With less than 24 hours to go before the start of the eventing element of the 2012 Games, Tim Hadaway, Sport Competition Manager for the equestrian events at London 2012, told me today the site at Greenwich is looking spectacular.
“The first 75 of 219 horses are now settled into their stables, having all been examined by an FEI vet; they have all successfully been through the Equestrian Staging Facility at Greenwich University,” Tim explains. “The most equines we will have on site at any one time is 145, representing 40 countries across six continents; this occurs when the dressage and show jumping elements cross over, time-wise.”
The staging facility at nearby Greenwich University included an equine health check designed to help prevent the spread of infectious diseases and pick up any equine injuries, and also scrupulous checks of the equipment that the grooms packed. The horse boxes were also checked by security personnel and their sniffer dogs, before the horses were taken in their now-sealed vehicles to the Greenwich stables via the infamous ‘Olympic Road Lanes’, designed to get the 82,000 human athletes, horses, officials, VIPs, sponsors and media to venues on time.
Tim told me the stables at the park are a feat of organisation and design. “There are 200 individual stables, although many will be used as tack and storage rooms, plus an on-site veterinary clinic,” he explained. “They look fantastic. We didn’t want a permanent structure like at the Athens or Beijing Games, or anything “bog standard”.
The horses will be very comfortable here...
“The temporary stabling at Greenwich Park is excellent. There’s capacity for up to 200 horses, each in 3.5m x 4m stables; the barns are all raised off the ground to protect the grass in Greenwich Park, with each block being built on a level platform. The stables are in blocks facing each other, with a wide walkway down the centre. The feedback from riders and grooms has already been really great,” Tim added.
“The horses will be very comfortable here – there are fans in the stables and on-site wash boxes, as well as different levels of lighting. There’s even a subdued lighting level for night time that won’t disturb the horses, but still allows the security staff to safely monitor the area.”
Where does the muck go?!
And the burning question that we are all dying to ask – where on earth does the manure from hundreds of horses go?! As with all of the equestrian logistical planning in London, Tim has it covered. “The grooms muck out straight into wheelie bins, which are loaded into a contractor’s truck for compacting – it is then recycled,” he revealed.
As we know, Friday 27th July will see the first horse inspection, whereby the horses are inspected by a vet and presented to the Ground Jury to ensure that they are fit to compete further. A second inspection takes place on Tuesday 31st July, with spectators with tickets to the jumping phase now being allowed to spectate.
It is now just a case of waiting with baited breath to see whether the horses of Australia’s current team members Andrew Hoy, Chris Burton, Clayton Frederick, Lucinda Fredericks and former second reserve Sam Griffiths trot up sound on Friday.
We have everything crossed for you guys!
Team member Sam Griffiths is shown here at Burghley 2011 in the UK.
