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  • Michael Bobo, 40, of Kirksey drives three of his 14 Clydesdales around his 415-acre farm. Bobo drives his horses two or three times a week to give them exercise.
  • Michael Bobo prepares two of his Clydsedales, Mat, left, and Esquire, for an early morning drive . Dr. Bobo exercises his horses two to three times a week before heading to work as an oral surgeon.
  • Michael Bobo, center, 40, of Kirksey drives two of his Clydesdales, Esquire, left, and Trigger, out of his barn while Sam Bucy, 20, far left, and Chris Wiegert, 24, both of Murray, watch. The Bobo family lives above the barn while a new home is being built on the farm.
  • Sam Bucy, 20, of Murray, and Clayton Bobo, 8, mimic Clayton's father and his Clydesdales. Michael Bobo, 40, raises 14 Clydesdales on his Kirksey farm, Deeply Rooted.
  • Clayton Bobo, 8, whispers to his father, Michael, 40, both of Kirksey, about his new knife.
  • One of Michael Bobo's Clydesdales displays the proper competition stance.

Deeply rooted

Tanner Curtis

To many, Clydesdales are the big horses that pull wagons in the Budweiser ads. However, Dr. Michael Bobo sees them as strong and gentle animals he likes to have around.

Bobo, 40, discovered the beauty of Clydesdales when Budweiser brought the famous horses to a Murray Christmas parade. He saw more than the horses from television commercials. He saw an animal completely unique from the rest of Calloway County.

The only horses Bobo had owned were miniatures for his sons — Christian, 9, Clayton, 8, and Carson, 7 — to ride. Part of the appeal of the Clydesdales was the ability to both ride them or drive them with a wagon.

Bob grew on a farm and knew he wanted to return to rural life sometime after school. Bobo attended the University of Tennessee at Martin and Vanderbilt University, and received doctorates in medicine and dentistry. He now is an oral surgeon with offices in Murray and Union City, Tenn.

Thirteen years of school, a medical practice, a wife, Sharon, and three kids later Bobo is back to the farm. He owns 415 acres in Kirksey on which 14 Clydesdales roam and is building a new house on the property.