LAUSANNE, Switzerland, July 30,
2016 /PRNewswire/ --
It's not just the human athletes that are flying into
Brazil for Rio 2016. The first
Olympic horses have now arrived at the Olympic Equestrian Centre in
Deodoro, touching down at Rio de Janeiro Galeão International
Airport just before midnight after a near-12 hour flight from
London (GBR).
(Photo:
http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160728/393822 )
The 34 Eventing horses may have been on a cargo plane, but it
was a specially designed Emirates Boeing SkyCargo 777-F, and they
all flew business class! Just like the human athletes, they had to
go through passport control (and a health check) at London Stansted
Airport before boarding with their carry-on luggage and check-in
bags.
Sporting the equine equivalent of flight socks (leg bandages),
they received the full business class treatment, with special meals
delivered by flight attendants (actually grooms), a drinks trolley
(buckets) offering water (not fizzy) with a choice of mixers. Apple
or carrot sir?
Vets are also on board to ensure the precious equine cargo
arrived in tip-top form. Which is important, as these four-legged
athletes mean business!
Welcomed into Rio in the early hours of the morning, the horses
were driven in specially kitted out trucks, complete with a full
Federal highway police escort, under the watchful eye of Christ the
Redeemer en route to the new-build equine accommodation at the
Olympic Equestrian Centre, where they rolled out the equine
equivalent of a red carpet - black rubber matting!
This in-bound flight, the first of nine during the Olympic
period, transported horses from Great
Britain, Ireland,
Canada, Australia, New
Zealand, Zimbabwe,
Brazil, Japan, Italy
and China. And over the next
couple of weeks, more than 200 horses from 43 nations will be
arriving in Deodoro, ready to put in their bid for gold with their
human partners in the three Olympic equestrian disciplines.
About Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI)
http://www.fei.org
The FEI is the world governing body for horse sport recognised
by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and was founded in
1921.
The FEI is the sole controlling authority for all international
events in the Olympic sports of Jumping, Dressage and Eventing, as
well as Driving, Endurance, Vaulting and Reining. The FEI also
governs all international competitions for Para-Equestrian Dressage
and Para-Driving.
SOURCE Fédération Equestre Internationale, FEI