SHOWTIME - The North Carolina Barbecue Society

SPECIAL EDITION
NCBS PIG TALES® May 2011
THE BUDWEISER CLYDESDALES
SHOWTIME
Our next NCBS BBQ Boot Camp is at Tanglewood Park in Clemmons, NC on May 13th!
The Camp is already half full and filling up, so be sure to secure your spot today!
If you can’t make it to the Camp in Tanglewood, we have 2 more Camps for 2011 - The NCBS
Mountain BBQ Boot Camp in Fletcher, NC and the NCBS Coastal BBQ Boot Camp in Wilmington, NC.
Click here for more details!
NCBS PIG TALES® May 2011
PAGE 2
DRAFT HORSE “ROCK STARS”
Throughout recorded history men have been fascinated with “BIG”. To own the biggest club, sword,
dog, horse etc. was a source of pride and a status
symbol. We will not delve into other reasons men
may have for this phenomenon. Men are not alone
in this fascination of the “Biggest”. For centuries
men, women and children have paid to see the
“biggest” at sideshows, fairs, circuses and other public events around the globe. One source of amazement has been the biggest horse. Eighty (80) plus
years ago the worlds largest horse honors went to
“Brooklyn Supreme”. Foaled in the US in 1928,
“Brookie” stood 19.2 hands (a hand is 4 inches) at
the shoulder and
weighed 3,200
lbs. He wore a
40” collar and
measured 10 feet
2 inches at the
girth (around his
chest). At one
time Dr. LeGear
at only four (4)
“Brooklyn Supreme”
years of age was
considered the world’s largest horse. He was 21+hh
(hands high) and weighed 3940 lbs. Since the “Dr”
there have been a number of horses mentioned as the
world’s largest, “Noddy” at 20.2hh and 1.5 tons, Goliath (19.1hh), Zeus, Radar (19hands 3 ½ inches)
and Poe, possibly the present leading contender for
the title at 20.2hh and 200 stones ( a stone is 14 lbs.)
in weight.
All of these horses were/are draft horses. There are
a number of draft horse breeds. Some of the more
familiar breeds are Belgian, Shire, Percheron and
Clydesdale.
These Herculean
sized horses were
originally bred to
carry knights in
full armor and
intimidate men on
foot. They were
meant to be fire
breathing
Radar
dragons. Later
these draft breeds were woven into the farm work of
Europe and prized for their ability to pull a great
amount of weight. These hard working, blue collar
horses were imported to the US in the mid 1800s
and became the work horse of choice for the American farmer. Of all of the draft horses in harness
around the world no breed of these gentle giants is
more recognizable than Clydesdales. And no hitch
of Clydesdales is more recognizable than the Budweiser Clydesdales. No logo in the advertising
world is more identifiable with its brand than the
eight magnificent bay Clydesdales that pull the
bright red brewery wagon of Anheuser-Busch.
Only the best of the best Clydesdales make the
Budweiser Clydesdale eight-horse hitch.
Poe with owner Shereen Thompson
Continued on Page 3
NCBS PIG TALES® May 2011
PAGE 3
DRAFT HORSE “ROCK STARS” (cont.)
They are alike in appearance. Each horse is bay in
color, has a white blaze on the face, black mane and
tail and white feathering on all four legs and feet. All
of the horses are approximately the same size: about
18/18+ hh
and weigh in
at about
20002300lbs.
There are
five (5) traveling Clydesdale teams,
one is based
in MO., one
in NH, one in
TX and two
Budweiser Clydesdales in pasture
in CA. Each
Photo by Jim Early
year the
teams travel more than 100,000 miles and make over
500 appearances to the delight of audiences young
and old.
Each horse consumes about 60
pounds of hay
and 10 pounds
of specialized
grains and vitamins per day all
inspected and
monitored by
Mealtime for the Clydesdales
the horse’s
Photo by Curtis White
handler.
The horses drink local water (most of these equine
giants drink about 20+ gallons per day) also carefully inspected. The horses have their hooves
trimmed and get new shoes and leather pads every
six(6) weeks.
