Come fly with me – mammoth donkeys to Puissance winners
When Ireland’s Jordan Coyle and Eristov won joint first place in the Puissance at the Royal Dublin Show this past weekend, Devon Kaminsky and her colleagues at Horseflight had mixed feelings for one of their long standing frequent flyers.
“Eristov is going to retire,” said Devon, who is Business and Export Manager at the US transport company. “We have been shipping him for years. When it was time to send him over to Ireland, we had to organize a permanent import for retirement instead of a carnet (which is normally used for competition horses returning to the USA within a year) and that made us all quite sentimental.”
Eristov – 17 and about to enjoy his retirement after an illustrious career with Jordan spanning almost a decade – would be one of the some 2000 equines that Horseflight transports on an annual basis. Devon, 33, has been with the company since she left college. The career found her and she has not looked back. “I’ve always been around horses,” she said. “But while I was at college I decided that I did not want to follow the traditional horse show route.” An opportunity came up to work for Horseflight. “I fell in love with it,” she said of her new role. “Because of the traveling, because of all the people involved in the industry from the handlers at the airport to the USDA personnel, and that you are doing something different every day.”
Last week that ‘something’ was shipping USA’s Jim Fairclough’s driving horses to Europe ready for Aachen, Germany this week, where Jim seeks his seventh FEI World Driving Championship Four-in-Hand title. “He was actually one of the first Horseflight clients I met when I started,” Devon said. “So it is a nice feeling every time I see his name pop up on my phone.”
Horses come in all shapes and sizes and just like passengers on an airline, sometimes they need more than a regular seat. “The Belgian Drafts are really fun,” she said. “We have shipped a few of those over the years. They’re huge and they have to fly in two-thirds of a stall – they won’t fit in just half.”
Horses from the Hunter/Jumper disciplines are the mainstay of Horseflight’s charges but they fly equines all over the world and have shipped most breeds from Arabians to Quarter Horses to Mustangs. More recently the passenger was a mammoth donkey, noticeable on the plane, by the size of ears appearing above the stall door.
Devon’s job at Horseflight is no nine to five. “It’s the horse world so you’re expected to be available 24/7,” she said. “We’re also dealing with multiple time zones from California, to Europe, Asia and the Middle East.” Perks of the job for Devon include a family vibe at the 20-year old company owned by Emil Spadone and Seth Vallhonrat, stemming from long-term friendships at work. “All of us have known each other for at least a decade,” Devon said. “Sometimes longer. Me and two of the ladies I work with went to college together. We are very blessed to be in this workplace.”
Eristov will not be flying back across the pond this time as he heads out to pasture in Ireland, but he ended his career on a definitive ‘high’ with a win in the Puissance, that he and Jordan shared with Britain’s Rachel Proudley and Easy Boy De Loubry Z. Jim and his horses are meanwhile gearing up for the Four-in-Hand competition in Aachen on August 19, with plans to return home after the contest with Horseflight and hopefully another World Championship victory to their credit.
For Devon the fact that the horses may be Puissance winners, contenders heading to the FEI World Championships or a mammoth donkey heading for a new life in Australia, is almost beside the point.
“We’re hired to fly a horse,” she said. “Whether it’s somebody famous or a mammoth donkey from the backcountry. They all deserve the best service and care.”
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