Game On: KER Feeds Elite Equine Athletes at World Equestrian Games and Asian Games

The Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games and the 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou, China, were both remarkable firsts in equestrian sport. The former was the first edition of the eight-discipline world championships to be held in the United States, while the latter was the first major international equestrian event ever held in mainland China. Both presented new logistical challenges to their host countries and organizers, but one thing remained consistent—the involvement of Kentucky Equine Research (KER) as the designated feed, hay, and bedding supplier.

KER has a long history of coordinating equine feed and bedding for international equine events, including the last four Olympic Games. The company’s international network of feed-manufacturing clients, called Team Members, made KER a natural choice to handle the multitude of challenges involved in transporting hay and feeds to different areas of the world. Handling the feed at these two events during such a narrow window of time gave new insight into the factors that must be considered when feeding horses around the world.

As the feed, hay, and bedding provider, KER’s role included communicating with all national federations to ascertain the type and quantity of products needed for each horse, working with government officials and venue organizers to import or procure products, and safely storing and providing these products to the teams as needed on the competition site.

The 2010 World Equestrian Games (WEG) were held in Lexington, Kentucky, just a short drive from KER’s corporate office in Versailles. More than 750 horses from 58 countries participated in the 16-day competition, contesting the eight disciplines recognized by the Fédération Equestre Internationale, the international governing body of equestrian sport. With strong participation from European countries, WEG required the largest airlift of horses since World War II.

The Asian Games are organized by the Olympic Council of Asia and are held every four years, in the even years between Olympic Games. This year’s competition was based in Guangzhou, China, with the equestrian events taking place in nearby Conghua, the first area in mainland China accredited by the Office International des Epizooties and the European Union as an equine disease-free zone.  Just under 100 horses represented 16 countries in the Olympic disciplines of dressage, eventing, and show jumping at a slightly lower level.

Based on its work at previous Olympic Games, KER was approached by WEG organizers to arrange feed, hay, and bedding for the competition. The company’s involvement in the Asian Games grew from its relationship with the Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC). The groups have worked together for many years to facilitate the importation of E·Clipse, a feed formulated by KER specifically for racehorses, into Hong Kong. The relationship was solidified by KER’s work at the 2008 Olympic Games, the equestrian portion of which was held at HKJC facilities. The HKJC was also an integral part of the Conghua event, overseeing venue construction and stable management. Mark Huf, operations manager at KER’s Australian office, worked with the Guangzhou Asian Games Organizing Committee (GAGOC) and Australian Team Member Barastoc to assemble a menu of feeds to suit the needs of the elite horses competing at this event.

Have Feed, Will Travel

Regulations imposed by host countries resulted in different approaches for each competition. Because WEG was held in the United States, KER adhered to rules set by the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) and United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) concerning the import of horse feed. These regulations cover issues such as bovine spongiform encephalopathy, also known as mad cow disease, and import of viable seeds from nonnative plants. For this event, the company was able to work with many European feed manufacturers and national federations to organize a special shipment of 140 different commercial feeds.

Through this cooperative effort, riders had the option to ship their horses’ usual feeds so few dietary changes had to be made before or during the competition. KER worked months in advance to handle the import requirements and shipping of feeds so that when horses arrived at the Kentucky Horse Park, their regular rations were already there. These feeds were considered quarantined for the duration of the event, and unused feed had to be collected and destroyed at the conclusion.

Riders who did not ship feeds were able to choose from 18 mixes custom-made in small batches by the equine nutrition experts at KER’s research facility in Versailles. These mixes emulated many of the specialty feeds available internationally. Between the shipped feeds, custom-made mixes, cereal grains, two types of hay, four types of chaff, and haylage, numerous options were available to customize diets as needed. The horses’ managers could also choose between wood shavings, wheat straw, shredded paper, or chopped cardboard bedding.

The situation in China was quite different. Games organizers and import regulations dictated that KER provide a complete shipment manifest three months prior to the competition, including only those products specifically approved for import. The timeframe created a logistical issue as the national federations did not finalize their selection of horses until about a month prior to the competition, so in many cases federations were guessing what type and quantity of feed would be required. Normally this situation would call for bringing a large quantity of contingency feed, but regulations also stated that any excess product could not be resold within the country and would have to be destroyed. So the pressure was on to guess correctly!

