We have had another busy week at EZ 2 Spot Ranch. The weather is perfect and it is a great time for flying!
We had the pleasure of sending seven horses to Amsterdam ... and then on to their respective homes in the UK, Spain, Belgium and France on a KLM flight this week. Thank you Lisa, Marije, Veronica, Hannah and Eliane for sharing your horses with us. Thank you, also, to David and Katrin for flying for us and taking such good care of the horses along the way.
Another flight this week was to Doha, Qatar. Thank you Haytham, Saud and Hamad for sharing your horses with us. And thank you to our groom, Henry, for accompanying the horses to Doha and making sure that they were safe and well.
Thanksgiving is coming up this week and we will share this very special American holiday with Quinten Wiersma, the young man from Holland who has been helping out at the ranch for the past three months. The day afer Thanksgiving, it is time for Quinten to go home. It has been such a joy having him with us. The time has gone by so quickly!
And speaking of "Thanksgiving", we want to take this opportunity to say "Thank you" to all our clients and friends around the world. You are all very greatly appreciated!
Next week we will fly horses to Amsterdam and Dammam, Saudi Arabia.
And we are gathering horses now for our next shipments to the EU and Saudia. Spaces are available in both groups, so contact us if you have a horse ready to fly. Spaces are filled on a first-come, first-served basis.
Happy Thanksgiving to All!
Dianne & Terry
Sunday, November 18, 2012
Saturday, November 3, 2012
Nurturing the Next Generation
Terry and I had a great opportunity yesterday to share some of our experiences with a group of up and coming new equine professionals. Dr. Clay Cavinder, professor at Texas A & M University is teaching a class on equine marketing, with an emphasis on international trade. He invited us for the second semester in a row to talk with his students. So we made the lovely drive to College Station, Texas and enjoyed spending some time with these bright young equine professionals. It gave us such a good feeling to see the enthusiasm in their faces and answer their questions about our work.
Some of the students in this class also took a field trip to Houston last week where they could observe an actual shipment in progress. They saw us preparing the shipping containers and loading the horses. They also had the opportunity to speak with Guillermo of the Texas Department of Agriculture who told them some of the history of the TDA Airport facility. Dr. Soroko of the USDA was also available for some questions.
Thank you, Clay, for inviting us to speak with your students. And students, thank you for your attention and interest. Best of luck in your future endeavors.
Some of the students in this class also took a field trip to Houston last week where they could observe an actual shipment in progress. They saw us preparing the shipping containers and loading the horses. They also had the opportunity to speak with Guillermo of the Texas Department of Agriculture who told them some of the history of the TDA Airport facility. Dr. Soroko of the USDA was also available for some questions.
Thank you, Clay, for inviting us to speak with your students. And students, thank you for your attention and interest. Best of luck in your future endeavors.
Friday, October 26, 2012
Busy Shipping Season
Wow, the busy time of the shipping year is here. Terry is in Kuwait at the moment, having delivered some beautiful Arabian mares today. Many thanks to Ahmad Abdullah, Khalid Al Sabri, Khalid Al Nasser, Burhan Bakeer and Kim Williams for everything that you did to make this shipment possible.
Terry and our friends, Phil Pelch and Don Dombrowski flew out to Amsterdam on Wednesday afternoon. Thank you to Kelli Di Campli, Dr. Erhardt Reininger, Sussie Elfsberg and Nadine Welzel for sharing your horses with us. It was such a pleasure working with each of you.
And we have horses going to Dammam, Saudi Arabia on Sunday. As always, our thanks to Dhafer Al Qahtani for sharing your lovely horses with us. Thanks also to Dr. Mohammed Al Hamad who makes things go so smoothly for all our shipments to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. We truly appreciate your kindness and willingness to go the "extra mile" for Saudi horse owners.
We started a new quarantine group last week for Saudi Arabia and are starting one this coming week for a flight to Amsterdam.
We have horses that will be on their way to Qatar and more to Amsterdam in a couple of weeks.
We are gathering horses for our next quarantine group that will start in early November. There are still some spaces available, so let us know if you'd like a spot and we'll be happy to include your horse.
