Budweiser Clydesdales Are Coming to Nacogdoches Christmas Parade

R&K Distributors has just confirmed some very exciting news for the holiday season. The world-famous Budweiser Clydesdales are coming to the Nine Flags Lighted Christmas Parade on Saturday, December 6. The parade is scheduled to start at 6:30 p.m. The majestic horses will also be a part of the Marshall Wonderland of Lights event the following week.

A few more details are to come, such as when and where the Clydesdales will be stabled in Nacogdoches, as well as times for public viewing. We will add those details to this post once that information is released.

A Brief History of the Clydesdales

In 1933, August A. Busch, Jr. and Adolphus Busch III surprised their father, August A. Busch, Sr., with the gift of a six-horse Clydesdale hitch to commemorate the repeal of the Prohibition of beer.

Realizing the marketing potential of a horse-drawn beer wagon, the company also arranged to have a second six-horse Clydesdale hitch sent to New York to mark the event. The Clydesdales drew a crowd of thousands on their way to the Empire State Building. This hitch continued on a tour of New England and the Mid-Atlantic states, thrilling thousands, before stopping in Washington, D.C., in April 1933 to reenact the delivery of one of the first cases of Budweiser to President Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

The Clydesdales Today

The Budweiser Clydesdales make hundreds of appearances across the country each year. It's quite the undertaking, too. To properly prepare the Clydesdales for their appearances, a team of dedicated handlers oversees their care. Expert groomers travel on the road with the hitch at least 10 months out of the year. Another team oversees their diet; each hitch horse will consume as much as 20 to 25 quarts of whole grains, minerals and vitamins, 50 to 60 pounds of hay, and up to 30 gallons of water on a warm day.

When it comes time to travel to an appearance, 10 horses, the famous red, white, and gold beer wagon, and other essential equipment are transported in three 50-foot tractor-trailers. Cameras mounted in the trailers are connected to monitors in the cabs that enable the drivers to keep a watchful eye on their precious cargo during transport. Air-cushioned suspension and thick rubber flooring in the trailers ease the rigors of traveling. The team stops each night at local stables so the “gentle giants” can rest.

The Budweiser Clydesdales reside at the Anheuser-Busch breweries in St. Louis for public viewing. Visitors can also see the Clydesdales up close at Warm Springs Ranch, the premier Budweiser Clydesdales breeding establishment in Boonville, Missouri. Both attractions are open seasonally.

They first appeared in the Super Bowl in 1975 and have since appeared in countless Super Bowl commercials for the company.