FEI – The International Federation for Equestrian Sports is the international governing body of equestrian sports. Their vision is to grow the unique and mutually beneficial bond between horses and humans in sports globally. Also, their mission is to drive and develop the equestrian sport globally in a modern, sustainable and structured manner with guaranteed integrity, athlete welfare, equal opportunity, and a fair and ethical partnership with the horse.
The FEI has organized the FEI World Equestrian Games every four years since 1990. The idea of the World Equestrian Games (WEG) came into being in the mid-1980s and was strongly supported by HRH Prince Philip, who was then FEI President. The FEI World Cup is an indoor series and takes place throughout the world with qualifying leagues leading to a final in each of the disciplines. The FEI World Cup series began with show jumping in 1978 and has since been extended to the disciplines of dressage, driving, and vaulting.
Thousands of sport horses will travel all over the world every year to get to destination competitions on the global show jumping circuit. How do they get there? They fly of course! The only way this happens is through the well-run business of equine air transportation, and with the dedicated teams who manage every aspect of the horses’ wellbeing. The goal of all sport horse transport is to have the horses travel as smoothly as possible so that once they are off the plane, they can perform at their full potential at the destination competition.
Upon arrival at the airport, the horses are loaded into specialized containers for the flight. Owners can opt for a coach, business, or first class for the precious four-legged cargo. The smaller horses can fly three to a container, and the larger show jumpers will fly “business” with some extra legroom. Once the horses are secured in the containers, the boxes are lifted into the cargo bay of the airplane. Everything is safe and secure for our equestrian friends.
