Wednesday, September 1,1999 .. Page 11
CLYDESDALE HANDLER Larry Manypenny rinses off one of Budweiser’s horses Monday next to
barn one on the Nebraska State Fairgrounds.
Clydesdales draw State Fair crowds
The crowd was mesmerized as it stood
and gawked at a group of enormous
creatures named Demon, Major,
Tony, Giles, Jack, Bud, Carl and
Duke.
“Look at the size of him,” one woman
commented as she gazed at Major.
, “They are beautiful,” another man said.
A steady line of people filed in and out of
the southeast end of the horse stables Monday
evening at the state fair.
They were there to see the world-famous
Budweiser Clydesdales.
After spending a day at an exhibition at
Super Saver on 48th and 0 streets, the horses
calmly ate their feed and drank their water
while onlookers petted, played with and
snapped pictures of the gentle giants.
“They’re used to it,” said Dick Rosen, an
expert groom who has been working for
Anheuser-Busch and traveling with the horses
for the past seven years.
“They travel year-round to parades, special
events and fairs and receive constant attention
everywhere they go,” Rosen said.
The constant attention the horses receive
may not be due to only their national fame but
also their mammoth size.
The horses stand 6 feet tall and weigh
between 1,800 and 2,300 pounds when fully
mature.
The horses also have monstrous hooves.
They wear a horse shoe twice as long and five
times as heavy as the shoe worn by a regular
riding horse.
Because of their enormous size and
strength, Clydesdales were originally used by
Scottish farmers in the early 19th century to
pull loads sometimes weighing more than a
ton.
In the 1800s, the horses were brought to
the United States where they were also used
for farm work.
Story by Jc
from the public.
The team of horses at this year’s fair is one
of six that make special appearances nation
wide, Rosen said.
The horses travel in classy 50-foot-long
trailers equipped with cameras so drivers can
keep a constant eye on the precious creatures
they are hauling.
Rosen said each horse is worth between
$10,000 and $12,000.
Because of their value, six expert grooms
travel with the horses that are on the road year
round.
The grooms drive the trucks, groom the
horses, clean the stables and do everything else
that needs to be done, Rosen said.
While there are eight horses in a hitch, nine
travel with the caravan.
An extra horse is brought in case of sick
ness, a bad hoof or another problem.
One job that kept Rosen scurrying around
the bam was bringing feed to each of the hors
PQ
A Budweiser Clydesdale eats 20 to 25
quarts of feed, 50 to 60 pounds of hay and 30
gallons of water per day.
To see these mammoth eaters, one might
want to get to the fair sometime in the next few
weeks.
John Skold, a fair administrator, said the
Clydesdales have been at the State Fair in the
past but do not come every year because they
are in great demand.
For the duration of this year’s fair, Skold
said, the horses will be hitched up and marched
through the fairgrounds every day at noon.
They will also make special appearances
at different locations in Lincoln. Today, they
will be at Super Kmart on 27th Street and
Comhusker Highway.
Skold said the Clydesdales and the wagon
they pull are a beautifiil sight to see.
“They are really a great attraction,” he said.
Lane Hickenbottom
BEN POLK*leads a Clydesdale out of the
barn to be washed after a day of traveling
around Lincoln.
Today, Clydesdales are mainly used for
breeding and show.
How the horses came to be a part of
Anheuser-Busch was the result of a simple
gesture from a son to his father.
It all began when August A. Busch Jr. gave
a hitch of the horses to his father, August
Busch, who owned Anheuser-Busch Brewing.
The Clydesdales were presented to him
pulling a wagon loaded with the first case of
post-Prohibition beer brewed in the St. Louis535
brewery.
The Clydesdales, pulling the red, white
and gold beer wagon, have been a part of
Anheuser-Busch ever since. .
But not just any Clydesdale can be a
Budweiser Clydesdale. The beer company is
quite selective.
To be a Budweiser Clydesdale, a horse
must be reddish brown in color, have white
feet, a white stripe on its face and a black mane
and tail .
The horse must also be calm and obedient
in order to deal with the constant attention
»sh Nichols ♦ Photos by
Sheldon to
feature
works by
black artists
By Danell McCoy
Staff writer
In its continuing effort to present its per
manent collection while complementing
traveling pieces, the Sheldon Memorial Art
Gallery, 12th and R streets, will be featuring
a collection of works from African
American artists.
The collection, titled “Black |mage and
Identity: African-American Art From the
Permanent Collection,” features works from
Gallery Preview
The Facts
What: “Black Image and Identity: African
American Art from the Permanent Collection’
Where: Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery,
12th and R streets
When: Sept. 1,1999'- Jan. 2,2000
The Skinny: Sheldon explores black
imagery through its permanent collection.
various artists, including Glen Ligon, Willie
Cole, Kara Walker and Michael Ray
Charles.
All of the artists have been influenced by
the controversial art of Robert Colescott.
“Colescott’s art utilizes stereotypes,”
said Dan Siedell, curator of the Sheldon. “He
used his art to critique individuals and com
munities.”
Kara Walker’s “The Means to an End ...
A Shadow Drama in Five Parts” is one of the
larger pieces that will be presented. It shows
images of a slave owner with a young black
girl and a young black mother nursing a
child.
Please see SHELDON on 12
Eclecticism is
key word at 5
Ross Theater
for fall season
By Emily Pyeatt
Staff writer
Take a break from generic blockbusters
and films that lead you by the hand.
This fall, check out the lineup of inde
pendent and foreign films available at the
Mary Riepma Ross Film Theater.
The Ross has brought a collection of
diverse flicks, primarily from this past sum
mer’s run of indies.
“We try to come up with a very represen
tative selection of the gamut of the releases
that are out now,” said Dan Ladely, director
of the Ross. “The fall’s films have lots of
diversity and cover different genres to repre
sent an array of what’s available.”
The schedule begins* this week with John
Sayles’ independent drama “Limbo.” This
complex characterization flick is set in
America’s last frontier, Alaska.
“Limbo” explores the relationships of a
fi^herman-turned-handyman (David
Strathairn), a nightclub singer (Mary
Elizabeth Mastrantonio) and the singer’s
troubled daughter (Vanessa Martinez).
Like other Sayles films (“Lone Star”),
Please see ROSS on 12