KER Team Member Barastoc provided four feed mixes (Cool Command, Completo, Calm Performer, and Phar Lap) and oats, while KER’s E·Clipse, Low GI Cube, and Restore electrolyte powder and paste also made the journey. The options were rounded out by wheat bran and lucerne (alfalfa) chaff from Australia and timothy hay from Washington state (in fact, the same company that provided hay for WEG). Wood shavings from Beijing were the only available bedding.

Forethought by certain teams eased any concerns of changing diets prior to the Games. For instance, realizing feed options on the venue would be limited, team managers from Saudi Arabia contacted KER prior to the Games and requested that E·Clipse be shipped to the team in Europe so it could be fed during quarantine and horses could adjust to it.

Horse Transport and Quarantine

One of the major equine health concerns for WEG was equine piroplasmosis, a tick-borne disease found in Africa, the Caribbean, Central and South America, the Middle East and Eastern and Southern Europe. Because piroplasmosis is considered a foreign disease in the United States, organizers took precautions to prevent contact between infected horses, which often show no clinical signs of illness, and disease-free horses. Tick control was a major undertaking at WEG, necessitating separate stabling and grazing areas as well as hands-on inspection each time a positive horse moved into the secure area. This also affected the feed and bedding, as KER had to source products from areas that are free of ticks capable of carrying the disease. For this reason, timothy hay and straw came from Washington state, alfalfa from Idaho, chaff from Maine, and haylage from Lithuania.

The quarantine protocol for WEG horses varied depending on their country of origin. Horses coming from Europe and the Middle East spent their minimum 42-hour quarantine at a temporary equine facility at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky Airport. Horses from South America entered through Miami, while those from Asia and Australia came through Los Angeles. The facilities were all high-security areas, with access to the animals limited to authorized personnel and a designated regular attendant under the supervision of USDA and WEG employees. Once on the grounds, biosecurity was largely left up to the individual teams.

Quarantine and disease control were at the forefront of planning the Asian Games. Due to the country’s international equine disease status, horses previously brought into mainland China had not been permitted to leave; for example, the horses representing Hong Kong in the 2009 All China Games could not return and had to be sold on the mainland.

A significant number of the horses competing in Conghua came from training facilities in Europe and the United States. These horses were pre-export quarantined for 14 days in Aachen, Germany, and flew to Guangzhou via Dubai. Other horses came through Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Peden Bloodstock handled the air shipment of the horses, navigating the diverse regulations from airport officials, police, quarantine officials, customs inspectors, the Ministry of Agriculture, and many other authorities.

Once on the venue, the site’s status as an official equine disease-free zone was emphasized. The limited number of vehicles allowed onto the grounds had to go through a tire wash upon entry, and all people entering the stable area had to walk over a disinfectant mat and use hand sanitizer at the gate as well as at every stable block entrance. Vehicle access into the stable area was extremely limited (only KER’s delivery vehicle, a water truck, and a manure-removal truck) and was watched over by an armed guard and a show steward. Stewards and officials with China Inspection and Quarantine (CIQ) checked each horse’s temperature several times daily. A 7.2-km electrified fence surrounded the entire facility to keep out animals that could potentially carry disease.

This attention to disease control also extended to the products brought on site by KER. All products had to be inspected upon arrival, and the warehouse inspected at least once daily. This diligence led to some trouble obtaining carrots and apples for the competitors. Huf worked with GAGOC and CIQ officials, as well as veterinarians, who provided an official memo stating that horses would not be harmed by eating carrots, to secure a local supplier with adequate quality assurance documentation to allow its products to come onto the venue. Even then, each box had to be documented and photographed upon arrival. Routine deliveries required an extensive paper trail noting the date, time, and quantity of product leaving the warehouse, as well as its destination in the stable block. This was copied to CIQ daily.

Venues

WEG provided an opportunity for the Kentucky Horse Park to upgrade some of its permanent facilities, including a new indoor arena and several barns, refurbished footing in warm-up and competition areas, and a massively expanded outdoor stadium. These improvements made the park a more desirable site for some of the national-level shows it could not previously accommodate. The new indoor arena alone is booked to host events into 2014.

