WEG 2010: Quarantine center created

Motorists on Donaldson Highway might have noticed the cluster of large tents that have sprung up in the employee parking lot at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport.

The compound will serve as a temporary quarantine for hundreds of foreign horses that will be flown into the U.S. to compete in the upcoming Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games. The Games start Sept. 25 at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington and are the world championships for eight equestrian disciplines.

“The purpose of this quarantine is to establish that the horses are in good health prior to releasing them to come to the Kentucky Horse Park,” said Rusty Ford, equine programs manager in the state veterinarian's office.

Airport officials, along with officials from the World Games 2010 Foundation and the Kentucky Department of Agriculture, worked with the U.S. Department of Agriculture to get CVG classified as a temporary port of entry. The regular USDA ports of entry are in New York, Miami and Los Angeles.

“It's really been a team effort to make this happen,” airport spokeswoman Barbara Schempf said.

An estimated 500 horses are expected to pass through the CVG quarantine facility on their way to the Games.

The horses will be coming from Europe and the Middle East and will be flown non-stop from Belgium on jumbo jets. The first planeload of horses is scheduled to arrive Sept. 16. Ford said inbound flights will continue through Sept. 29 and that the first flight back to Belgium is scheduled Sept. 28.

About 50 horses and their human attendants will travel on the average flight, Ford said. Upon landing, the horses will be taken to the quarantine facility where they will be stabled for a minimum of 42 hours.

Horses from Central and South America will be imported through Miami. Los Angeles will be the arrival point for horses from Australia, New Zealand and the Far East.