While the Budweiser Clydesdales are known for their size, Anna Grace Tanner, communications manager with Mitchell Distributing said there is nothing like seeing one in person.

“I’ve been at Mitchell for 10 and a half years, and we’ve gotten to see these guys so much… but every time you stand beside them, you really realize the magnitude of how big they really are,” Tanner said. “I always joke that you know a Clydesdale is huge, but until you see one towering over you… it’s like ‘oh my goodness.’”

On Thursday night, Tanner and many citizens of Starkville experienced how large the Clydesdales truly are, as the horses made their first appearance in the city since 2021, trotting down Main Street and University, delivering cases of beer to local businesses.

The horses also appeared in the Tupelo Christmas Parade on Friday night and will be appearing in the Columbus Christmas Parade on Sunday at 6 p.m. Tanner said multiple stops were planned to give more people a chance to see the horses while the team is in the area.

The group traveling through Mississippi this holiday season, Tanner said, is the East Coast Hitch, one of three crews that travels across the country. The other crews are the West Coast Hitch and one based out of St. Louis, the flagship brewery for Budweiser, which opened in the 1850s.

“These guys are on the road the vast majority of the year,” Tanner said. “We’re just thankful that they came to stop in Mississippi to come see us this holiday season.”

According to a Budweiser Clydesdales fact sheet, the horses have been a tradition for Anheuser-Busch since 1933, after the end of Prohibition. The horses have since become known worldwide, making hundreds of stops every year.

Becoming a Budweiser Clydesdale

For a horse to become a Budweiser Clydesdale, they must be a gelding of at least four years of age and need to meet certain size standards, standing at 72 inches (six feet) at the shoulder when fully mature, and weighing between 1,800 to 2,300 pounds, the fact sheet said.

Once a horse has been selected to become a Budweiser Clydesdale, Tanner told The Dispatch in a text message, they are trained at Warm Springs Ranch in Missouri, which is a 300-plus acre farm located near Boonville, Missouri.

Their training typically starts when they are three-years-old, Tanner wrote in a text message to The Dispatch. During the training, Tanner shared, they are paired with a retired horse to learn the ropes until they graduate around the age of five-years-old.

“(The handlers) always tell me that when they get these harnesses on and they’re ready, they’re working,” Tanner said. “… They’re professional.”

The East Coast Hitch, she said, works well together, though they each have unique personalities. They, and their handlers always enjoy coming out and performing for crowds, seeing “old friends” and new ones.

The current East Coast Hitch horses include Brandon, Merlin, Tim, Tom, Tony, R.J., Beck, Bandit and Steve, Tanner wrote in an email to The Dispatch. Steve, the largest of the team, weighs in at 2,100 pounds.

Feeding such massive horses requires as much as one to six pounds of whole grains, minerals, and vitamins a day, along with 50 to 60 pounds of hay and 30 gallons of water per day, the fact sheet said.

The Clydesdales also travel with expert drivers and grooms to keep them in good condition. The East Coast Hitch, Tanner said, is currently traveling with Mackenzie Rondeau, Megan Arnold, Larry Manypenny, Marissa Kaminski, Hannah Shuberg and Dave Thomas.

Along with the horses and their human team, the Clydesdales also have been traveling with Dalmatians since the 1950s. The East Coast team is traveling with Dalmatians Natty and Lily, Tanner told The Dispatch.

Starkville’s turnout for the horses also demonstrated that the horses are often accompanied by fans, as hundreds of citizens lined the streets to see the Clydesdales walk by on Thursday.

“They’re just special to see,” Tanner said. “They bring out the community. All kinds of people come out and it just really brings the community together. And that’s just really special to us to have everybody come out and get to see them.”