Message:
Here some info about the Clydesdales horses that pulled Santa at Saturday's Night Light Parade in Ida.
My family and I attended it for the first time, and we had a great time!
From monroenews.com...
Clydesdales: A breed above - 12/7/2002
Hundreds watch the annual Night Light Parade, part of the Christmas in Ida Festival, as it heads south on Lewis Ave. The Owl Creek Clydesdales won't be found in front of a plow or, for that matter, a beer wagon. Evening News staff writer By CHARLES SLAT IDA n Rex is a big muscular guy, but his hair has a touch of gray. "He might make it," said Jason Honsberger. "Deacon back there could make it. He's a picture-perfect horse." He's referring to the Budweiser Clydesdale team, renowned for its good looks. The requirements to be an Owl Creek Clydesdales are different and, some would say, more stringent. "They're looking for that picture-perfect look," he added. "We want the movement, the style and grace." Mr. Honsberger is the driver and trainer of the Owl Creek Clydesdales, the 8-horsepower engine that was pulling the brightly lighted wagon down Lewis Ave. Saturday night as part of the annual Night Light Parade that's part of the Christmas in Ida Festival. "We're the non-alcoholic Clydesdales," said Mr. Honsberger, making reference to the better-known Budweiser Clydesdales that have appeared around the nation, including at the Monroe County Fair. Many more know of the Budweiser team, but far fewer know that while the Clydesdales from Owl Creek may not be as pretty, they have more finesse and style than the Budweiser team, according to Mr. Honsberger. Rex, for example, with his touch of gray, probably wouldn't make it on the Budweiser team unless they dyed his mane. But most of the Budweiser Clydesdales couldn't make it on the Owl Creek team. "Mainly, we're a competitive hitch rather than a show hitch," Mr. Honsberger explained. "We're a cut or two above the Budweiser horses." The Owl Creek team came up from its home base of Fredericktown, Ohio, about an hour north of Columbus, to strut their stuff in the Ida parade. It is one of the best competitive Clydesdale teams in the nation and this year were judged the national champions in a six-horse Clydesdale hitch competition at the Wisconsin State Fair. The judging was based on how the horses perform together, their overall appearance, animation and size, not how perfect they look in a beer commercial. The Owl Creek Clydesdales are a full-time job for Mr. Honsberger, but they're primarily a hobby for their owner, Bill Burgett, a retired farmer. "I grew up on the farm back in the 30s and farmed with horses," Mr. Burgett said. "In the last seven years, I decided I wanted to get a team of Clydesdales together." He scouted around for good horses and hired Mr. Honsberger, who began driving horse teams when he was 5 or 6. Putting together a competitive Clydesdale team is "just like any sport," Mr. Honsberger said. "It means finding the right athletes and having good management." As driver, Mr. Honsberger also has to be a bit athletic. "There's a lot of tension on the lines and it's cold outside. They can wear you out and get your hands cramping up," he said. Each horse can exert about 80 to 90 pounds of pull on the reins, Mr. Burgett said. Besides the muscle-power involved from both horses and man, preparing for a show like the Ida festival takes a lot of hours. It can take four or five days just to perfectly polish the brass harnesses the horses have, and as long as three hours to hook up the team to the wagon. For the Ida show, Christmas lights adorned the wagon and strings of lights were run through the middle of the hitch. The horses also wore jingle bells and had teddy bears on their backs. The team will do six or seven parades each year and a dozen or more shows. They do get breaks n today starts a bit of a vacation for them n and you probably won't ever see them pulling a plow. That might be akin to hauling hay in a BMW. "You don't even want to see them in the field working," Mr. Honsberger said