WEG 2018: Burning the Midnight Oil

Kentucky Equine Research has managed the feed, hay, and bedding at international events for over 20 years. Each event presents its own challenges. The 2018 World Equestrian Games in Tryon will likely be remembered for their sheer scale. With less than 200 horses on the venue thus far, we’re already delivering over 100 orders per day.

The stables on this venue are spread across a wide footprint, increasing the time required for each delivery. Unlike the shedrow stabling at the 2010 Games at the Kentucky Horse Park, the barns in Tryon have interior aisles. While this is lovely for horses and humans alike, the feed delivery teams need to park at the end of the aisle and carry or handcart each item in. All of this adds up to extended delivery times. Multiply this to the scale of WEG, and the days fill quickly.

Finding the correct bag gets tricky after dark!

In these early days, a major bottleneck for deliveries is the availability of vehicles. The crew is using a combination of golf carts, utility vehicles, and forklifts to get products from the warehouses to the stables. Unfortunately most of these are shared with other entities and tend to disappear. At one point, we were down to two functional vehicles to service the entire venue. Luckily, when we explained this to the Italian team that stopped by to inquire about their order status, they cheerfully volunteered their own cart for the day. Viva l’Italia!

With all of these factors combined, the crew is hustling from early morning until well after dark, donning headlamps to continue picking orders well into the night.

As the Games progress and new arrivals slow, pressure will ease. For now, some patience and a smile go a long way. (And a loaned golf cart will get your order to the top of the pile every time.)