Budweiser Clydesdales trot through Siesta Key Village

Residents and visitors lined Ocean Boulevard in Siesta Key Village Wednesday evening for a glimpse of the world-renowned Budweiser Clydesdales. 

Eight of the horses trotted into town as part of a series of stops throughout Sarasota County this week. While vacationing on Siesta Key, visitor Dave Lindquist heard commotion about the horses arriving and decided 

“We saw the truck go by around 4:30 p.m. through the village and wondered what was happening,” Lindquist said. 

Norriene Koozer is visiting from Pennsylvania, has seen the grand Clydesdales in person before and enjoyed the display. 

“We saw them in Fort Myers once,” Koozer said. “It’s really neat to see them tacked up and walking through the streets.”

Anheuser-Busch Clydesdale Handler John Clark began getting the horses ready for their Siesta Key debut at 7 a.m. on Wednesday at the farm in Venice where they are staying for the week. 

“Just to put the gear and to hook them to the wagon takes an hour,” Clark said. 

The horses are all named: Rocco; Bones; Roger; King; McGee; Rock; Sparky; Levi. In order for the horses to qualify as a Budweiser Clydesdale representative they must be at least 18 hands tall or 6 feet tall and weigh approximately 2,000 pounds. 

The next public appearance for the horses will be a spring training game for the Baltimore Orioles on Sunday, March 20 at Ed Smith Stadium.