“Big” Surprise…

Oh, a too cool opportunity came up last night!!!  I never check my email around supper time.  Usually I look at it in the afternoon or late evening.  Last night, for some unknown reason, I got online right as we finished up dinner.  I was showing Ross the pictures that I put in the berry picking post.  I had a message from a friend that if we had the evening open, we should come see the _____________________________ that she had at her place.  (I can’t tell you yet or it won’t be a surprise for you now.)

So we loaded up the boys and headed out.  It takes about 15 minutes to get there, and the boys were excited to be on the go at the spur of the moment.  (I am not usually crazy about such impromptu stuff, but it is becoming a habit lately.)  Anyway, this is what we saw in her driveway when we arrived!

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Oh My Gosh!  We were going to see the Budweiser Clydesdales up very close and personal.  Marshia has a horse farm and offers overnight boarding to folks traveling through the area, and this day she just happened to have 10 of the Budweiser Clydesdales and the 3 semis that haul them at her place.  One of the guys that travels with the team just happened to be out feeding while we were there too.  Never dreamed I would ever get to do this.  I have seen the Clydesdales a few times before, but never up this close!  I am still excited and maybe a little giddy about it myself.  Thank you again, Marshia!!!!

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Meet Elite.  He is one of the two lead horses for the team that travels out of St. Louis.  He stood about 6 feet tall at the shoulders.  The top of his head was about 8 feet up in the air!!!!  WOW!  We got to walk in the stall with him and pet him for a minute.  That is also the Budweiser Dalmatian that rides up on the wagon.  He hung around for a few minutes too.  Then the guy, Tony, that was feeding came over to see how things were going.  He asked if we would like to have Elite brought out for some more pictures.  “Sure.  That would be great,” I replied in a hurry.  Never did I ever dream that he would hand the lead to me and walk across the barn isle.  WOW! (I think I might have said that already.)  A Big Thank You to Tony!!!!

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These guys are huge!  Gianormous! Absolutely awesome!  They make our neighbors big percherons seem small in comparison, and Linny and Jordan are no where near being small, they are big draft horses too.  Riley was awed by this gentle giant.  Elite seemed to love the attention too.  He nuzzled all of us.  It is awesome to have a giant Clydesdale nose right up next to you.  What an incredible experience.  Look at Elite’s head.  It is almost as long as my 6 year old is tall!  Whoa! 

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Tan Man got a big kick out of trying to offer Elite some hay.  He just walked right up to the horse with handfuls of hay and said “Hi, Hi, Hi.”  He loved getting to help hold the lead for a while too.  He didn’t care that this guy towered over him! 

IMG_1284We will definitely remember this adventure for a llllloooonnnnggggg time! 

2 comments:

The KS Aunt said...

VERY COOL!!! We have seen them up close several times, but not THAT up close! It just shows you what can happen when you take advantage of the moment. Thanks for all of the updates and pictures.

Our Backyard and Beyond said...

Living in the moment sure can present some awesome memories! I had no idea what to expect when Marshia told us to bring the boys over to see these guys. She just happened to think about the boys and thought they would enjoy the horses and trucks. We were the only folks out there with her. So Cool! I called grandma on our way home to tell her about it too. I think she was just a little bit jealous! =)