Many 5* equine athletes have arrived in Miami Beach by air for the first round of the Longines Global Champions Tour 2015 (2-4 April), carried in fine style by Emirates Airline and looked after by the Tour’s long-standing shipping agent, Peden Bloodstock.
Around 220 horses will be competing at the spectacular 10th Anniversary Season launch event and many have flown over from Europe to take part at this landmark venue in one of the most highly-anticiapted events of the season.
When these valuable equine stars take to the skies, it’s a Business Class flying experience. “It’s all about making the process as smooth as possible for the horses,” says Martin Atock, Managing Director of Peden Bloodstock. “If you’re flying economy with a budget airline and you face queues, poor service and restrictive seating on the plane, you get stressed, tired and you take longer to recover when you arrive at your destination. It’s the same when flying horses.”
“To ensure the horses are happy and comfortable they fly Business Class throughout, they share a spacious, partitioned air stable with another horse, they are processed and loaded efficiently and monitored throughout the flight by professional Air Grooms and the onboard vet. The cargo bay is kept at a well-ventilated 17°C, so the horses don’t get too hot in their air stables, and they are given access to continual hay and regular water, as these conditions have shown to keep stress minimal and shorten recovery time.”
With the ocean just metres away, some of the very best horses and riders in the world will compete for for $879,000 in prizes across five 5* classes, including the world-renowned Longines Global Champions Tour Grand Prix and the prestigious American Invitational.
The whole event will be broadcast live on globalchampionstour.com via GCT TV. The Longines GCT Grand Prix will also be shown on Eurosport and beIN Sports, with NBC Sports Network showing highlights from the American Invitational on Saturday 4th April at from 2pm – 3pm (East Coast Time) and highlights from the prestigious Longines GCT Grand Prix, round one of the exciting 2015 Championship, on Sunday 5th April 3.30pm – 4.30pm (East Coast Time).
From 17 to 20 September the Longines Global Champions Tour is coming to Austria for the fourth time. The riders will compete infront of Vienna’s famous city hall during the VIENNA MASTERS which hosts the last leg of the Longines Global Champions Tour before the final. Tickets for the VIENNA MASTERS are already available!
www.globalchampionstour.com
Source: Press release
