(SAINT JOSEPH, Mo., March 28, 2019) For some athletes crisscrossing the United States to compete in their sport of choice is not a big deal. They make sure to stay healthy, take their vitamins, rest when they can and drink plenty of water. However, when those athletes rely on a four-legged equine partner to compete in their sport, the relocation and transportation can become an entirely new challenge.

Successful Grand Prix show-jumping rider and trainer, formerly from California and now located in Lemitar, N.M., Jenni McAllister, is no stranger to relocating her horses for shows. Although she lives in the West, she spent a majority of the winter in Florida competing. However, she also competes along the West Coast, in Texas and through the Midwest, requiring planning ahead to get her horses transported without stressing them prior to the competitions.

Flying the Friendly Skies

McAllister said she likes to be prepared for anything that might come up, and she treats each horse like an individual – one of the definite advantages of being the trainer and shipper and knowing the horses so closely. Although Team McAllister typically hauls its horses via tractor-trailer, there are rare cases like in March, where they flew a mare from Florida to California and back to Florida for a show. Even then, McAllister said her mare took the trip well, and came off the flight ready to ride and compete.

“In Florida, we had to take her three hours to airport; then they touched down once and then she got to L.A., and then another shipper picked her up and took her three hours to the show, so the trip there was 21 hours or so for her. She handled it really well, she was fresh and ready to go,” McAllister said