The logistics of going overseas...

We've gotten a lot of questions about how the ponies and equipment are transported overseas, so I thought I'd tell you a little about the process.

We started talking to the Transportation Broker after Southern Pines, to get a feel for the charges and possibilities of going to Germany. We are going to stay at Michael Freund's farm near Frankfurt, Germany and go to several shows before the Championship. Fortunately there is a large airport right in Frankfurt that the ponies can fly into, so we won't have far to go once we arrive.


The ponies will fly from JFK Airport in New York. They will have to arrive at the airport early in the morning, where they will stay in the 'Vetport' right there at the cargo area of the airport. All animals going overseas stay there so there is an assortment of dogs, cats, birds and reptiles at the Vetport. It's not the most beautiful place and smells strongly of disinfectant.


The ponies are examined by a Veterinarian and all paperwork is checked and completed, and then the wait begins. The ponies will spend their day in the box stalls there as the flight won't leave until late in the day. A van does all the transport from the Vetport to the loading area, where the ponies will be loaded onto their pallet.


One of the worst parts of the whole trip is driving the horse trailer through the wild streets of New York City to the airport.


The ponies will ride in a 'pallet' which looks like a small horse trailer. Dividers can be added or subtracted so the pallet can hold from one horse up to three horses. Similar to a bumper pull horse trailer, there is room in the front for their heads to hang over the breast bar, and hay can be stored under their noses for the trip. We hang haynets just like you would in a horse trailer, and there is a small people door on either side in front, so you have access to the horses to check on them and offer water. The horses are loaded onto the pallet, it's closed up and wrapped with a net, then loaded onto the plane via a lift and moved around on a system of rollers on the floor of the plane, then locked into place.


There is a charge per pallet plus weight. It's less expensive to split the costs between three ponies, so we try to fly with other horses so the pallets can be full. Cooper will probably ride with one of Jennifer Matheson's ponies.

There are two types of planes - a cargo plane or a Combi which is both passengers and cargo. The cargo plane has a few passenger seats on the top deck behind the cockpit. Several times in the past, the cargo pilot has let me sit in the cockpit (in the navigator's seat) during takeoff or landing. I got to put the headphones on and hear the patter between air traffic control and the pilots coming and going. They call the big cargo planes "heavies'. It was really cool to fly into Frankfurt after dark and see all the lights below.

Cooper is a good traveler so we didn't have any problems going to/from Denmark and I don't anticipate any this time. It's cool down below where the ponies ride, I'd say around 50 degrees or so. We are allowed to go check on them from time to time, climbing down a small steep ladder-like staircase. There is a microwave and some frozen meals available for the grooms and pilots. An attendant is required for the horses, one per pallet. An attendant flew with us one of the times I went overseas with Lisa Singer. There were some racehorses on the plane with us and she was responsible for them. She traveled with her little Jack Russell and had flown all over world with horses, quite an interesting job! Although I'm sure he would be fine without me, I like to fly with Cooper and keep him company.

Once we arrive at the airport in Germany, the ponies will once again be checked by a Veterinarian, have their paperwork examined and stamped, and then they will be released and we'll be off to Michael Freund's farm.