the budweiser clydesdales - north carolina barbecue...
TRANSCRIPT
SPECIAL EDITION
THE BUDWEISER CLYDESDALES
NCBS PIG TALES® May 2011
Our next NCBS BBQ Boot Camp is at Tanglewood Park in Clemmons, NC on May 13th!
The Camp is already half full and filling up, so be sure to secure your spot today!
If you can’t make it to the Camp in Tanglewood, we have 2 more Camps for 2011 - The NCBS
Mountain BBQ Boot Camp in Fletcher, NC and the NCBS Coastal BBQ Boot Camp in Wilmington, NC.
Click here for more details!
SHOWTIME
DRAFT HORSE “ROCK STARS”
NCBS PIG TALES® May 2011 PAGE 2
Throughout recorded history men have been fasci-
nated with “BIG”. To own the biggest club, sword,
dog, horse etc. was a source of pride and a status
symbol. We will not delve into other reasons men
may have for this phenomenon. Men are not alone
in this fascination of the “Biggest”. For centuries
men, women and children have paid to see the
“biggest” at sideshows, fairs, circuses and other pub-
lic events around the globe. One source of amaze-
ment has been the biggest horse. Eighty (80) plus
years ago the worlds largest horse honors went to
“Brooklyn Supreme”. Foaled in the US in 1928,
“Brookie” stood 19.2 hands (a hand is 4 inches) at
the shoulder and
weighed 3,200
lbs. He wore a
40” collar and
measured 10 feet
2 inches at the
girth (around his
chest). At one
time Dr. LeGear
at only four (4)
years of age was
considered the world’s largest horse. He was 21+hh
(hands high) and weighed 3940 lbs. Since the “Dr”
there have been a number of horses mentioned as the
world’s largest, “Noddy” at 20.2hh and 1.5 tons, Go-
liath (19.1hh), Zeus, Radar (19hands 3 ½ inches)
and Poe, possibly the present leading contender for
the title at 20.2hh and 200 stones ( a stone is 14 lbs.)
in weight.
All of these horses were/are draft horses. There are
a number of draft horse breeds. Some of the more
familiar breeds are Belgian, Shire, Percheron and
Clydesdale.
These Herculean
sized horses were
originally bred to
carry knights in
full armor and
intimidate men on
foot. They were
meant to be fire
breathing
dragons. Later
these draft breeds were woven into the farm work of
Europe and prized for their ability to pull a great
amount of weight. These hard working, blue collar
horses were imported to the US in the mid 1800s
and became the work horse of choice for the Ameri-
can farmer. Of all of the draft horses in harness
around the world no breed of these gentle giants is
more recognizable than Clydesdales. And no hitch
of Clydesdales is more recognizable than the Bud-
weiser Clydesdales. No logo in the advertising
world is more identifiable with its brand than the
eight magnificent bay Clydesdales that pull the
bright red brewery wagon of Anheuser-Busch.
Only the best of the best Clydesdales make the
Budweiser Clydesdale eight-horse hitch.
“Brooklyn Supreme”
Poe with owner Shereen Thompson
Radar
Continued on Page 3
DRAFT HORSE “ROCK STARS” (cont.)
NCBS PIG TALES® May 2011 PAGE 3
They are alike in appearance. Each horse is bay in
color, has a white blaze on the face, black mane and
tail and white feathering on all four legs and feet. All
of the horses are approximately the same size: about
18/18+ hh
and weigh in
at about
2000-
2300lbs.
There are
five (5) trav-
eling Clydes-
dale teams,
one is based
in MO., one
in NH, one in
TX and two
in CA. Each
year the
teams travel more than 100,000 miles and make over
500 appearances to the delight of audiences young
and old.
When on the road the Clydesdales travel in a style
befitting their status as “Rock Stars” of the horse
world. They are chauffeur driven in a caravan of
three (3) handsome red Budweiser tractor-trailer
rigs emblazoned with their pictures on the trailers.
They stand on heavily cushioned floors in air condi-
tioned stalls. The trucks are equipped with air ride to
further aid their comfort.