When on the road the Clydesdales travel in a style
befitting their status as “Rock Stars” of the horse
world. They are chauffeur driven in a caravan of
three (3) handsome red Budweiser tractor-trailer
rigs emblazoned with their pictures on the trailers.
They stand on heavily cushioned floors in air conditioned stalls. The trucks are equipped with air ride to
further aid their comfort.
The Budweiser Caravan
Photo by Jim Early
One of the Clydesdales being outfitted with new pads
& shoes by farrier John Soto
Photos by Jim Early & Curtis White
Continued on Page 4
NCBS PIG TALES® May 2011
PAGE 4
DRAFT HORSE “ROCK STARS” (cont.)
On a show day the horse’s routine is much like an
actor/entertainer being made up for a scene or performance. The horses stalls are cleaned, the horses
fed, curried, brushed, washed, wiped, sprayed,
manes set with red and white flowers and ribbons,
tails set and netted and ribbons affixed, feet cleaned
and last minute touch-ups. This routine takes five
(5) hours of preparation.
Rubby dub dub
Rich Gerth preps Chico
Jim dries Jake after bath
Jim Early curries Chico
Mitch gives Jim a raspberry
Continued on Page 5
NCBS PIG TALES® May 2011
PAGE 5
DRAFT HORSE “ROCK STARS” (cont.)
On April 19, 2011 The Clydesdales visited Winston
Salem, NC to recreate a scene from yesteryear when
the team delivered a case of beer to a local billiard
hall. On this day the team delivered another case of
beer and the proprietor returned the original crate.
Over 3500 people lined the streets to see and take
pictures of the Clydesdales making their second delivery. It was quite a moment. The horses also
made several appearances at BB&T Baseball Field
to greet the Dash fans.
Rock Star Transportation
Then the horses are driven to their show. At the
show grounds the horses are fitted with the complex
black leather harness that is custom made and
custom fitted for the special needs of each horse.
Next the
horses are
ready for
the hitch.
The first
horses to
be placed
are the
wheel
pair.
They are
The Elite Eight
attached
to the
double tree closest to the wagon followed by the
body, swing and lead pairs. Once in place these
Elite Eight become the most famous eight horse
hitch in history. Add the 8000 lb. Brewery Wagon
(with hydraulic brakes no less) some icy cold Bud, a
hitch driver,
asst. hitch
driver and
top with
Brewer (the
Dalmatian)
and you have
a rolling
party.
HERE WE GO!
While the Budweiser East Coast Hitch Team and the
Clydesdales were in town I was privileged to spend
some time with the men and the horses. The horses
in this hitch were Mark, Stu, Mitch, Don, Evan,
Chip, Jake, Chico, Jeff and Rudy. Chico was my
favorite. He
was a people
horse and had
a calm
demeanor.
I got to watch
the horses
take their
7AM morning
romp in the
pasture, be
curried,
brushed,
washed and
get new shoes.
Jim and Chico
And I got to
love on them. All of the hitch horses are geldings
(castrated) and for good reason. A good gelding is
the same horse every day. I owned, rode and brokered Tennessee Walking horses for a number of
years. There was an old saying “You tell a gelding
what to do. You ask a mare to do it and you discuss
it with a stud”. Some things never change.
I would like to express my thanks to our sponsors
Anheuser-Busch®, Budweiser®, R. H. Barringer
Distributing Co., my friend Chip Harpe and The
Budweiser East Coast Hitch Team for making my
time with the Clydesdales possible and for such a
memorable experience. Much Obliged. - Jim Early
PAGE 6
NCBS Pig Tales® May 2011
Friends of NCBS
PAGE 7
NCBS Pig Tales® May 2011
Friends of NCBS
R. H. Barringer Distributing Co. Inc.
Winston Salem, NC
R. A. Jeffreys Dist. Co. of Wilmington
Wilmington, NC
PAGE 8
NCBS Pig Tales® May 2011
Friends of NCBS
Pepsi-Cola Bottling Company
Winston-Salem, NC
Pepsi-Cola of Hickory
Hickory, NC
Pepsi Bottling Ventures
Wilmington, NC
Dewey’s Bakery
PIP Printing
PRINTING
Triad Packaging
Duplin Winery
Triad Packaging
Rose Hill, NC
Piedmont Distillers
Joyce Foods
Winston-Salem, NC
Twiddy & Co. Realtors
A.B. Vannoy Hams
To The Point, Inc.
