so this Sunday anheuser-busch will spend approximately twenty million dollars on their Superbowl ads and as is tradition one of them is going to feature the Clydesdales the horses that have been tied to Budweiser for generations but the iconic mascots they don’t come cheap the horses are actually born and bred in-house as part of a multi-million dollar operation as ABC’s Darrin Revell got an exclusive look inside you wouldn’t know it by looking at this Clydesdale full but just a few weeks into her life she’s about to be thrust
into the spotlight meet the star of this year’s iconic Budweiser Clydesdales Super Bowl commercial which will be watched by more than a hundred million people in the US alone this Sunday for 80 years now Clydesdale horses have been much more than just a branded mascot for Budweiser they’ve been part of the family my momma Jeff Napper runs the company’s multi-million dollar operation that breeds feeds and trains these mammoth horses from the time they’re born to the time they’ve pulled their final wagon
it’s more than just a job for him the horses are his life over and say hi the company is committed to the Clydesdales because they represent the tradition and the heritage and the quality that goes into everything we do and for the company to get it done and get it done the right way it’s got to be in-house and this is a big operation for us it’s a significant investment Jeff’s team takes care of the daily needs of a hundred and seventy-five Clydesdales around the country there’s a future Clydesdale right right it right in here
huh future Clydesdale right in here and I’m thinking that this this girl’s ready to get the little fella on the ground oh we’re close on her yeah we’re close in operation that includes breeding 43 horses a year Budweiser hopes to gain 10 future show Clydesdales from that group only males are eligible which leaves just enough room for error we have very very stringent requirements to be a Budweiser Clydesdale they have to have a white blaze a black mane and tail this dark bay in color and for white stocking feet
those that don’t make the cut are sold for roughly five thousand dollars apiece while some of the female horses like eight-year-old Darla mother to our Super Bowl star are kept to keep the future alive this year’s Super Bowl spot tells the story of a young Clydesdale who establishes a relationship with his breeder [Music] like real-life Clydesdales the horse leaves in order to learn the skills that will one day make him one of the special few to pull the hitch in front of crowds of people the breeder goes to see his
favorite horse in a parade and sure enough the horse remembers him the script doesn’t mirror an exact story but it’s not far off now we’re entering our falling area okay this is where the babies actually get the mothers actually give birth Jon Soto manages Warm Springs Ranch in Dogville Missouri this is a little girl where future Clydesdales are born and she’s five days old right now and where they stay until they’re is old as to even though we don’t see him after they’re two they were born here and so
of course when you go out on the road and if you see the hitch and those are your babies that we raised you know you got to have some pride in that all the foals born this year will be under Soto’s watch literally over the next couple months it’s Soto’s job to make sure every baby Clydesdale arrives healthy with 40 coming through the next few months you know we’re gonna be pretty hectic that’s why he has a warning system that tells him when a mare is ready to give birth tell me how your whole alarm system
works so what we have is this little arm that attaches to the back of the mirror so if I’m eating dinner or asleep in the house horse starts coming out right pull this magnet out the alarm goes off then and I get there it is right there have you ever forgot to charge your phone no not this time of year that’s my wife John lives on the farm to ensure he is right there when he needs to be he can even monitor the horse stalls from his bedroom now in the Super Bowl commercial it has the person playing you
your story sleeping in a navarre do you do that I did it for many years but now since we’ve came here all the stalls are monitored so it gives me the luxury of actually sleeping in my own bed but SoDo who has done this for 33 years does develop a relationship with every Clydesdale born here they’re just like people once you get to no they’re their size and their facial looks and everything you know who they are every year the top 30 mature Clydesdales toured the country in 2012 three hitches appeared at a hundred and twenty events
representing the Bud brand John son Eric drives one of those hitches this is where they do most of their training Jeff Napper took us to check in on some of the up-and-coming Clydesdales this is elite he’s one of the horses here in training and where we teach them all kinds of different things today you know they’re grooming on elite and giving him a haircut and getting him ready he’s actually getting ready to go out to be part of the st. Louis traveling team the Clydesdale connection to the brand
traces back to 1933 when August Bush jr. surprised his father by having these majestic horses parade down a st. Louis street carrying beer to celebrate the end of prohibition they’ve been breeding them since 1940 there are a symbol of Budweiser they’re a similarly of the company and to many people a symbol in the country that the freedom spirit that is America is embodied in these majestic Clydesdales in our time with the Clydesdales we couldn’t help but notice how incredibly close if you get to these
horses excuse me or how close these horses will get to you standing next to one of these gentle giants whether you’re a little kid or you’re 80 years old the emotion and seeing these animals it’s it’s awesome awesome to think that so much goes into making this horse the face make that the legs of the brand for nightline Darrin Revell in Boonville Missouri