Each horse con-
sumes about 60
pounds of hay
and 10 pounds
of specialized
grains and vita-
mins per day all
inspected and
monitored by
the horse’s
handler.
The horses drink local water (most of these equine
giants drink about 20+ gallons per day) also care-
fully inspected. The horses have their hooves
trimmed and get new shoes and leather pads every
six(6) weeks.
Budweiser Clydesdales in pasture
Photo by Jim Early
The Budweiser Caravan
Photo by Jim Early
Mealtime for the Clydesdales
Photo by Curtis White
One of the Clydesdales being outfitted with new pads & shoes by farrier John Soto
Photos by Jim Early & Curtis White
Continued on Page 4
DRAFT HORSE “ROCK STARS” (cont.)
NCBS PIG TALES® May 2011 PAGE 4
On a show day the horse’s routine is much like an
actor/entertainer being made up for a scene or per-
formance. The horses stalls are cleaned, the horses
fed, curried, brushed, washed, wiped, sprayed,
manes set with red and white flowers and ribbons,
tails set and netted and ribbons affixed, feet cleaned
and last minute touch-ups. This routine takes five
(5) hours of preparation.
Rich Gerth preps Chico
Jim Early curries Chico
Rubby dub dub
Jim dries Jake after bath
Mitch gives Jim a raspberry
Continued on Page 5
DRAFT HORSE “ROCK STARS” (cont.)
NCBS PIG TALES® May 2011 PAGE 5
Then the horses are driven to their show. At the
show grounds the horses are fitted with the complex
black leather harness that is custom made and
custom fitted for the special needs of each horse.
Next the
horses are
ready for
the hitch.
The first
horses to
be placed
are the
wheel
pair.
They are
attached
to the
double tree closest to the wagon followed by the
body, swing and lead pairs. Once in place these
Elite Eight become the most famous eight horse
hitch in history. Add the 8000 lb. Brewery Wagon
(with hydraulic brakes no less) some icy cold Bud, a
hitch driver,
asst. hitch
driver and
top with
Brewer (the
Dalmatian)
and you have
a rolling
party.
On April 19, 2011 The Clydesdales visited Winston
Salem, NC to recreate a scene from yesteryear when
the team delivered a case of beer to a local billiard
hall. On this day the team delivered another case of
beer and the proprietor returned the original crate.
Over 3500 people lined the streets to see and take
pictures of the Clydesdales making their second de-
livery. It was quite a moment. The horses also
made several appearances at BB&T Baseball Field
to greet the Dash fans.
While the Budweiser East Coast Hitch Team and the
Clydesdales were in town I was privileged to spend
some time with the men and the horses. The horses
in this hitch were Mark, Stu, Mitch, Don, Evan,
Chip, Jake, Chico, Jeff and Rudy. Chico was my
favorite. He
was a people
horse and had
a calm
demeanor.
I got to watch
the horses
take their
7AM morning
romp in the
pasture, be
curried,
brushed,
washed and
get new shoes.
And I got to
love on them. All of the hitch horses are geldings
(castrated) and for good reason. A good gelding is
the same horse every day. I owned, rode and bro-
kered Tennessee Walking horses for a number of
years. There was an old saying “You tell a gelding
what to do. You ask a mare to do it and you discuss
it with a stud”. Some things never change.
I would like to express my thanks to our sponsors
Anheuser-Busch®, Budweiser®, R. H. Barringer
Distributing Co., my friend Chip Harpe and The
Budweiser East Coast Hitch Team for making my
time with the Clydesdales possible and for such a
memorable experience. Much Obliged. - Jim Early
Rock Star Transportation
The Elite Eight
HERE WE GO!
Jim and Chico
NCBS Pig Tales® May 2011 PAGE 7
Friends of NCBS
R. H. Barringer Distributing Co. Inc.
Winston Salem, NC R. A. Jeffreys Dist. Co. of Wilmington
Wilmington, NC
NCBS Pig Tales® May 2011 PAGE 8
Friends of NCBS
PRINTING
Triad Packaging
A.B. Vannoy Hams
To The Point, Inc.