It is always such a joy for us to be able to bring horses and their owners together. Thank you to all our clients for your continued loyalty to EZ 2 Spot Ranch and for appreciating our shared love of horses.
We want to wish a very Happy Eid to our friends in the Muslim world. Wishing you all happiness, health, peace and joy.
Be back later with more news!
Dianne
Terry and our friends, Phil Pelch and Don Dombrowski flew out to Amsterdam on Wednesday afternoon. Thank you to Kelli Di Campli, Dr. Erhardt Reininger, Sussie Elfsberg and Nadine Welzel for sharing your horses with us. It was such a pleasure working with each of you.
And we have horses going to Dammam, Saudi Arabia on Sunday. As always, our thanks to Dhafer Al Qahtani for sharing your lovely horses with us. Thanks also to Dr. Mohammed Al Hamad who makes things go so smoothly for all our shipments to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. We truly appreciate your kindness and willingness to go the "extra mile" for Saudi horse owners.
We started a new quarantine group last week for Saudi Arabia and are starting one this coming week for a flight to Amsterdam.
We have horses that will be on their way to Qatar and more to Amsterdam in a couple of weeks.
We are gathering horses for our next quarantine group that will start in early November. There are still some spaces available, so let us know if you'd like a spot and we'll be happy to include your horse.
It is always such a joy for us to be able to bring horses and their owners together. Thank you to all our clients for your continued loyalty to EZ 2 Spot Ranch and for appreciating our shared love of horses.
We want to wish a very Happy Eid to our friends in the Muslim world. Wishing you all happiness, health, peace and joy.
Be back later with more news!
Dianne
Saturday, September 29, 2012
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!
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!
Sunday, September 16, 2012
Horses to Riyadh and Dammam
We have just completed shipments of some more beautiful Arabian horses to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Some went to Riyadh and others to Dammam. Thank you, Hatham, Mohammed, Ibrahim, Vidya and Ghassan for sharing your lovely horses with us. And, as always, a huge thank you to Dr. Mohammed Al Hamad for your assistance with ensuring that all went smoothly. We appreciate you all very much and look forward to the opportunity to work with you again in the near future.
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
Our first shipment to Iraq!
We are very proud to announce that our first-ever shipment to the country of Iraq is happening today. Many thanks are due to Anwar Mangal and Amir Orders for their hard work in paving the way for this shipment on the arrival side. It was quite a learning experience as we worked through and overcame a number of interesting and sometimes frustrating challenges along the way. However, with patience and perseverence, we got through the difficulties and now this first group of Iraq-bound horses are at the airport, waiting for flight time. Many thanks to Abdur Rahman Mohammed for your faith and trust in our ability to make this happen. We look forward to shipping many more horses for you in the future!
Sunday, September 2, 2012
horses to the EU and Kuwait
Wow. September is here! And we have already had our first September shipment. Today horses left Amsterdam for Kuwait. Thank you Rashed, Ali and Khalid for sharing your lovely Arabian mares with us. It was a pleasure caring for them and we look forward to shipping horses for you again in the future.
Thank you also to Virginie of France, Gorill of Norway, Marije of the Netherlands and Christina from Germany for sharing your horses with us. They arrived in Amsterdam on August 30th.
We are currently gathering horses for our next quarantine groups for Amsterdam, Kuwait and Dammam, Saudi Arabia - so let us know if you are ready to book a space for your horse!
We also find ourselves in the unusual situation of having horses for sale. If you are looking for a nice Arabian stallion, a Half-Arabian mare or a weanling Paint Colt - send us an email. We have these horses for sale, and they are all very nice quality animals. The top photo is the stallion - MC Niitrous and the bottom photo is the mare, Sweet Lady Fames. Both photos were taken when the horses were on the show circuit. Email me for photos of the colt or for more information about any or all of these horses.
Thank you also to Virginie of France, Gorill of Norway, Marije of the Netherlands and Christina from Germany for sharing your horses with us. They arrived in Amsterdam on August 30th.
We are currently gathering horses for our next quarantine groups for Amsterdam, Kuwait and Dammam, Saudi Arabia - so let us know if you are ready to book a space for your horse!
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