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BOONEVILLE, Mo. – A nearby destination for fans of the Anheuser Busch Clydesdales saddled up for a new season Thursday at Warm Springs Ranch.

“The feeling back is really great. Still a little bit apprehensive because you still want to make sure everything is safe for all of our guests and everything. And you still want to make sure everything is pristine. And you still want to be able to give everybody that experience that why they’re coming here,” Mark Boese, Herd Supervisor at Warm Springs Ranch, said.

The lucky 16 had the golden ticket of being the first group to tour the ranch in over a year.

“It is my first time yes. Oh, it was wonderful,” Mary Sparling, a first-time visitor at the ranch, said. “It has been a tough year. I think this is probably the first time I’ve been out to go anywhere since a year. Yeah, a year ago. Really glad to be out and it’s a gorgeous day. It’s just fun.”

The ranch offers one VIP tour at 10 a.m. and two socially distanced general walking tours in the afternoon at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m., each day Thursday through Sunday.

Although the number of guests has changed, the expectations of what one can see have not.

“I mean we get a lot of people that want to come here because it always changes every year,” Boese said. “Different babies and just a lot of things going on here. Because every day is a little bit different for what we have going on here so it’s a great experience.”

Thursday’s visitors got to get an up-close look at the two newest additions, Gordon, born on March 11, and 10-day-old Gabby.

“We average around 15 to 20 babies a year. Right now we have seven so we still have a lot more to go,” said Boese.

Not only did the horse lovers get excited, but the Clydesdales also loved being the stars of the show.

“That’s one thing that I’ve always said with Clydesdales, that’s the breed that they are. Out of all the breed of horses, Clydesdales seem like, I call them attention getters. They get your attention, but they want attention too. So they come up. They love the attention. They love it,” Boese said.

On this first day back, everything went off without a hitch.

“I think it went very well. I mean I think people are so excited to finally come back here to warm springs ranch,” Boese said.

“I didn’t know what to expect but they gave you a little bit of everything. I’m so glad we got to see as many horses as we did. And foals. And even the big guys. And it was just great,” said Sparling.

To make a reservation, visit warmspringsranch.com.