Almost There!

Sometimes flying horses on cargo planes can get pretty crazy.  This has been one of those times where a good sense of humor and flexibility that would rival Gumby and Pokey come in handy.

During the past month we had the privilege of preparing some adorable miniature donkeys to fly to South Africa, along with some beautiful Arabian horses to go to Saudi Arabia and a very nice mixed group of miniature donkeys, Quarter horses and a Missouri Fox Trotter to go to the EU this week.  Everything was going along quite nicely ... until departure day.

The flight was scheduled for departure from Houston on Wednesday night - well, actually, a few minutes past midnight on Thursday morning.  So, as is our fashion, we called the airline before leaving the ranch (All of you show people know the rule - call before you haul!) - and found out that the plane was delayed by a couple of hours.  Oh, just a couple of hours.  No problem.  That just gave us a little more time to get everyone loaded.

The airline told us to call back in about 45 minutes for an update.  So we did.  And then we learned that the plane was going to be delayed by at least 5 hours - or maybe more.  They really didn't know, because the plane hadn't even arrived at the hub airport in Europe yet - much less taken off for Houston. 

Hmmm.  This was turning into a long day.  So we left the horses in their stalls and sat around for a few more hours, waiting to find out when we were really going to need to leave for the airport.  We were getting a little anxious because the donkeys for South Africa had a connecting flight to catch.  Were we going to make the connection?  Could the airline delay the connection?  What was going to happen if they couldn't make it?  Would the quarantine in Jo'berg accept them if they arrived late?  Anxiety started to creep into our otherwise happy little brains.

More time passed - and finally we got word that we would be loading the containers at about 3:00 a.m.   The plane had left the airport in Europe so that was a good sign.  So, Terry and Megan and Henry and all the equines headed out the gate and down the road to Houston.

When they got there, they learned that the crew had run out of duty time - so guess what?  More delays.  Loading time would be at 8:00 a.m.  So ... horses and donkeys had a nice night's rest in the airport stalls and Terry, Henry and Megan had a less than comfortable night sleeping in the trucks!

This meant that the donkeys for South Africa would miss their connecting flight - and would have to stay in Europe til Sunday night, arriving in Jo'berg on Monday morning.  This would be fine except for one little problem.  Their import permit was set to expire at midnight Sunday!  Thanks to his charming personality and positive attitude, Gert Vortser was able to get a one-day extension approved through the South African authorities.  Whew!  That was a worry off our minds.

Finally, at 11:00 a.m. on Friday, the plane took off.  The horses to Saudi Arabia had also missed their connecting flight, but happily their import permits would still be valid for their arrival on Monday morning.

So, I am happy to report that our European-bound horses and donkey are at home with their owners now.  Thank you, Renate Daub, Dirk Hendrickx and Veronique Placet for sharing your animals with us!

The donkeys and Arabian horses are safe and sound in Luxembourg, waiting for their flights tomorrow night.  Thank you for your patience, Gert Vorster and Harry Moore in South Africa and Dhafer Al Qahtani, Majed Bokami, Abdurahman Alkafan, Yasser Al Hafenawi and Aiman Alshumrani in Saudi Arabia.  Thank you also for allowing us to share in your animal's journey.  It has been a pleasure working with each of you.  And as they say, all is well that ends well!

An extra special thank you also to our friend and professional horse groom Hans Van Dyke for meeting the donkeys in Luxembourg and accompanying them to Johannesburg.  We appreciate you more than you can ever know, Hans.  And we can't wait for you and Els to visit us in November!