while we marked Veterans Day earlier this week there are organizations throughout the country whose mission is honoring those who’ve served year round one such group is folds of Honor a nonprofit that provides scholarships for the families of fallen and disabled military members along with First Responders awarding 62,000 educational scholarships since its founding 17 years ago and while the group says it’s no partner in its mission is too big or too small there is one whose size is undeniable the Budweiser Clydesdales we
paid a visit to the pride of Missouri to find out more this is how most of America thinks of the Budweiser Clydesdales iconic stars of anheiser bush Super Bowl spots standing in more than 6 feet tall and weighing up to 2,200 lb the Clydes Dale’s upbringing in care is a military operation of sorts so this is the Maternity Ward Amy trout oversees it all this is where we welcome all the Budweiser Clyde Dills into the world from the very start so these stalls are super sized yeah because we have super
big babies here what do they weigh when when B so they’re like 150 lbs when they hit the ground we actually had one this year that tapped the scales 189 lb oh my shack you should call that one Shack for 22 years trout has helped breed raise and train Clydesdales this is Millie and Meg their home the 300 plus acre Warm Springs Ranch in the heart of Missouri what are you looking for when you’re looking to breed we actually run DNA on all of our horses so we know genetically what colors they will throw
but we also need them to perform so when you see those guys just pound in the pavement they got a little extra pep in their stuff they got a little flare they’re flashy right well we can breed that into them are they on a hitch for a certain amount of time or so in a perfect world we would welcome them to the hitch at 5 years of age and we would retire him at 15 so that gives them 10 years of active service but these horses are athletes and just like any athlete they may have shorter or longer careers
they can’t all have you know decades and decad might be LeBron they might not exactly Tom Brady maybe not so we cater to each individual horse’s needs and if it’s time for them to retire they retire if they’re good to go then they’ll stay out on the road and it’s on the road where these gentle Giants May do their best work like at folds of Honor events around the country a nonprofit organization providing scholarships for military and first responder families folds of Honor would not be where we’re at without anheiser Bush and
especially the world’s famous Clyde Hills I mean we get to be no better pitch person I mean it’s incredible Rocky sikman has worked with folds of Honor for the last 14 years a former Marine SI Pikman was one of the 66 Americans captured in the 1979 Iran hostage crisis I was held for 444 days and that was two thanksgivings two Christmases the first 30 plus days you were tied not allowed to speak other than your interrogations it was very challenging and so it was really a a mental uh psychological piece what do
you remember about when you were released and got out that night of January 20th 1981 they came into our room and whenever they moved us they would always say it’s time to go and they would blindfold us uh and then tie us well this night they would blindfold us but never tied us and I’m thinking this is strange where are we going all a sudden he takes me down the corridor stops me turns me opens the door and I felt this cold fresh air the simple things that we take for granted and you heard this
sound a sound that you had prayed for you had cried for you would hope for sound of an airplane and you heard the jet start to rev up and your your heart is pounding you had prayed for this opportunity just for one last chance to enjoy life again a chance sikman and his fellow hostages would get after returning home he learned the details of operation eagleclaw a failed mission to rescue the hostages 8 months before their release two of our American aircraft collided on the ground eight people aost their life trying to come
over to regain my freedom and those people have played a huge role in your life from that point ever since ever since every morning I wake up I I think of those eight that sacrificed their life for my life I’ve got three beautiful children I’ve gone fishing with my son I walk my daughters down the aisle those are the things that these guys would never have the chance to do it is in their honor that sikman has continued devoting his life to service including projects like the partnership between folds of honor and anheiser Bush
for folds of honor to be part of the client deal uh hitch uh this year we can’t buy advertising like that Dana so it’s really it’s an honor slide that over his head kind of heavy sorry rockon forgive me I’m new with this oh he’s an old Pro he’ll he’ll get us through it there we go perfect all right Chris wiard of Clyde’s Dale Handler showed me what it takes to get these legendary horses ready for Showtime do they like doing the work they do being on the hitch and pull it like this is part of who they are when
we start hitching them getting a harness on you can see their demeanor change and they’re excited to do what they do and when you know the crowds there they get energized and amped up so you can tell that they’re ready to do their job and they enjoy it and you can see like like that they can feel the crowd yes they they feed off of that oh that’s awesome all right boys rock on give me a little history lesson here cuz obviously we’re in the new era but this goes back to the 1930s for Clyde stes you know the Clyde stes were introduced in 1933 when they were gifted to aish Bush Senor to celebrate the repeal of prohibition and we’re part of a lot of things in the American culture and we’re just proud to be part of that the training process what is that like for them oh so you know when they’re born uh we’re just going to kind of hang out in the pasture with mom until they’re weaned at 6 months then when they’re three they’re going to come back to Warm Springs Ranch and learn to pull wagons and they’re
going to be here for a whole year doing that to give him that Foundation to hit the road and be a crowd-pleaser only then is it time to serve honoring their own magnificence and that of those around them you know anheiser Bush so well and the project that they’re doing now with the military oh why does why is that the right fit I think there’s nothing more American than Budweiser the Clyde stes folds of honor it all fits together just like one giant puzzle these horses are recognized all over the world Budweiser beer is
