COMEBACK STORY
THE WORLD OF HEINEKEN
Dutch. "Good!" he says loudly as we come up the street. We do the same
route twice daily. Harry [another colleague] will take them out for walks
individually too, they get a lot of exercise." The Shires usually work for six to
ten years on the drays, retiring to a farm at Heineken's Zouterwoude
brewery when their working is over. They are all neutered males. Watching
the Shires' pull the 1800 kilo load is a sight to behold; the muscles of their
hindquarters shimmer under their coats. Wouter reminds me that the vats
of beer in the back are empty. If they were full, the weight of the dray
would clock in at over 4000 kilos. "They're strong!" he laughs when I
comment that that's more than a Hummer H2. This is truly massive
horsepower.
Sure enough, almost every head on the street turns as the sound of the
Shires announce their arrival at the Damsquare, the Royal Palace a perfect
backdrop for such a grand entrance. Tourists reach for their cameras; locals
nod approvingly and even policemen on mountain bikes give a quick wave.
"That's why I love the job: people enjoy it so much. It's important to
maintain the tradition, it shows Heineken still values that history," Wouter
explains as he flicks the reins. Freddy throws his head back and forth, his
mane flying in the air. It's not only the crowds that are having fun; Freddy
clearly enjoys his life as a star in the city and beyond.
Shires, like all fine horse breeds, are exhibited at large events that feature other show horses; either for competition or simply to give
pleasure to horse-loving crowds. It is at these events that the other drays—the Ice dray, the Show dray, etc—are shown. Additionally,
they are present at the openings of new pubs, jumping events or the autumn arrival of autumn beer; all are high-visibility events that
generate publicity and prestige for Heineken.
However, the 2002-2004 period saw a notable drop-off in the numbers of such events: hoof-and-mouth disease and horse plague
caused many shows to be cancelled. "There was a peak of 63 events a year, maybe that's too much," says Wouter de la Haye, Lead
Coachman for the Heineken Shires, "but then hoof-and-mouth and the swine plague caused the number to decrease to fourteen and
that's too few." Without the possibility to show, the viability of keeping an expensive stable and staff was questioned. "I had to do a lot
of talking to local management," says De la Haye, "to convince them that this would pass and the Shires were worth keeping."
The good news is that the decision was positive and with the decrease of these diseases, the Shires are showing again. "We're up to
more than thirty events a year, and that'll increase to fifty by next year," says De La Haye.
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