article: We are not talking about some Hollywood A-lister or pop-chart diva going on holiday. We are not even referring to Team GB's track and field stars. Britain's equine athletes helped win five medals at London 2012 but a 5,700-mile journey to Rio makes beating that tally a little trickier. Does a horse get jet lag? Travel sickness? Plans for this trip began as early as 2013, with everything from in-flight bacteria to leg room considered. In all, there will be more than 300 horses competing in Rio, with some 200 of them travelling from hubs in Stansted, Liege and Miami. So how hard is it to get a horse to Rio? Imagine walking up to check-in and dropping six tonnes of food on the conveyer belt. The excess fee alone would be big enough to count as carry-on luggage. But these superstar horses do not travel light. Each horse has an individual limit for the flight which includes its own weight plus items such as water buckets, tack bags and rugs. As well as all that food, there's nearly 10 tonnes of equipment and several tonnes of haylage (normal hay with a higher moisture content) for the flight. There will be 34 horses on board when the first flight leaves Stansted on 30 July, with a combined weight of more than 17 tonnes and a combined value running into millions of pounds. An animal weighing 515kg (81st) probably did not get its photos done in a booth at the post office, but at that sort of value, you can rest assured they each have a passport detailing health history and every mark on their body. Passport stamped? Time to board. If you get fed up waiting in line to board, spare a thought for these horses, for whom the process can take between two and four hours. Why so long? Because this is the crucial part. A "nervy" time, according to Yogi Breisner, eventing performance manager for Team GB. Horses are loaded into stalls on the ground and then levered up into the plane. It's not uncommon for them to get spooked and any bumps or scrapes are most likely to happen now. After four years of work, much is on the line. Each stall is designed to accommodate three horses but it's important these Olympians travel in the equine equivalent of business class so Team GB horses fly two to a stall. Some travellers might prefer the space entirely to themselves but the horses are generally happier in pairs, according to British Eventing team vet Liz Brown. "You get some that are very anxious travellers while some really attach to the horse they are with," she said. "We wouldn't put two anxious horses next to one another." And according to the International Federation for Equestrian Sports, the seating (or standing) plan will also ensure stallions are at the front of the plane away from the mares. The horses will stand for the duration of the 12-hour flight. But it may be more restful than the average ride in a horsebox over
summary: They need a lot of luggage, plenty of in-flight attention and like many long-haul travellers, a good companion by their side.