Equestrian horses begin boarding airplanes for Rio Olympics

The first group of horses set to compete in the Rio Olympic equestrian events boarded a Boeing 777-F and departed from London’s Stansted Airport on Friday.

In all, 34 horses from 10 nations were part of the first of nine shipments delivering more than 200 horses to Rio. That’s nearly 20 tons of horses on Friday’s shipment alone.

Horses will also depart from Liege, Belgium, and Miami ahead of the Olympic competition.

More information on horse travel to Rio is available here from the International Equestrian Federation.

MORE: Complete U.S. Olympic team roster

Checking out the in flight entertainment on the way to @Rio2016! #RoadToRio #Olympics #TwoHearts pic.twitter.com/1pyLviIzBK

— The FEI (@FEI_Global) July 29, 2016

Horses bound for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games are loaded on to an Emirates SkyCargo Boeing 777-F at London Stansted Airport. On the flight were 34 horses from 10 of the nations competing in Equestrian at Rio 2016 - 29 July 2016 - © FEI / Jon Stroud Media

Jon Stroud Media