Clydesdales pay annual visit to Shell Factory
From atop the balcony, the Shell Factory & Nature Park owner Pan Cronin looked on with glee as a huge crowd came to see what had been her late husband’s dream, the Budweiser Clydesdales taking laps around the center parking lot.
Tom Cronin never got the chance to see them here, having passed away shortly before they came for the first time. But they have come repeatedly since then, drawing huge crowds on a Wednesday so they can seeing these docile, beautiful horses in action.
“Suncoast Distributors has been a partner with us and made sure that the legacy continued. It makes me so happy and tears me up a bit to see them every year and have a special place in our heart for him,” Cronin said. “All the things people should be doing they skip away for this. Look at them. They’re magnificent.”
The Clydesdales came in the early afternoon, got hitched up in the back parking lot, with nearly a thousand people watching, braving the heat and taking photos of them and even with them.
The Clydesdales thought nothing of it, since they go through this on an almost daily basis.
The horses were a gift from August Busch Jr. to his father in 1933 to celebrate the end of prohibition. Since then, millions of people have seen them, a symbol of America’s most famed brewery.
This team is one of three that tours the country, and it travels about 300 days per year to several hundred locations to promote their brand.
They use geldings (neutered males) and have to have the white strip in the faces, white socks and start traveling at about 4 years old, and can travel for up to 10 years, when they are retired to a farm.
Most important, they have to be able to handle the crowds, said Marissa Kiminski, a handler for the horses who give them what they need on a daily basis.
“They have to be special. They have to travel, be able to deal with the public. Keep calm and show off our brand,” Kiminski said. “They are known as gentle giants, so they’re naturally like this.”
You don’t have to be an animal lover or love beer to love these animals. Cathy Corey who winters here from Minnesota, where she works with animals, saw the Clydesdales for the first time and loved them.
“They’re absolutely gorgeous and I love the dog (a dalmatian rides along with the two drivers, which included a woman for the first time here), but she’s getting hot though,” Corey said. “I’m so happy I found out because my park is not far away. It’s hot, but there’s a blizzard in Minnesota right now so this is fine.”
To reach CHUCK BALLARO, please email news@breezenewspapers.com