The entire facility in Conghua was purpose-built for the event upon a plateau created by taking the top off of a mountain. Due to disease concerns, livestock in the area surrounding the venue had to be registered with CIQ, and all equines were moved out of the region. The Hong Kong Jockey Club oversaw construction of the venue and stable area, including a 3-km cross-country track completely outfitted with synthetic footing. Following the Asian Games, the entire site will be razed and dug an additional 12 meters to give the Club enough land space to build a new training center with a racetrack. The site’s continuing status as a disease-free area will allow the Club to return horses to Hong Kong to compete after training on the mainland.

Common Threads

Despite the differences in these events, many factors remained the same. Horses around the world have the same basic needs, which KER’s product selection and order process are designed to fulfill. Managing feed, hay, and bedding at these two international events provided a snapshot into the differences and similarities encountered when feeding horses around the world. Oats, shavings, electrolytes, timothy hay, nutrition expertise, and quality customer service know no boundaries.

Working Equestrian Events Around the World

Working at both the World Equestrian Games and the Asian Games within a few weeks of each other provided a wealth of stories and experiences. My role at both events was assisting with feed deliveries: getting the orders from KER’s onsite office, pulling product out of the warehouse as needed, and delivering it to the teams in the stable areas. Along with this official duty came a myriad of tasks involving trouble-shooting, answering questions, side jobs, negotiation, translation, and occasionally a few shenanigans.

The scale of WEG was overwhelming, both in the number of horses and their locations all around the Kentucky Horse Park. This made delivery a complex process, as a single run could include negotiation with three sets of well-meaning volunteers to get where I needed to go, slaloming my hay-laden golf cart through barn aisles filled with tables, coolers, and sometimes horses, and picking up hitchhikers whose tired feet couldn’t take them any further. While the competition lasted only 16 days, the KER crew was on site unloading the shipping container of European feeds three weeks before the opening ceremonies and had horses to care for (and a massive amount of unused feed to collect and dispose of) several days after the close.  Through hot and cold days, the number of horses and variety of feeds kept us running all day, then back to it the next.

The number of countries participating made language barriers inevitable. We provided small tubs of each feed and bedding options so that people could see, smell, and touch the mixes and point to what they needed. Pantomime was also a useful skill, as was the ability to identify ingredients in mixed feeds—so that when a groom stopped you in the stable area, pulled a rolled oat out of a bag of sweet feed, showed it to you, and held up two fingers, you knew to pick up two bags of rolled oats on your next trip back to storage.  The sheer variety of feeds offered compounded this—with so many options, some people simply didn’t know how to specify what they wanted (this led to an incident in which a famous rider who shall remain unidentified threw a handful of lightly crimped oats at one of our crew members—as it turns out, he wanted heavy crimped). Working in the stable area also gave a real insight into the equestrian athletes and elite horses we all recognize as fans—both for better and worse. (Note to riders: Be nice to your feed delivery girl. You never know if she’s writing an article.)

The Asian Games presented its own challenges and joys. Traveling to Conghua was quite an adventure, requiring a flight to Hong Kong, hour-long bus ride, two-hour train trip, another hour in a taxi, and a major shift in perspective. Conghua is well off the usual beaten path for Western tourists, so our team stood out and was warmly received. People could not have been more friendly. Although English was not commonly spoken, almost everyone offered a “hello” and a smile or friendly wave.

With representatives of many different countries converging on the venue, English (in a variety of forms) became the default language. A gaggle of enthusiastic college students were recruited to work as translators and became our most valuable assets when trying to negotiate carrot deliveries or pass along concerns to show organizers. These girls also helped us by writing notes in Chinese that we could then use to ask for whatever we needed back in town. A crucial one read: “someone who doesn’t eat meat.” This was pressed into service by me and another vegetarian in the group while ordering dinner every night. Point to the menu, show your note, and hope for the best!

Whether setting a bag of carrots in front of Moorlands Totilas’s stall at the Kentucky Horse Park or seeing the enthusiasm of Chinese college students looking at a horse for the first time in their lives, this has been a season to remember.

—Erin Ryder