The world-famous Budweiser Clydesdales have put out a warm welcome for group tours of its breeding facility in mid-Missouri.

Warm Springs Ranch is a state-of-the-art breeding operation situated on more than 300 acres of rolling hills in Cooper County, Mo. Guided group tours of the farm begin Saturday, May 1, at the 25,000-square-foot facility, home to more than 100 Clydesdales.

Guests will see and interact with the foals, mares and stallions as they learn about the 57-year-old Budweiser Clydesdale breeding program and the horses’ long heritage as one of the most recognizable brand icons in the world.

“Our beloved Clydesdales have been a symbol of Anheuser-Busch for more than 77 years, so we’re excited to be opening our doors at Warm Springs Ranch and offer guests such an intimate, one-of-a-kind experience with our Clydesdales,” said Jim Poole, general manager of Clydesdale Operations at Anheuser-Busch. “Guests will get to experience the whole Clydesdale family – not just the stallions – and meet the future stars of the Budweiser Clydesdales.”

The Budweiser Clydesdales began on the road to stardom when they were introduced on April 7, 1933, to celebrate the repeal of Prohibition for beer. August A. Busch Jr. and Adolphus Busch III presented a hitch of horses to their father to celebrate the day. To their father’s delight, the hitch thundered down Pestalozzi Street in St. Louis carrying the first case of post-Prohibition Budweiser from the brewery.

Anheuser-Busch owns more than 200 of the renowned breed, including traveling hitches that greet millions of people each year. Two of those hitches are stabled at Warm Springs Ranch.

Between 30 and 40 Clydesdale foals are born at Warm Springs Ranch each season, Poole said. Dedicated staff is on-site around the clock to ensure the baby Clydesdales are welcomed into the world in comfort and safety. Those Clydesdales born with the proper markings for a Budweiser Clydesdale – a bay coat, a blaze of white on the face, four white stocking feet, and a black mane and tail – have a future spot on one of the traveling hitches and the chance to appear in some of the brand’s beloved commercials.

Guests also will view the Clydesdales’ custom-made harnesses, a 1903 Studebaker-built beer wagon, and three luxury tractor-trailer units that transport the Clydesdales to appearances all around the country. They also will learn about the Budweiser Clydesdales’ breeding techniques and bloodlines.

Tours of Warm Springs Ranch are by group reservation only and last approximately an hour and a half. Tours are offered daily between the hours of 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. Visit www.warmspringsranch.com for more information or to make a reservation.

Rob McCarthy, vice president for Budweiser, said the first television advertisement featuring the Budweiser Clydesdales aired in 1956 and that commercials featuring the majestic horses have been popular ever since.

“Whether it’s a national television commercial or an appearance at parades and festivals around the country, these horses continue to be a symbol of Budweiser’s quality and heritage,” McCarthy said.

Based in St. Louis, Anheuser Busch is the leading American brewer, holding a 48.9 percent share of U.S. beer sales to retailers. The company brews the world’s largest-selling beers, Budweiser and Bud Light. Anheuser Busch also owns a 50 percent share in Grupo Modelo, Mexico’s leading brewer. Anheuser Busch is a major manufacturer of aluminum cans and has been a leading aluminum recycler for more than 30 years. The company is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Anheuser-Busch InBev, the leading global brewer, and continues to operate under the Anheuser-Busch name and logo. For more information, visit www.anheuser-busch.com.

Post from: NELSON WADE Magazine

A Chance to Meet Future Stars of the Budweiser Clydesdales: Warm Springs Ranch Breeding Farm Opens to Public

Today the world-famous Budweiser Clydesdales march down Orange Grove and Colorado Boulevard for the Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, Calif., they were joined by American icons of another sort.  The famed float will feature U.S. Olympic legends Bonnie Blair, Dan Jansen and Michelle Kwan along with six U.S. Olympic hopefuls as the nation counts down to the 2010 Olympic Winter Games.

“Anheuser-Busch has been a tremendous supporter of the U.S. Olympic Team and the Olympic Movement for a quarter of a century,” said United States Olympic Committee (USOC) Chief Marketing Officer Lisa Baird.  “We’re thrilled U.S. Olympic team members were asked to participate in the Parade of Roses.  The long-term commitment from Budweiser benefits America’s athletes, helping them train hard, pursue their dreams and represent our country with pride at the Olympic Winter Games.”

Designed by Michelle Lofthouse, the Anheuser-Busch float “Quest for the Best,” featured U.S. winter Olympic legends and hopefuls who, through their talent, passion and dedication, embody the 2010 Rose Parade theme of being “A Cut Above the Rest.”  These Olympic hopefuls are Shannon Bahrke (Freestyle skiing – Tahoe City, Calif.), Steve Fisher (Snowboarding – St. Louis Park, Minn.), Steve Holcomb (Bobsled – Park City, Utah), Katherine Reutter (Short track speed skating – Champaign, Ill.), Rebecca Sorenson (Skeleton – Fort Collins, Colo.) and Marco Sullivan (Alpine skiing – Tahoe City, Calif.).

