Three tractor-trailers carrying a team of Clydesdales, a vintage beer wagon and a Dalmatian named Barley pulled into the Festival Commons at Wood Park in Lake George this afternoon. The famous Budweiser Clydesdales drew a crowd of several hundred to admire the hoofed celebrities and snap a few selfies with the team. Barley, the team’s mascot, strutted atop the beer wagon’s cargo of wooden Budweiser crates much like a runway model, pausing to strike poses for his fans.
The hitch stop in Lake George is part of a Northeast tour that included a stay in Saratoga Springs. The planned parade along Beach Road and Canada Street was canceled at the last minute when a sudden cloudburst sent people scurrying for cover. The Clydesdales last came to Lake George in the 1990s with an appearance in Shepard Park.
The Budweiser Clydesdale tradition began in 1933 when the sons of the company founder gave their father a six-horse hitch of champion Clydesdales to celebrate the repeal of prohibition.
According to a Budweiser Hitch Team handler, Budweiser Clydesdales come from several different bloodlines, some imported from Scotland. A team of two handlers can harness and hitch the eight horses within a half-hour. “When you do it every day, it becomes easy.” Dalmatians originally accompanied the beer wagons to guard the wagons while the driver was making deliveries. The dogs were also trained to protect the horses. The travel hitches adopted Dalmatians as mascots in 1950.
