Some Beery Special Visitors

We had some pretty awesome visitors to the barn where I board my horse this past weekend. Visitors of the enormous variety.  And by enormous, I mean draft horses. And by draft horses, I mean none other than the world-renowned Budweiser Clydesdales.  Denise Vespa Stables plays host to the various teams of Clydesdale horses from time to time. And believe me, it never gets old.

But first, let me mention what goes on behind the scenes in advance of the arrival of the giant Budweiser trailers.

When the call comes in – usually with very short notice - that these superstar horses need a place to spend a couple of nights between destinations, the amazing owner/operator of our barn, Denise Vespa, and her staff spring to action. This time the horses needed a rest before continuing on to New Hampshire for a homecoming celebration for troops overseas.

Our barn is pretty much at capacity right now so finding room for the Clydesdales and juggling the other horses to alternate space is a mind-boggling task. On pretty much no notice, Denise erects temporary stalls, and then sets about moving horses to the right-sized stalls. For example, my horse is pretty small (not much over 15 hh) but has a fairly large stall so she moved to a smaller stall so a larger horse could use her space for a couple of days.

And that is how it went all day. Mixing and matching spaces while getting the place in tip top condition. It’s kind of like when relatives visit and you clean your house top to bottom. Weekends at any barn are very hectic anyway so while Denise and her employees were readying for their guests, lessons and training continued on as did the rest of the daily activities and routines of the barn.  

 When that giant truck pulls in with the Clydesdales aboard, it’s so so exciting. And when the ramp drops and the first gentle giant emerges from the trailer, I always get chills then teary-eyed.  

The Clydesdale team that visited this time around was the young team: the babies. Some were attending their very first events. They were fun and playful and there were lots of spilled water buckets.        

Being chosen to house these animals is no small honor. The Clydesdales are worth considerable money and they need top-notch care, feeding, housing and even privacy and a break from the public. And Denise ensures that the animals get some downtime by keeping their presence a secret – and asks the same of her boarders. Only after the horses depart, does she spill the beans.

I think it’s pretty terrific that a barn off in the beautiful rolling hills of the town of Onondaga has earned this hosting distinction and I love bearing witness to it. I’ll leave you with this fast fact about the Clydesdales:

The Budweiser Clydesdales made their first-ever appearance on April 7, 1933. A gift from August A. Busch, Jr. and Adolphus Busch to their father in celebration of the repeal of Prohibition, the presentation of the original two six-horse hitches of champion Clydesdales moved father, sons and drivers Art Zerr and Billy Wales to tears. The phrase “crying in your beer” was officially coined shortly thereafter.