Travelling team has been symbol of beer brand for 75 years

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By Aloma Jardine
Times & Transcript Staff

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Metro Monctonians will get a special treat over the next few days as the Budweiser Clydesdales make a rare Canadian -- and their first Atlantic Canadian -- appearance here.

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The Budweiser Clydesdales will be in Moncton this week for a visit.

The eight-horse hitch has been a symbol of Anheuser-Busch for 75 years and is often featured in Budweiser television commercials.

The team arrived yesterday and will be making various appearances around the region until Sunday.

"This is the first time it has ever been to Atlantic Canada," says Bill Scollard, Budweiser marketing manager Atlantic. "But the number one brand in New Brunswick is Budweiser and the number two brand is Bud Light, so it seemed appropriate for this icon of the brand to visit New Brunswick."

The team will appear at the Vaughn Harvey N.B. Liquor outlet at 6 p.m. tomorrow, before making its way down Main Street to make ceremonial beer deliveries to the Old Triangle and St. James Gate, then rounding off its work by attending the Atlantic Seafood Festival at the Moncton Market until about 8:30 p.m.

"It will be a magical thing to see them in full tack heading down Main Street," says Scollard, who got to see a team of the horses himself a few years ago.

"I can't say enough about them. When you see them in person, there is that incredible wow factor, principally because they are so darn big."

The horses chosen to be part of the teams must meet very specific criteria.

They must be geldings standing at least 18 hands (about six feet or 1.8 metres) high at the shoulder when fully grown and weigh between 1,800 and 2,300 pounds (815 and 1,050 kilograms).

They must be bay in colour with four white stockings, a white blaze on their face and a black mane and tail. Temperament is also important as the horses interact with the public almost constantly.

The Clydesdales became a symbol of Anheuser-Busch when the Prohibition Act was repealed in the U.S. in 1933. To mark the event, August Busch's two sons presented him with a hitch of Clydesdales to carry the first case of post-Prohibition beer from their St. Louis brewery.

In the 1950s, the Dalmation was adopted as a companion to the horses and at least one of the dogs accompanies every team as it travels around North America.

All together Budweiser has five travelling teams.

Scollard says they mainly appear stateside.

"They've only been up to Canada for a couple of events, the Calgary Stampede, the F-1 race in Quebec the last couple of years," he says. "We're quite honoured. (Their appearance) is usually surrounded by a massive event.

"But they wanted to honour folks in New Brunswick for their loyalty to the brand."

Although only eight horses are used to pull the red, white and gold turn-of-the-century beer wagon, they travel in teams of 10 to provide rest for the "first-string" horses.

Moving 10 horses plus all of their equipment requires three custom-built tractor-trailers.

Besides the seafood festival, the team will be at Pointe-du-Chêne wharf on Saturday from 2 to 4 p.m. and at the Kent Agricultural Fair in Sainte-Marie-de-Kent on Sunday from 2 to 4 p.m.