“Anheuser-Busch is proud to bring together two American icons – the Budweiser Clydesdales and U.S. Olympic athletes – for one of the country’s most popular New Year’s Day traditions,” said Rob McCarthy, senior director of Budweiser.  “U.S. Olympians represent strength and determination and bring joy to millions of spectators nationwide.”

The Budweiser Clydesdales have been a part of the Rose Parade since 1953.  This year, the eight Clydesdales to pull the Anheuser-Busch float are Dick (wheel horse), Fez (wheel horse), Tim (wheel-body horse), Bernie (wheel-body horse), Alan (body horse), Scooby (swing horse), Mike (swing-lead horse) and Dave (swing-lead horse).

The Budweiser Clydesdales

These particular Clydesdales were chosen based on their beauty, strength, temperament and size.  To qualify for a hitch, a Budweiser Clydesdale must be a gelding at least four years of age, stand 72 inches at the shoulder when fully mature, weigh between 1,800 and 2,300 pounds, have a bay coat, a blaze of white on the face,  four white stocking feet, and a black mane and tail.

The float featured thousands of fresh-cut flowers, including white chrysanthemums and fine cut statice, to create snow banks and ice rinks.  Six 12-foot real pine trees that were dusted with white dendrobium and gypsophila to give the appearance of snow.  The Olympic gold the athletes will be seeking at the Olympic Winter Games will be represented by gold, orange and light yellow roses.

About the U.S. Olympic Committee
The United States Olympic Committee (USOC) is recognized by the International Olympic Committee as the sole entity in the United States whose mission involves training, entering and underwriting the full expenses for the U.S. teams in the Olympic, Paralympic, Pan American and Parapan American Games.  In addition to being the steward of the U.S. Olympic Movement, the USOC is the moving force for support of sports in the United States that are on the program of the Olympic, Paralympic, Pan American and Parapan American Games.  For more information, please visit www.teamusa.org.

About Anheuser-Busch
Based in St. Louis, Anheuser-Busch is the leading American brewer, holding a 49.2 percent share of U.S. beer sales.  The company brews the world’s largest-selling beers, Budweiser and Bud Light.  Anheuser-Busch also owns a 50 percent share in Grupo Modelo, Mexico’s leading brewer.  Anheuser-Busch ranked No. 1 among beverage companies in FORTUNE Magazine’s Most Admired Global Companies list in 2009.  Anheuser-Busch is a major manufacturer of aluminum cans and one of the world’s largest recyclers of aluminum cans.  The company is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Anheuser-Busch InBev, the leading global brewer, and continues to operate under the Anheuser-Busch name and logo.  For more information, visit www.anheuser-busch.com.

Post from: NELSON WADE Magazine

Two American Icons Unite on a “Quest for the Best”

The Clydesdales will pull the “City of St. Louis” float, “Seventy-Five Years of Entertainment,” in the 120th Rose Parade themed “Hats Off to Entertainment” on New Year’s Day.

Click on image for an enlarged view

The Clydesdales became part of Anheuser-Busch in 1933, shortly after Prohibition ended for beer, when August A. Busch Jr. and Adolphus Busch III presented a hitch to their father, August Busch Sr., to commemorate the first bottle of post-Prohibition beer brewed in St. Louis.

“The Rose Parade is especially significant for us this year as we celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Budweiser Clydesdales, which are beloved by millions in the United States and around the world,” said Kathy Flanigan Busch O’Kane, co-producer of the “City of St. Louis” float. “The Clydesdales are not only part of the heritage of Anheuser-Busch, but they have also been part of the entertainment tradition of the parade for the past fifty-six years.”

The “City of St. Louis” float, designed by Michelle Lofthouse of Phoenix Decorating Co., depicts the Budweiser Clydesdales’ antique beer wagon and official home, the historic stable located at the Anheuser-Busch brewery in St. Louis. Built in 1885, the stable is listed on the Registry of National Historic Landmarks and is a favorite stop for visitors on daily brewery tours.

The Clydesdales wagon is depicted using fine cut red strawflower with black seaweed “wheels” of fine ground rice and kidney beans. The front and rear arches of the stable are decorated with fine cut red statice and feature “stained glass” windows of purple, hot pink, light green and yellow gladiolus petals. The sculpted horses accenting the front arch are covered with fine crushed walnut shell, bronze strawflower, ground onion seed and powdered rice. The base of the float is highlighted with roses, daisies, carnations and irises in bright yellow, white, lavender, blue and orange.

“The introduction of the Budweiser Clydesdales in 1933 symbolized a national return to optimism,” said Karen Flanigan Busch Buhl, co-producer of the “City of St. Louis” float. “Today, the Clydesdales still captivate crowds from coast to coast as a vision of majesty, teamwork and above all, quality.”