Winston-Salem, NC
Dewey’s Bakery
Duplin Winery
Rose Hill, NC
Joyce Foods
Winston-Salem, NC
PIP Printing
Triad Packaging
Piedmont Distillers
Twiddy & Co. Realtors
Pepsi-Cola Bottling Company
Winston-Salem, NC
Pepsi-Cola of Hickory
Hickory, NC
Pepsi Bottling Ventures
Wilmington, NC
NCBS Pig Tales® May 2011 PAGE 9
Friends of NCBS
Grady’s Barbecue
Dudley, NC
Skylight Inn
Ayden, NC Carolina Bar-B-Q - Statesville, NC
Milner’s American Southern Cuisine & Cocktails
Phillip M. Williford, M.D.
Big Oak Drive-In & BBQ - Salter Path, NC
Jimmy’s Seafood - Winston-Salem, NC
Are you interested in becoming a business sponsor of NCBS?
Visit www.ncbbqsociety.com, email us at [email protected] or
call (336) 765-NCBS for more information
Trigger Agency Casual Furniture World
Bridges Barbecue Lodge
Shelby, NC
Speedy Lohr’s BBQ of Arcadia
Arcadia, NC
Wilber’s Barbecue
Goldsboro, NC
Herb’s Pit Bar-B-Que
Murphy, NC
Moore’s Old Tyme Barbeque
New Bern, NC
Richard’s Bar-B-Q
Salisbury, NC
Short Sugar’s Drive-In
Reidsville, NC
Fuzzy’s
Madison, NC
Hill’s Lexington Barbecue
Winston-Salem, NC
NCBS PIG TALES® May 2011 PAGE 10
Our Mission
The mission of the North Carolina Barbecue Society (NCBS) is to preserve North Caro-lina’s barbecue history and culture and to secure North Carolina’s rightful place as the Barbecue Capital of the World. Our goal is to promote North Carolina as “the Cradle of ’Cue” and embrace all that is good about barbecue worldwide. As we strive to achieve these lofty goals we will be guided by the polar star that barbecue is all about good food, good friends and good times.
NCBS Pig Tales® is the official monthly publication of The North
Carolina Barbecue Society and is free to members. Dues start at $35.00 a year ($25.00 for seniors and students). Visit us at www.ncbbqsociety.com to download application or apply online.
Become a contributing correspondent and send us your articles, ideas, pictures and recipes. Email correspondence is preferred.
We reserve the right to edit any article, ad, comment or recipe.
Contact NCBS
144 Sterling Point Court
Winston-Salem, NC 27104
Phone: (336) 765-NCBS
Fax: (336) 765-9193
www.ncbbqsociety.com
Curtis White—Editor in Chief, Layout and Design & NCBS
Webmaster
Columnists
Jim Early
Contributing Correspondent
Margo Knight Metzger
Bill Eason
Photos this Edition by Jim Early & Curtis White
All rights reserved, The North Carolina Barbecue Society © 2011
NCBS Officers President…………………………………... Jim Early
Vice President……………………………..Bill Eason
Secretary………………………........Mary E. Lindsey
Treasurer……………………………………Jim Early
NCBS Board Members Jim Early…………………………Winston-Salem, NC
Bill Eason………………………………Marshville, NC
Mary E. Lindsey…………………………..Atlanta, GA
Rick Hollowell……………………….Greensboro, NC
Steve Grady……………………………….Dudley, NC
Debbie Bridges-Webb……………………Shelby, NC
Richard Turner……………………...Lake James, NC
Are you interested in becoming a business sponsor of NCBS? Visit
www.ncbbqsociety.com,
email us at [email protected] or call
(336) 765-NCBS for more information
®
NCBS wishes to give its membership a voice in NCBS Pig Tales®. The articles in this publication reflect the views, opinions and preferences of the author of the article and do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions and prefer-ences of NCBS officers, board members or the staff of NCBS Pig Tales®.
The recipes shared in this publication, unless they are ex-cerpts from Jim Early’s books The Best Tar Heel Barbecue Manteo to Murphy, Jim Early’s Reflections: The Memories and Recipes of a Southern Cook and Shining Times: The Adventures and Recipes of a Sportsman have not been kitchen tested by this publication.