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Great Britain

 Great Britain
British Horses Fly to Sydney

8/22/00

Fifty-one of the top horses in the world, collectively worth about 25 million British pounds ($37 million US), flew out of Stansted airport this morning and began their 26 hour journey to the Sydney Olympic Games.

On board were 19 British team horses, the remaining 32 from nine other nations whose horses selected for the Games have been based at quarantine sites in Britain.

Accompanying the horses were 44 passengers, including first time Olympic rider Kirsty Mephan, who wanted to fly with her horse Dikiloo.  The remaining team riders will fly to Sydney over the next few days.

Attention has been paid to every aspect of the flight to ensure the horses' comfort.  Horses are loaded into a plane on pallets that are then lifted onto the plane.  Usually each pallet carries three horses, but in this instance the British horses have been transported two per pallet, giving each horse more space -- akin to flying Club Class rather than Economy. 

At each of the refueling stops in Dubai and Singapore a new crew including three pilots will take over. 

A special mineral powder has also been used on the bedding to counteract the ammonia produced by the horses, this will result in improved air quality throughout the flight and a more pleasant environment for the horses --- and the passengers.

When the horses arrive in Sydney tomorrow morning they will be taken to Horsley Park, the venue for the equestrian Olympic competition, where they will rest for a week before continuing their training and preparation. 

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