The float also celebrates the anniversary of another St. Louis institution and National Historic Landmark, the Missouri Botanical Garden. The Garden is the oldest of its kind in the United States and will celebrate its 150th anniversary in 2009. The float features the façade of the Garden’s Linnean House, which was built in 1882 and is the oldest continuously operating public greenhouse west of the Mississippi River. The float also depicts the Garden’s popular giant water lilies and “fountain” featuring water created with light and dark irises and lavender statice. Garden founder Henry Shaw is also depicted on the float feeding an apple to a young Clydesdale.

“This year’s float offers a historic look at St. Louis through two of its icons, the Budweiser Clydesdales and the Missouri Botanical Garden,” Lofthouse said. “It combines the best of decorating opportunities in both dry and fresh flowers while depicting a piece of American history for all to appreciate.”

Special guests riding the float this year are Missouri Botanical Garden President Dr. Peter Raven and his wife, Pat. For three decades, Raven has headed the Garden and is credited for turning the institution into a world-class center for botanical research and education and horticultural display.

Karen Flanigan Busch Buhl and Kathy Flanigan Busch O’Kane, granddaughters of the late August A. Busch Jr., St. Louis businessman and philanthropist, have co-produced the “City of St. Louis” float for more than a decade. They follow in the footsteps of their mother, Carlota “Lotsie” Busch Webster, who introduced the float and Clydesdales to the parade in 1953.

During the past 56 years, the “City of St. Louis” float has captured 25 awards in the Rose Parade, including 14 National and three Queen’s awards. Most recently, the “City of St. Louis” won the 2005 Judges’ Special Award for “outstanding showmanship and dramatic impact” for its “Harvest Celebration” float.

Based in St. Louis, Anheuser-Busch is the leading American brewer, holding a 48.5 percent share of U.S. beer sales. The company brews the world’s largest-selling beers, Budweiser and Bud Light. Anheuser-Busch also owns a 50 percent share in Grupo Modelo, Mexico’s leading brewer, and a 27 percent share in China brewer Tsingtao, whose namesake beer brand is the country’s best-selling premium beer. Anheuser-Busch ranked No. 1 among beverage companies in FORTUNE Magazine’s Most Admired U.S. and Global Companies lists in 2008. Anheuser-Busch is one of the largest theme park operators in the United States, is a major manufacturer of aluminum cans and one of the world’s largest recyclers of aluminum cans. The company is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Anheuser-Busch InBev, the leading global brewer, and continues to operate under the Anheuser-Busch name and logo. For more information, visit www.anheuser-busch.com.

MEMORABLE MOMENTS IN BUDWEISER CLYDESDALES ADVERTISING

·    Advertisements featuring the Budweiser Clydesdales are some of the most popular commercials in the history of television.  The first commercials featuring the world-famous eight horse hitch aired in 1956.  These ads introduced the Clydesdales as the symbol of Budweiser and showed the hitch parading across an open field.

·    In the late 1970s, the Budweiser anthem, “Here Comes the King” was used for the first time in a commercial featuring the Clydesdale hitch at Grant’s Farm, the ancestral home of the Busch family in St. Louis.  This song is still played at Clydesdales appearances today.

·    The first Clydesdales holiday commercial aired in 1976, depicting the Merrimack, N.H.-based hitch returning home for the holidays on a snowy evening.  The ad was updated in 1986, converted to high definition for 2008 and features the picturesque community of Woodstock, Vermont.  Over the years, this commercial has become a holiday classic.

·    Anheuser-Busch’s Super Bowl ads are perennial favorites and have dominated the various post-Super Bowl consumer and media polls for much of the past decade.

• The Budweiser Clydesdales have been featured in 12 Super Bowl ads (1986, 1991, 1995, 1996, 1999, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2008).  These ads have consistently ranked as consumer favorites according to Anheuser-Busch research and various news media surveys.

• Three ads to date have ranked number one on USA TODAY’s “Ad Meter,” generally regarded as the top Super Bowl advertising consumer poll.

• In 1999, “Separated at Birth” told the story of two Dalmatian puppies who part ways when they’re young and then cross paths later in life.  The fire truck Dalmatian looks longingly at his brother, who has the greatest job a dog could have – Budweiser Clydesdales mascot.

• Budweiser’s “Clydesdale Replay” ad in 2003 featured the Clydesdales playing football in the snow.  This was the second Super Bowl ad in a series of three football themed ads that began in 1996.  The ads are significant as the first to use the horses as actors instead of showing them only as part of the hitch.

• Last year, Budweiser’s “Clydesdales Team” ad featured the Budweiser Dalmatian training previously rejected Hank the Clydesdale to be part of the world-famous hitch.

Source Information and Photos courtesy of Anheuser-Busch.

Post from: NELSON WADE Magazine

BUDWEISER CLYDESDALES CELEBRATE 75TH WITH SPECIAL ROSE PARADE FLOAT