Express Clydesdales of Express Employment Professionals Join OSU Homecoming Parade
OKLAHOMA CITY - October 21, 2016
Clydesdales Honored to Escort Survivors of the 2015 Homecoming Parade Tragedy
The Express Clydesdales of Express Employment Professionals will join the Oklahoma State University homecoming parade on Saturday, Oct. 29, escorting many of the survivors of the 2015 homecoming parade tragedy.
Express CEO and chairman of the board Bob Funk is sponsoring their ride and joining some of the injured and their families aboard a new custom-built show wagon led by these world-renowned horses.
"These survivors show great courage and determination in coming back to the parade after one of the most difficult years of their lives," Funk said. "We thought the Express Clydesdales could provide a special way to honor these brave survivors and help them thank the first responders and the community for the many thoughts and prayers offered during the last year and in years to come as the community continues to heal."
"As survivors we share a common and very unique experience and have grown stronger over the past year through our individual path of healing," said Leo Schmitz who lost a leg in the crash. "On board the Express Clydesdales hitch we come back to the 2016 parade with arms and hearts linked to show this campus, community, state and nation that we are recovering and strong again."
The Express Clydesdales of Express Employment Professionals are big, powerful, refined draft horses named after and imported from Clydesdale, Scotland. There are 40 Express Clydesdales, all of a rare black and white color, weighing between 1,800 and 2,300 pounds each. They mature to an average height of 17 to 19 hands, or about six feet from the ground to the horse's shoulder.
The team will pull a beautiful, handcrafted wagon replica. The undercarriage and body were custom built based on a Studebaker design. The wagon features roll-bearing wheels, brakes, and lights and weighs over 3,000 pounds.
The Express Clydesdales meet thousands of visitors each year at their home near Yukon, Oklahoma in the beautiful and historic Express Clydesdale barn. They travel extensively across North America as ambassadors for Express Employment Professionals and help raise money for Children's Miracle Network Hospitals and other charities.
The team makes approximately 200 appearances each year, starring in some of the nation's most famous parades like Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, the Tournament of Roses Parade, the Chicago St. Patrick's Day Parade and the Kentucky Derby Pegasus Parade and many more. In 2011, the hitch had the extreme honor of chauffeuring Prince William and Kate during their visit to Calgary, Canada.
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For More Information:
Sheena Karami
Director of Corporate Communications and PR
Express Employment Professionals
(405) 840-5000
sheena.karami@expresspros.com