By Mandy McFarland Editor
NAPPANEE — Nappanee residents had a brush with fame last Friday, May 8 when the world-famous Anhueser-Busch Budweiser Clydesdales trotted into the Martin’s Super Market parking lot for a very special visit.
For just two hours, visitors who hoofed it to the Martin’s parking lot could have their picture taken with the horses, “Don,” “Dillon,” “Mark,” “Stewart,” “Chico,” “Chip,” “Jack” and “Rowdy,” along with drivers Roman Raber and Abe Fisch and "Barley" the Dalmatian.

According to handler Lou Davis, each of the horses is around 18 hands high, or about 6 feet, 3 inches at the withers. That does not include the tops of their heads, which tower high above the crowd. The two horses in the rear closer to the wagon, he said, are 19 hands.
Their massive hooves, which look about the size of dinner plates or Frisbees, are about a size 6 to 9 shoe. To compare, Davis said, most other horses have a size 3 or 4 shoe.
If size is not enough, with 2,000 pounds being the average weight, the Clydesdales literally weigh a ton. Their size was ideal for pulling the heavy beer wagons of long ago, before the invention of the large tractor-trailer trucks that deliver the product today.
The horses are about 3 years old when they are trained to pull the wagon. By the time they are 4 years old, they are usually ready to go to work. Sometimes, Davis said, a horse will show signs of having the required traits but will be a late bloomer. They often wait another year for those horses, he said.
The horses must be bay-colored geldings with four white stockings and a white blaze on their face. Their manes and tails must be black.
Clydesdales that do not make the cut are sold at a horse auction, where other drivers generally purchase them to pull show wagons.
The horses, Davis said, are all the offspring of the original Budweiser Clydesdales. The horses have been a recognized symbol of Budweiser for more than 75 years.
The wagon, driver Roman Raber said, is one of 10 or 12 that the company owns and has been featured in TV commercials of the past. The horses, handler Burt Westbrook said, are eight of about 230 around the country.
According to Martin’s Super Market Manager Tim Stump, the Nelson Beverage Company, which supplies to Martin’s, called a few weeks ago and offered the Clydesdales to them for an afternoon. They hoped to be able to use it as a way to help the Wa-Nee area, which they knew to be struggling under the weight of unemployment.
Of course, Martin’s said yes.
More information about the Clydesdales and a gallery of photos are available at www.anhueser-busch.com/Clydesdales/clydesdales-budweiser.