PRIMPING PREPS PARTICIPANTS IN PREMIER PARADE.Byline: Janette Williams Glamour doesn't come easy when you weigh in at a hefty 2,000 pounds and stand 6 feet tall at the shoulder. But bathed, shampooed, conditioned, blow-dried and braided braid·ed adj. 1. a. Produced by or as if by braiding. b. Having braids. 2. Decorated with braid. 3. , the team of 10 massive Budweiser Clydesdales enjoyed the full Rose Parade beauty treatment Wednesday at the San Pascual San Pascual is the name of two places in the Philippines:
``They're pampered pam·per tr.v. pam·pered, pam·per·ing, pam·pers 1. To treat with excessive indulgence: pampered their child. 2. , and they love it,'' said Kathy Busch-O'Kane of Altadena, whose great-great-great-grandfather founded the St. Louis-based Anheuser-Busch brewery. ``We use heated water, a vacuum, Castile soap on their feet because it makes them whiter,'' Busch-O'Kane said, as a group of children with soapy sponges shampooed the horses' trademark feathery feath·er·y adj. 1. Covered with or consisting of feathers. 2. Resembling or suggestive of a feather, as in form or lightness. feath hairs flowing over their huge hooves. This year marks the 46th consecutive appearance by the city of St. Louis in the Tournament of Roses Parade The Tournament of Roses Parade was established, and first held, on January 1,1890, in Pasadena, California, eight miles (13 km) northeast of Downtown Los Angeles. Rooted in tradition, this parade is broadcast on multiple television networks, watched by upwards of one ; the team of eight bay Clydesdales will pull the ``Hero's Welcome'' float, co-produced by Busch-O'Kane and Karen Flanigan Busch-Buhl. The float depicts the 1927 ticker-tape parade honoring Charles Lindbergh's nonstop, transatlantic flight aboard the Spirit of St. Louis Spirit of St. Louis Charles Lindbergh’s plane. [Am. Hist.: Jameson, 287] See : Aviation . The horses, which travel about 30,000 miles a year to attend parades and special events all over the country, are gentle giants who respond to the driver's voice and fingertip fin·ger·tip n. The extreme end or tip of a finger. commands, Busch-O'Kane said. ``If they want to do what they want to do, they can do it,'' she said. ``But they are so gentle, with such a calm demeanor. It's a special thing, and people are attracted to them.'' There's no doubt of their strength and power, she said, adding that each horse carries 150 pounds of brass and leather harness. ``I had the privilege of driving them once,'' she recalled, laughing. ``Afterward I had no feeling in my hands - my arms felt like a gorilla's, dragging on the ground.'' Lead driver Lloyd Ferguson will take the reins Friday for his 17th Rose Parade, which is always a special thrill, he said. ``We can hear the ooohs and aaahs of the crowd when we come by,'' Ferguson said. ``The horses seem to pick up and show off.'' McKenze O'Kane, 7, and her sister Shelly, 9, were among the children helping with the five-hour primping process. ``It's fun being around the horses,'' McKenze said. ``But I wouldn't be so happy if I got stepped on.'' CAPTION(S): 2 photos, map PHOTO (1 -- 2) Above, members of the Tournament of Roses Court wave to motorists Wednesday as they ride behind eight Percheron horses pulling the Heinz Hitch along Pasadena's Colorado Boulevard. At left, the 1999 Tournament of Roses Court poses for Rose Bowl visitors. John Lazar/Daily News Map: Float decoration Float viewing sites Parade fans can watch floats being decorated. A festival will run from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. today near the Rose Bowl. |
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