're scheduled to appear on Mackinac Island, in St. Ignace, and in Cedarville. (Anheuser-Busch photograph)

The Budweiser Clydesdales, which have represented the Anheuser-Busch company as a symbol of quality and tradition since 1933, will visit the Mackinac Straits area to help celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Mackinac Bridge beginning Monday, July 23. They will be featured in the Mackinac Bridge anniversary parade Saturday, July 28, at 10:30 a.m. in St. Ignace.

The horses will be available for public viewing at Little Bear East Arena in St. Ignace Monday, July 23, Tuesday, July 24, and Thursday, July 26, through Sunday, July 29. They will make several appearances in the area during the week, including on Mackinac Island Tuesday, July 24, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., in St. Ignace Wednesday, July 25, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., and in Cedarville Thursday, July 26, from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. They will appear at Kewadin Casino in St. Ignace Friday, July 27, from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

The company has five traveling eight-horse hitches that make about 300 appearances annually.

The traveling hitch from San Antonio, Texas, will be trucked to St. Ignace Sunday, July 22, and available for public showing the next day. They'll be housed at Little Bear East Arena. The horses are always traveling and only make a few appearances in Michigan each year, said Bob Griffin Jr., co-owner of Griffin Beverage in St. Ignace. Anheuser-Busch receives thousands of requests for appearances each year.

"It's amazing the number of people that want to see these horses," Mr. Griffin said.

The Clydesdales teams are known worldwide. To be a Budweiser Clydesdale, a horse must meet certain requirements. It must stand six feet tall at the shoulder, be at least three years old, weigh 2,000 pounds, and have a bay color and four white stockings in addition to a blaze of white on the mane and tail. Because of the millions of people they see each year, a gentle temperament is also important. They are often nicknamed "gentle giants" by their handlers.

The breed was originally brought to America in the mid-1800s by Canadians of Scottish descent. The horses worked on farms and were capable of pulling loads of more than one ton at a walking speed of about five miles per hour. Today, however, they're mainly used for breeding and show.

In keeping with tradition, the Clydesdales horses will be pulling the patented red and white Budweiser carriage throughout their visit to the Straits. The carriage is 100 years old and has been meticulously restored over the years. It weighs approximately four tons, and will be accompanied by a Dalmatian dog, the traditional canine breed that once acted as a "coach dog" to the horses and still rides the hitches to this day.

"Everything about the hitch is just so first class," Mr. Griffin said. "It's shined up like you wouldn't believe."

The hitch isn't the only thing that is first class. The Clydesdales themselves are only hitched once per day. Trainers spend up to four hours before performances hand-braiding the animals' hair.

"It's a lot of work for those guys," Mr. Griffin said. "They do all that, every single time, by hand. It's a big ordeal."

Housing the horses is no easy task, either. A single Clydesdale has the potential to consume 20 to 25 quarts of feed, 40 to 45 pounds of hay, and 30 gallons of water per day. The hitches travel with portable stables. The horse handlers stick to a schedule to keep everything in check.

The horses travel from city to city with the beer wagon they tow in three 50-foot tractor trailers. Cameras are installed in the trailers and monitors are available in the trucks' cabs so the drivers can keep an eye on the cargo.

The trucks will stop each night at local stables along the way so the horses can rest.

The Clydesdales will travel from St. Ignace to Mackinac Island Tuesday, July 24, where they will parade in the downtown area and be on hand for public viewing from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.

While on the Island, the Clydesdales will join about 600 other horses that call the Island their seasonal home.

"Everyone on Mackinac is very excited to have the Clydesdales join us here on the Island," Mackinac Island Tourism Bureau Director Mary McGuire Slevin said in a written statement. "They are such gentle giants and impressive animals that have become an American icon. We are pleased that the horses will be in the Straits area throughout the week as a part of the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the opening of the Mackinac Bridge and fortunate that they will visit Mackinac Island."

Mr. Griffin said the Clydesdales have been to the Island twice before, once in 1984 and another time in 2003.

Their scheduled visit looks to be a busy day for the Island. The Bayview Mackinac Yacht Racers will likely still be in town after completion of the annual Port Huron to Mackinac Island race, and many tourists may come over to see the horses.

"It's a good day, with the whole Island welcoming the yacht racers, to have something unique like that to greet them," Mr. Griffin said. "But at the same time, it's an awfully busy day."

All of the scheduled appearances in the Straits are weather permitting and subject to change.