Here's How Horses Are Transported to the Olympics, and It's Not on "Air Horse One"

In a July 26, 2024, entry of Diary of an Olympic Horse, we got the inside scoop on how horses make their way to the Olympic Games and what they need before stepping into the competition ring. While user @blockhim2024 humorously proposed that the plane used to fly horses from around the globe to equestrian events is called "AIR HORSE ONE" (a clever touch), it’s not quite the reality.

In 2020, around 325 horses were transported to the Olympic Games in Tokyo through an international effort coordinated by Peden Bloodstock, a leading horse transportation and logistics firm.

Similarly, hundreds of horses made their way to Paris in 2024 to compete at the Palace of Versailles between July 27 and August 6. So, how did all these horses get there?

In the journal entry written from the perspective of Fedarman B, Boyd Martin’s horse, we learn that horses carry a lot of baggage to ensure they have the right food, snacks, accessories, and equipment needed to perform their best.

While horses do have equipment stationed at select locations around the world where they compete, they still need to bring a lot with them. The entry also notes that their sports equipment and tack must be registered before the flight. Each horse can bring a tack bag containing their preferred treats and other items like electrolyte paste and lead ropes.

Once the horses arrive at the airport, they are usually held in a facility — at JFL, it’s called the ARK — until their medical papers and documentation (yes, horses need travel papers just like humans) are checked. They are then loaded onto a cargo plane and placed in a jet stall. Since horses can lock the major joints in their legs and sleep standing up, they can rest during the flight and are checked on regularly.

Around 325 horses had to travel to Tokyo ahead of the Olympic Games for the slate of equestrian events.

A 60-day health surveillance period, a seven-day pre-transportation quarantine, and up-to-date paperwork (i.e., passports showing the vaccines they received, where they were born, and other details) were just some of the requisites they all had to meet.

It's understood that 247 horses were flown over for the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 through Belgium. An additional 78 horses were set to partake in the 2020 Summer Paralympics, which began on Tuesday, Aug. 24, 2021.

The majority of the equine passengers traveled to Japan via Liège, Belgium, a city that boasts a hotel specifically designed for horses.

According to Insider, after 60 days of health monitoring and a seven-day quarantine in Belgium, the horses had to board an Emirates SkyCargo Boeing 777-F, a cargo aircraft large enough to carry the specifically designed stalls alongside equipment, feed, water, and other equally heavy items.

Eventing horses weigh around 1,150 pounds, per Reuters. Dressage horses tend to be slightly heavier, weighing approximately 1,400 pounds.

Fifty-nine grooms were assigned the mighty task of taking care of the horses during the lengthy and tiring journey. Veterinarians were also on board.

"Horses are very, very workman-like. You can put them on a flight or in trucks. Some horses travel easier than others. Some don't like it, but there are ways of working around that and getting them comfortable to it," Fouaad Mirza, an award-winning equestrian who competed in the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, told Firstpost in 2020. "Flying horses is very expensive. They're heavy and large animals, and they need a lot of care, especially on flights."

There were a total of eight charter flights carrying 131 stalls. Each stall accommodated two horses. According to Simple Flying, the journey from Liège, Belgium, to Tokyo spans 5,868 miles.

According to Air Cargo News, however, the charter flights likely had to stop for a brief layover in Dubai before reaching the Haneda Airport in Tokyo.

The first 36 horses arrived at the Haneda Airport in the early morning hours of Thursday, July 15, 2021. They were then transported further via 11 air-conditioned trucks.

"To see these horses arriving at Haneda Airport is a truly historic occasion, and what makes it even more special is that these are not simply horses, they are Olympic horses," Takahashi Koji, the administrator of Tokyo International Airport, said, per The Chronicle of the Horse.

So, there you have it: that’s what it takes to get these majestic animals from point A to point B for the Olympic Games.