Posen Potato Festival to welcome Anheuser Clydesdales
The idea started simply enough as a question, and after a year of hoping, the Posen Potato Festival is proud to announce the expected arrival of the Anheuser-Busch Clydesdale horses, Dalmatian dogs, and the infamous Super Bowl donkey to its celebration slated for September 15-17.
ANDREA KONWINSKI, a trustee of the Posen Chamber and the chairperson for the Grand Parade, said the invitation to have the Clydesdale horses included in the Potato Festival went out over a year ago. Konwinski said David Budnik, a fellow Posen Chamber trustee, took his wife, Shirley, with him to an appointment with Huron Distributors. ?David helps with the organization of beverages, and Shirley went along with him, and she just simply asked how we would go about getting the Clydesdale horses to attend the festival,? said Konwinski. ?After a year of hoping, we got word that they are coming.?
Jim Johnston, the president of Huron Distributors, said this was actually the fourth or fifth time he has requested the Clydesdales, so the acceptance to this year?s invite is ?a special event.? Johnston said the Clydesdales were in the Mackinac City parade about three years ago, but have never been to this area.
?THE HITCH (team) of horses will be coming from San Antonio, Texas,? said Johnston. ?They have several different teams that work their way around. There will be 12 horses, one Dalmatian, and one donkey at the Posen Potato Festival.? Johnston said although the horses will not be available for riding, visitors will have the opportunity to snap a memorable photo, and appreciate the horses? grand presence. ?On Friday night, because the bars are close together in Posen, we are hoping to deliver the beer to the two bars using the Clydesdales,? said Johnston. The Clydesdales will also be a po
Konwinski said the announcement of the inclusion of the Clydesdales came too late to be included in the Posen Potato Festival brochure, but the event is definitely happening. The Budweiser Clydesdales are said to be ?a special breed? of horse, and in order to be known as one, horses have to pass certain requirements, including size, color, and disposition. Clydesdale horses are known for their tremendous size, as well as their ability to pull heavy loads while walking at decent speeds. Each Budweiser Clydesdale weighs about 2,000 pounds.
THE CLYDESDALES travel in style, and are well provided for while traveling. In order to provide enough rest for each horse, the teams travel with ten ?gentle giants.? The 50-foot tractor-trailers are custom built with rubber flooring, air suspension, and vent fans to ease the horses during the hours of traveling time. The horses are not the only ones doing all the work during parades. The drivers of the 1903 beer wagons are in charge of 12 tons of wagon and horses. The 40 pounds of reins, plus the tension on the reins, adds up to 75 pounds. The Dalmatians are significant to the Clydesdale teams because they were historically the protectors of the horses while the drivers made deliveries. For more than 60 years, the Budweiser Clydesdales have been a symbol for Anheuser-Busch, and this year, they will also be a symbol of the Posen Potato Festival.