How much does it cost for the olympic riders to ship their horses to another country?

Question

How much does it cost for the olympic riders to ship their horses to another country?

Answer 1

Ya, I think it is all ready paid for them, but I would imagine it would be a ton of money to ship a horse in general (and a lot of bubble rap! LOL!)

Answer 2

Actually, for those of you who say that the Olympic committee pays shipping costs for horses, the answer to that is NO, THEY DON'T. How much it costs to ship a horse to an Olympic venue like Hong Kong depends on a number of factors, including what the horse's home nation is, and where it's located. There are some countries in which the government pays to ship horses to the Olympics, such as Germany and many of the European nations, for example. Here in the US, however, shipping is paid for by the fund raising branch of the US Equestrian Team, which is known as the USET Foundation. The Foundation relies primarily on donations from the private sector and from corporate sponsors like Rolex for most of its income- it's a non-profit organization. That means that over 95% of its annual budget comes from the nickel and dime types- the USET-F gets absolutely NO GOVERNMENT support whatsoever, and they NEVER HAVE. Nor do they ever get grants from the USOC. I am a member of the USET-F myself, and I have been for many years. Every year, this group holds fundraisers and benefits to build up their reserves, so that they can afford to help riders who may not be able to cover all the costs of competition themselves. My former coach and employer was one of the major contributors at a fundraiser this past spring, in fact. That benefit raised almost $300,000- money which was no doubt used to send our teams to Hong Kong.

In some cases, the owners of the horses themselves will pay for the shipping and quarantine costs for events like the Olympics. Most Olympic horses are owned by people who are wealthy enough to be able to afford at least some of the costs involved in shipping them to international venues. It's rare that riders own their own mounts- and when this happens and the rider can't afford all the costs on his or her own, the USET-F will step in and help pick up the tab.

Events like the Olympics in Hong Kong require more than just horse shipping, though. There is also the support staff which have to go along with all the horses, as well as coaches, spouses and family members of the riders themselves ( all our riders are adults, and most are married with families) the grooms, and the like. All these people need housing, meals, and they need to have their airfare paid for- and this is yet another way in which the USET-F helps out. Lastly, there are the quarantine costs to consider once the Olympics end and the horses are flown back to the States. Every horse which competes in Hong Kong must be quarantined for a while ( generally this is about 2 or 3 weeks) upon his or her return home, as is required by federal law.  Quarantine is NOT cheap- and someone has to pay the costs of hay, feed, and medical care while the horses are at the facility. Again, this responsibility is typically shared by both the rider and owner, and the USET-F if either of the other two cannot afford all the costs.

That answer your question??  

Answer 3

I agree with Becca but as far as I know the Olympic Committee pays for their horses to be shipped.

Answer 4

I don't know about the olympic riders but my friend's horse (a sweedish warmblood) $25,000 to ship from where she got it.

Answer 5

Idk. It actually might be paid for by the olympics, so it doesn't cost them anything.  

Answer 6

I agree with everyone else - I'm pretty sure the Olympic Committee pays to ship the horses. But here is a link to a photo gallery that shows them loading the horses onto the plane and stuff. It's really neat! (You have to go about 1/2 way through the gallery to get to the plane pics) http://www.nbcolympics.com/equestrian/ph...