A horse? Of course! Budweiser Clydesdales clip-clop down the Strip

Tourists are accustomed to marveling at Paris Las Vegas’ faux Eiffel Tower and The Mirage’s volcano, but many did a double take Sunday morning when they spied eight Clydesdale horses clip-clopping their way down the famous Strip.

“They’re an American icon,” said Shelby Zarobinski, a handler for the Budweiser Clydesdales.

The famous draft horses took a few laps around a portion of the Strip to kick off Super Bowl festivities and celebrate the first year of business at Beer Park, a Stripside sports bar atop Paris Las Vegas. Police blocked the northbound lanes of Las Vegas Boulevard South between Harmon Avenue and Flamingo Road so the horses could strut their stuff.

Horseshoes clacked as hundreds of people admired the enormous animals, which can each weigh 1,800 pounds or more. Each horse’s mane was decorated with alternating white and red roses.

A Budweiser jingle repeated from speakers on a bright-red original 1903 Studebaker wagon. Drivers sporting green captain’s hats steered the hitch, occasionally pausing so spectators could snap photos.

Police had to prevent pedestrians from crossing the Strip’s southbound lanes to take photos. One man even stopped his car and got out for a photo op.

Sunday’s appearance marked the second time the Clydesdales have hoofed it down the Strip. The first time celebrated the grand opening of Beer Park.

Beer Park General Manager Jason Ellefson said getting approval from government officials and neighboring resorts to shut down the Strip took a few weeks. 

“It’s definitely a process, but I think it’s well worth it, and it’s a lot of fun, too,” he said.

The horses have been a marketing tool for Budweiser since Prohibition ended in 1933, appearing in commercials and at promotional events nationwide. The company added a Dalmatian to the campaign in the 1950s, which has accompanied the horses ever since. April, a nearly 2-year-old Dalmatian, joined the horses Sunday, standing atop the wagon.

Budweiser has about 150 trained Clydesdales that cycle through three traveling teams. The company takes 10 of the horses on the road, but only eight get to take the walk. Each horse is valued somewhere between $10,000 and $20,000, which means a lot of money trotted down the Strip on Sunday.

Zarobinski said the horses need time to adjust to crowds and traffic, so only the best of the best make the cut to be Budweiser Clydesdales.

“You can’t take any horse and say, ‘Hey, let’s go drive down the Las Vegas Strip,’ ” she said.

The Clydesdales are on the road about 330 days per year, which means they get plenty of practice staying calm in potentially stressful situations, Zarobinski said.

“These guys are pretty bombproof and good at what they do,” she said.

Contact Blake Apgar at bapgar@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5298. Follow @blakeapgar on Twitter.