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Marshall: From the mouths of the Budweiser Clydesdales
Published 6/12/2009 in Beef Empire Days : Columns
Hello. My name is Jake, and I'm one of the lead horses for the Budweiser Clydesdale show team. This week, we're in Garden City for the Beef Empire Days PRCA Rodeo.
It was 11 a.m. Thursday, and we were getting some of our early morning leisure time in our stalls at the Finney County Fairgrounds. There were a few people coming around to take a peek at me and my nine brothers as we ate and hung out. It was the start of a good day — cool, overcast and temperatures just about right.
We're part of the evening rodeo for three nights, and we always have a good time showing off in public. But we're subtle about it. I've been around these kinds of gigs for a number of years, so I know my way around.
I enjoy my brothers, who accompany me from our home in San Antonio, Texas, for these outings. For the most part, we enjoy traveling around and seeing different parts of the country and meeting many interesting people. We limit our interviews because reporters can sometimes be pests. We worry about being taken out of context.
Let me introduce my brothers. There is Marshall, who is able to share the front row when we pull that darned heavy beer wagon around. Yes, it can be tiring, but with eight of us, we do a pretty good job of not wearing out. The family also includes Yankee, Diamond, McGee, Lee, Carter and Chad. Our substitutes and newest family additions are Sterling and Chuck. Their view from the second, third and fourth rows is not nearly as good as what Marshall and I have. Trust me, I've been back there.
I was asked what I disliked most about my job. Well, to be honest, how would you like to have a bit in your mouth for hours that was tightly fit, along with a harness? We have to do a lot of standing around, too, which does get boring. We do get to see a lot of people, so that helps.
We don't like hot weather, but it's nice to have those big 20-inch fans to cool us down. We each have our own bedroom and private fan. Some days, when it is really hot, they give us the day off.
One of our most fun times we had was when Kathy Ireland, the famous model, rode on our wagon. The only drawback was that we had difficulty seeing her.
We really do like the television commercials that our cousins produced. They said it took them 30 days to learn the football plays and how to form that line. They hope to play soccer some day. And that Dalmatian thought he was so cute by bringing back that small limb, but boy, did one of our guys show him up by grabbing that big tree log. We have to remind people who the big guys are.
We're a small family here and for the most part, we get along well. We do get to eat well and have plenty to drink during the day. They try to hide the beer from us, though.
Being a Budweiser Clydesdale can be demanding some of the time. But it has its perks. We ride in air-cooled vehicles, we get treated like rock stars, and people enjoy watching us do our thing. I guess I could say that all of us like what we do.
You should consider it. But I must warn you — the tryouts are quite demanding. It's not for everyone.
(Thanks to Pete Petersen, the lead driver and one of six groomers who work with the Clydesdales, for giving some insight on Jake and his family.)
Sports Editor Brett Marshall can be e-mailed at bmarshall@gctelegram.com.
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