PARIS — Welcome aboard, hope you are standing comfortably. For the horses on the U.S. eventing team, the journey to France for the Paris Olympics was — quite literally — a four-legged journey.
Their trek began on a farm in Pennsylvania. They were driven to JFK airport last Wednesday to board an eight-hour flight to Luxembourg. The following afternoon the horses went by lorry to their pre-Olympic base camp in Vittel, located about four hours outside of Paris.
Having rested, shaken off jet lag and done some gentle trotting, they are scheduled to reach the Palace of Versailles for their Olympic check-in on Wednesday. The eventing competition gets underway Saturday with team and individual dressage in the regal gardens of Versailles, once the residence of French royalty where Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette held lavish banquets.
Susan Johns, the team veterinarian, said the horses actually prefer flying.
“To be honest it’s much easier than being in a lorry, there’s much more stability than being driven. Padding, bedding, everything possible was provided in case the takeoff and landing was abrupt,” Johns explained to The Associated Press during a phone interview. “They don’t really sleep on the flight, they’re standing upright. But they’re good at resting, they have hay nets and are mostly eating.”
Here’s a closer look at how the horses journeyed to France.
Like humans, horses have passport controls to check that they are the right horse. Paperwork, such as vaccines and blood tests, is also checked for each horse.
The quirky-sounding, horse passenger list for the early hours flight to Luxembourg read as follows: Fedarman B; HSH Blake; Off The Record; Cooley Nutcracker; Diabolo; Commando 3, and QC Diamantaire.
The riders themselves, four-time Olympian Boyd Martin, first-time Olympian Caroline Pamukcu, Will Coleman, traveling reserve Liz Halliday, and Sydney Elliott all arrived separately to Paris.
Once at JFK the horses — four of which will be reserves at the Paris Games — were put onto palates and lifted onto the Boeing 747 plane by forklift.
The horses traveled two a stall with a dividing wall between them, somewhat like an arm rest for horses. Other equipment, including saddles and helmets, were loaded on, along with giant nets of hay and big jugs of water.
The human passengers accompanying them were Johns and senior grooms Hailey Burlock and Stephanie Simpson.
As boarding time approached, one horse was massaged on its lower neck by a groom. Then the horses trotted calmly into their stalls. A thunderstorm delayed the flight by more than two hours, but otherwise the process went smoothly.
“We had a very seasoned group of travelers. The majority of the horses have flown multiple times, they’re kind of pros at it,” Johns said. “I carry a bag in case there’s one (horse) who gets a wound or has a colic episode. But we had no need for it on this fight.”
Johns and the grooms were on the top deck of the 747, and rotated visits to check on the horses on the deck below.
“The captain allowed us two at a time to go down, every hour,” she said. “Horses are located at the very back. The front is mainly cargo.”
Each horse had their own hay net, hung up in their stall.
“Like when have your tray table which comes down, they have their hay net,” the team’s chief of mission Hallye Griffin told the AP. “Each horse has their own tack bag, similar to a carryon bag.”
Hydration is crucial on the flight.
Horses drink around 5 gallons of water from their regularly filled buckets, with apple slices sometimes added to encourage them to drink regularly.
Once the horses landed in Luxembourg, they were checked through customs and driven to Vittel. Inside the lorry transporting them, they were separated by a small divider wall.
Other grooms were already in Vittel and helped unload the horses when they arrived. Some horses like to roll around to get any itches off, while others prefer to stretch their Olympic limbs and are hand-walked by grooms.
Horses also experience jet lag. Their bodies must adjust to sleep and changes to their feeding schedule, so the first couple of days are all about easing them back into a rhythm.
Then the serious business starts.
When they arrive in Versailles on Wednesday, a 20-feet container with mucking out equipment will be ready and one groom will be assigned to each horse on site.
Horses will be tested twice daily for their temperature in Versailles, to make sure there’s no fever that could be spread. Horse passports are verified and vaccination dates checked.
Throughout their Olympic journey, the horses were given treats to keep them in a contented mood - things like carrots, peppermint, or special horse cookies.
The people traveling with the horses enjoyed a few perks, too.
No long queues, stuffy airports or hanging around sweaty departure lounges in summer.
“It’s awesome, it’s actually the preferred way to travel. I don’t have to go to real airports and sit next to real people,” said Simpson, who is the groom for Martin’s two horses and is working at her second Olympics.
“It’s a lot of work, but it’s the ideal job,” Simpson added. “We work outside and get to be surrounded by horses.”
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