By Susan Redden

sredden@joplinglobe.com

CARTHAGE, Mo. - Admirers wasted no time Wednesday getting their first looks at Budweiser Clydesdales that will be featured in the Maple Leaf Parade on Saturday in Carthage.

When the huge horses were made available for viewing at 1 p.m., a number of area residents already had gathered at the Lucky J Arena east of Carthage.

"I came as soon as they opened," said Gayle Fahrenbruch, of Joplin. "I never get tired of seeing them. They are just magnificent animals."

The horses were resting in stalls in the huge barn, some after baths and others after a frisky romp in the covered arena.

Fahrenbruch said she traveled to Carthage twice to see the Clydesdales when they were in Carthage for last year's Maple Leaf events, and that she hopes to see them again today when they are at Northpark Mall in Joplin.

This is the second year the Clydesdales will be a part of the parade, and getting them two years in a row is a huge coup, said Debra Smith, with the Carthage Chamber of Commerce.

"We are thrilled to get them again so soon," she said. "We're told that doesn't happen very often."

Alan Beaver, of Missouri Eagle LLC, agreed.

"We asked for them a year ago, and we found out two months ago that we'd get them," said the general manager of the Joplin-based Budweiser distributor.

Beaver said he understood that part of the reason for the second visit was a recommendation from handlers of the St. Louis hitch of horses.

"They said the handlers really liked the facility here, and the way they were treated and taken care of in Carthage," he said.

The horses appearing this year in Carthage are based in San Diego, Calif., and they haven't been home since May 3, said Tony Grider, one of the handlers.

Between chores, he was finishing a sandwich under the intense gaze of Otis, a Dalmatian that travels with the horses and rides in the colorful beer wagon.