OklahomaHorses Magazine March 2023

12 OklahomaHorses • March / April 2023 “I was promoting Express Ranches at the Canadian Western Agribition as an agribusinessman, and Coach Sau- ter was with me,” says Robert A. (Bob) Funk Sr. “We were walking through the barns and saw these two beautiful black Clydesdales with white socks and white- blazed faces, and I thought they were magnificent, and Oklahoma did not have a team of draft horses that was showing.” Retired Oklahoma City Blazers hockey coach Doug Sauter says, “My cousin Bill Aulie and I, along with Mr. Funk, were the founders of Express Clydesdales.” Funk bought eight Clydesdales. Aulie trained them and delivered the horses from Canada to Oklahoma. And that was the launch of Express Clydesdales in Oklahoma in 1998, with Don Langille as the original Express Clydesdales manager. An Express Percheron displays elegant harness. Gentle GIANTS Express Clydesdales and Percherons Are Goodwill Ambassadors by Carol Mowdy Bond | Photos courtesy of Express Clydesdales and Express Percherons