Imagine flying 600 pedigree horses and their equipment into the U.S. from all around the world. People rarely think about the staggering logistics operations that lie behind international sporting events. With the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games in London fast approaching, UPS travelled to World Equestrian Games 2010 (WEG 2010) to see large-scale equine logistics in action.

There are only eighteen months to go before the biggest show on earth arrives in London. UPS and LOCOG (London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games) have been busy putting all the preparations in place to ensure the logistical arrangements for the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games run like clockwork.

A crucial element of the planning phase has been the knowledge-gathering exercises we have been conducting to draw upon expertise from around the world on how best to organise the logistics for each of the 46 Olympic and Paralympic sports.

Most recently, Shaun Day, lead venue logistics manager for the 2012 Olympic Park, and I were fortunate enough to take part in a fact-finding assignment at the World Equestrian Games 2010 in Lexington, Ky. The goal: to learn more about the specialist processes involved in equine logistics at the sport’s marquee global event. Despite 25 years of logistics experience between us, I must say it was an eye-opening experience.

The facilities were massive in scale and covered 1,200 acres (486 hectares) of land, including a new stable centre and indoor riding area as well as additional temporary stabling to ensure the venue was ready to house the 850 competitor horses and 600 exhibition horses expected to arrive.

For three weeks prior to the event, the logistical team worked day and night to ensure all the temporary structures – everything from tents to portable office cabins – were fitted and ready for use before a single horse had even arrived.

Once the site was up and running, it was then the job of the Stable Logistics team, whom we assisted, to effectively manage the arrival and departure of all the equine athletes and their grooms.

This was no mean feat considering it was the first time the World Equestrian Games had been held outside mainland Europe. This meant that over 600 horses from around the world had to be transported to the U.S. by air – the largest mobilisation of horses across U.S. borders since World War II – along with a further 200 horses driven to the competition in Kentucky from stables across North America.

Prior to the horses’ arrival at the Horse Park, we worked with the Stable Logistics team to ensure each individual team’s equipment was delivered to its designated set of stables. In total, we loaded in and out more than 250,000 kg of air-freighted equine equipment direct from Cincinnati airport, together with more than 100,000 kg of North American equine equipment that had arrived by road.

The horses arriving by air were then transported in convoys holding eight horses per trailer, with each groom travelling alongside his/her horse. With so many horses arriving on site within a very short timeframe, it was the job of the Stable Logistics team to fine-tune the operation so that each convoy could be unloaded safely, swiftly and efficiently. In fact, the team managed to reduce the unloading time of each transporter to an average of just five minutes and three seconds – a truly remarkable feat.

It was quite a sight to see the venue fill up with the competitors in such a short space of time, and it generated an incredible atmosphere and buzz around the place as teams, owners, riders, grooms and horses were reunited. With many having travelled for as many as five days to get to the Games, it was a welcome relief for them to find all their equipment ready and accounted for as soon as they arrived on site.

WEG 2010 was now ready to begin, but our job was far from over. After sixteen days of intense competition across nine different equine disciplines, the Stable Logistics team then had to coordinate the convoys taking the athletes, grooms and their equipment back to Cincinnati Airport once again, this on top of the removal of temporary structures and assets.

After 37 days of frenetic activity, our time at WEG 2010 was coming to end. We learned an incredible amount in the time we were there, and luckily for Shaun and I, we will have the chance to go through it all again when the equestrian events come to London for the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.