Winston-Salem, NC
PAGE 9
NCBS Pig Tales® May 2011
Friends of NCBS
Trigger Agency
Casual Furniture World
Bridges Barbecue Lodge
Speedy Lohr’s BBQ of Arcadia
Shelby, NC
Arcadia, NC
Wilber’s Barbecue
Herb’s Pit Bar-B-Que
Goldsboro, NC
Murphy, NC
Moore’s Old Tyme Barbeque
Richard’s Bar-B-Q
New Bern, NC
Salisbury, NC
Short Sugar’s Drive-In
Fuzzy’s
Reidsville, NC
Madison, NC
Grady’s Barbecue
Hill’s Lexington Barbecue
Winston-Salem, NC
Dudley, NC
Skylight Inn
Ayden, NC
Carolina Bar-B-Q - Statesville, NC
Milner’s American Southern Cuisine & Cocktails
Phillip M. Williford, M.D.
Big Oak Drive-In & BBQ - Salter Path, NC
Jimmy’s Seafood - Winston-Salem, NC
Are you interested in becoming a
business sponsor of NCBS?
Visit www.ncbbqsociety.com,
email us at info@ncbbqsociety.com or
call (336) 765-NCBS for more information
NCBS PIG TALES® May 2011
PAGE 10
Our Mission
The mission of the North Carolina Barbecue
Society (NCBS) is to preserve North Carolina’s barbecue history and culture and to
secure North Carolina’s rightful place as the
Barbecue Capital of the World. Our goal is
to promote North Carolina as “the Cradle of
’Cue” and embrace all that is good about
barbecue worldwide. As we strive to achieve
these lofty goals we will be guided by the
polar star that barbecue is all about good
food, good friends and good times.
®
NCBS Pig Tales® is the official monthly publication of The North
Carolina Barbecue Society and is free to members. Dues start at
$35.00 a year ($25.00 for seniors and students). Visit us at
www.ncbbqsociety.com to download application or apply online.
Become a contributing correspondent and send us your articles,
ideas, pictures and recipes. Email correspondence is preferred.
We reserve the right to edit any article, ad, comment or recipe.
Contact NCBS
144 Sterling Point Court
Winston-Salem, NC 27104
Phone: (336) 765-NCBS
Fax: (336) 765-9193
info@ncbbqsociety.com
www.ncbbqsociety.com
Curtis White—Editor in Chief, Layout and Design & NCBS
Webmaster
Columnists
Jim Early
All rights reserved, The North Carolina
Barbecue Society © 2011
Are you interested in becoming a
business sponsor of NCBS? Visit
www.ncbbqsociety.com,
email us at
info@ncbbqsociety.com or call
(336) 765-NCBS for more
information
Contributing Correspondent
Margo Knight Metzger
Bill Eason
Photos this Edition by Jim Early & Curtis White
NCBS wishes to give its membership a voice in NCBS Pig
Tales®. The articles in this publication reflect the views,
opinions and preferences of the author of the article and
do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions and preferences of NCBS officers, board members or the staff of
NCBS Pig Tales®.
The recipes shared in this publication, unless they are excerpts from Jim Early’s books The Best Tar Heel Barbecue
Manteo to Murphy, Jim Early’s Reflections: The Memories and
Recipes of a Southern Cook and Shining Times: The Adventures
and Recipes of a Sportsman have not been kitchen tested by
this publication.
NCBS Officers
President…………………………………... Jim Early
Vice President……………………………..Bill Eason
Secretary………………………........Mary E. Lindsey
Treasurer……………………………………Jim Early
NCBS Board Members
Jim Early…………………………Winston-Salem, NC
Bill Eason………………………………Marshville, NC
Mary E. Lindsey…………………………..Atlanta, GA
Rick Hollowell……………………….Greensboro, NC
Steve Grady……………………………….Dudley, NC
Debbie Bridges-Webb……………………Shelby, NC
Richard Turner……………………...Lake James, NC