The World Clydesdale Show - for you horse fans

I thought the announcer had tears in his eyes. I was sitting in the stands at the Carp Fair, just a country fair in a little town west of Ottawa but one with a well deserved reputation for its horse show. It was a gorgeous day and the ring was thundering with the sounds of eight large wagons each pulled by a team of eight gigantic draft horses. "Ladies and gentlemen, I have not seen a sight like this in years and I don't know when we will see another." The ground vibrated with the synchronized footsteps of those massive hooves. To see that many large teams in one ring truly was a rare event.

Then, only a few weeks later, Carp hosted the first World Clydesdale Show. Again, the ring was full of those large teams and it was amazing. So in 2015, when I heard the next World Clydesdale Show was coming to Canada, I had to go and I took my niece, an avid horse fan, to London, Ontario.

The World Clydesdale Show

Draft horses (spelled draught in Commonwealth countries), were common in the days before mechanization. While they were a mainstay of agriculture, they were also used in logging and for hauling heavy loads. However, beginning in the late 19th century and increasing in the 20th, breed numbers went into decline. Most were displaced by tractors.

Draft horses are recognized by their tall muscular builds. Clydesdales are a breed of draft horse that originated in Scotland in the valley of the River Clyde, an area once known as Clydesdale but since renamed to Lanarkshire. They are one of the more popular and recognizable draft horse breeds and yet there are probably only 5,000 in the world.

You don't truly appreciate the size of these horses until you round a corner in the show stalls and run face to face with one. This was a typical sight as they were being groomed and harnessed for the show ring.

When North Americans think of Clydesdales, we are most likely to think of the famous Budweiser Clydesdales who star in the popular Super Bowl ads. Owned by Anheuser-Busch, they are one of the largest Clydesdale herds in the world with approximately 250 horses. Several teams of Clydesdales represent the brewery at various events and here we are in front of their stalls.

Hey! That's not a horse! We peeked into this empty stall to see the mascot for the Budweiser team fast asleep. His job is to ride on the wagon and it must be tough work. I will point him out again later.

Vistors were free to wander through the stall area. The size of a Clydesdale is pretty intimidating but they are gentle giants. We watched as they were bathed, groomed, dressed in their harness and led out. Some harnesses are pretty elaborate and they jingle as the horses trot. Visitors were not allowed into the area where the horses were hitched to the wagons.

Need a boost? Clydesdales stand 16 to 18 hands. That's 64-72 inches (163-183 cm) high at the shoulder and on average they weigh 1,800-2,000 lbs (820-910 kg).

Some mature males are taller and bigger, around 2,200 lbs (1,000 kg). All of the Budweiser geldings are that size. Now meet George. They said he was the biggest horse at the show.

While we were touring the stalls, feeding buckets started to appear. It was dinner time! Suddenly there was a huge racket as all these gigantic horses worried they weren't going to be fed, and started kicking their stalls and neighing for attention. Amongst that, we were startled by a frighteningly loud...

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Then a voice yelled, "It's okay George, I'm coming!"
And we knew exactly who she meant!

There were young Clydesdales too. As if to emphasize their gentleness, there was a young boy leading a young Clydesdale back and forth in the stall area. Here she is winning her heat. Cute. At this age, she's all legs!

Making another friend. Clydesdales come in black, brown, chestnut and bay in both solid and roan colors. Bay is the most common. A typical marking is the broad white blaze down the face and four white socks but there are other markings, even pinto, all beautiful.

The ring area in London wasn't as big as in Carp. We sat to watch some of the competitions.

This was a popular category where Clydesdales pulled old and antique farm equipment.

Other categories had much fancier wagons. Standing near the ring, the horses were a blur of thundering hooves and jingling harness, the feathers on their lower legs flying wildly. Those feathers, just longer hair, were thought to protect the horse's legs and they are a distinctive feature of this breed.

Recognize anyone? There's the Budweiser Dalmation hard at work on top of the wagon. The Budweiser team demonstrated a maneuver that might be used at a crowded loading dock. It was pretty impressive to watch the hitch and wagon so expertly steered.

And here we are at the end. Who is going to win? The larger classes are always a highlight of the show.

In October, the next World Clydesdale Show will be held in Madison, Wisconsin. You can find information in the first reference below, and if you get a chance to go, take it and see 600 Clydesdales from around the world.

References

World Clydesdale Show
Clydesdale Horse - Wikipedia
Clydesdale Horse Association of Canada
Budweiser Clydesdales

Images

All photos from the iPad of @kansuze.

I hope you enjoyed the show!
@kansuze