Equine royalty takes flight: How U.S. horses got to and from the Paris Olympics

For Olympians traveling by plane to and from France, having a checklist to ensure a smooth flight is paramount. Social media posts showed the plane used to take horses to the Olympics was called “Air Horse One.” While it is a fun play on words, it’s much more nuanced. Some horses are based in California, like Tokyo 2020 dressage silver medalist Steffen Peters’ horse Suppenkasper. According to Karin Ahlqvist, vice president of global operations at Dutta, U.S. Equestrian athletes booked their horse’s travel to Europe for the Paris Olympics two months in advance. All about the horses the whole time.” Once the plane arrives, it’s a little over an hour for the horse to be accepted, unloaded off the stall and into a trailer.