The world-renowned Budweiser Clydesdales had an extended stay at the Clark County Fair, allowing visitors to visit them in the stable and see them in action with two parades down the fair’s midway last week.
The Budweiser Clydesdales are made up of three eight-horse hitch teams, with the West Coast team paying the Clark County Fair and other local areas a visit from Tuesday, Aug. 5, through Sunday, Aug. 10. The Clydesdales wowed fairgoers on Thursday, Aug. 7, with their first of two Clark County Fair parades, culminating in a check presentation of $10,000 toward the Folds of Honor organization.
“So, the Folds of Honor is an organization where its sole mission is to provide educational scholarships to the families of fallen or injured military service men and women or first responders,” said Bob Fishbeck, director of strategic partnerships for Folds of Honor. “So, those people that have paid the ultimate sacrifice or been disabled in the line of duty, whether it’s protecting our country or serving our communities, we want to take care of their families and make sure that their spouses, their children, their dependents have the opportunity for education.”
This year marks the 15th anniversary of Anheuser-Busch partnering with the Folds of Honor nonprofit organization. To celebrate, the iconic Clydesdales have been embarking on a cross-country tour.
“They’ve donated over $33 million to us, which equates to about 6,600 scholarships; and it really does make a difference when we’re able to go on the road with the iconic Budweiser Clydesdales and do these check presentations and spread the word about the need that is out there,” Fishbeck said of partnering with Anheuser-Busch. “Here in the Pacific Northwest, so Washington and Oregon, since 2007, Folds of Honor has been able to award over 1,000 scholarships here, and just last year, we were able to do about 180. But the need is still great. There were still 130 that we weren’t able to fund. So, we want to get out there, spread the word and make sure people know their dollar is making an impact, and if we can do a little more, we can always use it, because there’s always people in need.”
Fishbeck explained that, often, members of the military are deployed for six months to a year, and their efforts allow the nation to have events such as the Clark County Fair. Fishbeck said that in the United States, 911 is dialed 240 million times per year, or roughly every six seconds.
“Every six seconds, a first responder gets called, and they answer the call,” he said. “They’re first to the scene. They run toward the trouble. They don’t run away, and they’re there for us. So that’s why we really want to take care of those families.”
As the Budweiser Clydesdales are deep into their tour of the west, the hitch team has covered a lot of miles. Josie Points, handler and a driver of the hitch, said the team is on the road 300 days out of the year and may rack upwards to 50,000 miles of travel in a year. The hitch team utilizes three branded semi trucks and trailers.
The hitch consists of eight horses, a beer wagon — a red, white and gold 1903 Studebaker-built beer wagon — two drivers and a Dalmatian mascot.
“The Budweiser Clydesdales have been around for a little over 90 years,” Points said. “They’ve been an American icon. We’ve always represented the Budweiser brand, and we travel around to see as many people as we can.”
As a handler, Points said they do anything that the horse may need, such as getting the horses ready for shows, getting the harnesses ready and anything else that may be needed.
“So these boys are a little spoiled,” Points said. “They get fed five times a day. It’s all spread out, but they get about 50 pounds of hay and about 5 pounds of grain. And they just get to eat all day and we groom them. They get baths once a week. So, I mean, they’re pretty spoiled.”
With the amount of travel and time spent together with the Clydesdales, Points said the bond created between person and horse on the team is almost like they’re her own. She added that the team members get to bond with all of them, and in some cases, watch them grow up as they have a 3-year-old horse on the team.
Points is no stranger to horses, having grown up around them and later obtaining a degree in the subject area. Her upbringing provided her an opportunity to be a part of the iconic team.
“I grew up in Illinois, so I was pretty close to the brewery, and so I grew up seeing the Clydesdales, and it was a dream that I never thought would come true,” she said. “But it did.”
Points has been with the team for three years now. She said her favorite part so far has been participating in the Rose Parade in Pasadena, California, each year.
“It’s always great to meet everyone and all the people that are like, ‘Oh, I remember seeing them when I was little and growing up,’” she said. “And they’ve always seen the commercials and they remember Budweiser and what we are for American history.”
