Transporting High-end Athletes

• These are athletes competing in the upcoming Beijing Olympics 2008.

• With their superb training, million-dollar price tags and excitable temperaments, many are celebrities in their own right.

• They are seasoned flyers and they fly with an entourage, a fleet with grooms and veterinarians.

• Their flight attendants attend to the smallest of details, from providing these athletes with 6-star service to making sure they wear protective foam boots and occasionally, ear muffs to block engine noise.

OK....they are not human, but equine.

I discovered that these horses are receiving super star treatments, way more humane than we humans have been getting.

First and foremost, in order to ensure the whole transport of these high-end athletes as smooth and stress-free as possible, cargo plane pilots need to use the full extent of the runway and get air traffic controllers to approve a flight path devoid of sharp, unpredictable turns.

While on board, the flight groom pays full attention to their drinking preferences and make sure they do not show the slightest sign of dehydration. Water sweetened with Gatorade and apple juice is served from time to time without the need to ask.

"How do you like it Sir? You may nibble on wet hay, or take it dry"

Once they disembark in Hong Kong, they will be transferred right away (and I mean right away without delay) to air-conditioned trucks (temperature set at 73 degrees) for the 30-mile trip to the Hong Kong Jockey Club.

The journey from the tarmac to the stables cannot exceed 100 minutes. By that time, humans are basically still queuing in the immigration or at most, collecting luggage at conveyor belts!