IT was amazing how quickly the Covid-19 crisis escalated and we found ourselves literally in the eye of the storm on Friday, March 13th.

The Sunshine Tour in Vejer de la Frontera, Spain, was abruptly cancelled and fortunately our truck had arrived a week early, having driven from Stockholm, Sweden, to Spain.

The drivers were originally scheduled to fly home to Ireland and then back out to Spain the following week to drive Enda Carroll’s Ashford Farm horses back to their base in Belgium.

There was an air of panic with over 2,000 horses wanting to move immediately and the layover stables in France were closing and cancelling confirmed bookings. Fortunately, we managed to secure other stabling but the urgency remained.

Inaccurate information

Inaccurate information was rife, with people saying that borders were closing and trucks were being turned back. Calm heads were needed and together with Enda and Paul Cocoman of Coco’s Equine Transport, we had a game plan which was to get the correct health papers and leave the following evening on Saturday March 14th, heading for the layover stables in Spain.

The welfare and comfort of the horses remained a priority and they were blissfully unaware of the mayhem.

After resting at the Spanish stables, they loaded again on Sunday evening and crossed the border between Spain and France at 8:20pm at Irun.

Cars were backed up and borders closed, with police allowing only nationals through. However, as freight, our trucks sailed through with no issues.

Once into France, we started to relax a little and could see the finishing post. After resting in Le Mans, the team kicked for Ashford Farm in Belgium on Monday evening, arriving early Tuesday, March 17th.

It was a great relief but now that Ashford Farm’s horses were safely home, we had to return to the Sunshine Tour to evacuate Carl Hanley’s horses and bring them home to his yard in Germany.

“It was great to work alongside Roy and his team to get all the horses from Ashford Farm and Carl Hanley Sporthorses back to their bases in Belgium and Germany,” Paul Cocoman of Coco’s Equine Transport said.

“With a very professional team, we were endlessly on the phone to make sure everything went smoothly. I had an extra 16 horses to get home from Spain, in addition to horses competing at the Winter Equestrian Festival in Florida, USA, so the sharing of current and actual facts were key to success and safety.

“Thankfully, we have all of our horses home and in their own stables, quietly continuing with training and preparation for when this cloud lifts,” Cocoman added.

Borders open

Air travel was not reliable so Roy [Seale, my husband] drove from Ireland in the two-horse box to meet the other truck in Belgium and change driver.

Tensions were still high due to the coronavirus crisis but we had made a commitment to getting everybody home safely, even amid the plethora of well-meaning but inaccurate information.

On Wednesday, the artic lorry headed back down to Spain, this time empty to collect 12 horses for Irishman Carl Hanley. The roads were eerily quiet, no food could be purchased, only fuel at stations and no cash was accepted.

The borders were again no issue for freight and they arrived back down in Spain to a very different and almost deserted Sunshine Tour, a far cry from the excitement in February. With everything in order for a quick departure, the horses were loaded and headed for the stables in Spain, arriving on Saturday, March 21st. After resting, they drove onwards towards France.

As I followed them from home on the tracker early on Sunday morning, almost windsucking, I saw the truck slow down and stop at the pay booth, then slowly continue on, safely into France and towards the stables in Le Mans. Carl’s horses arrived home safely on March 24th at 07.30am.

Our mettle was definitely tested, but by focusing on the facts and working with information generously provided by our industry colleagues, we managed to drive through the eye of the storm and navigate through the Covid-19 crisis.

Regular routes

Our regular European route also continued uninterrupted with the Department of Agriculture laying down clear directives. We moved another 26 horses from Ireland while practising strict protocols with regard to disinfecting, travelling with one driver and altering the route to accommodate this.

Fortunately, our trucks are well designed for long distance horse transport and the horses are accessible from the outside through hatches so they travel untied and with haylage at their heads and regular water, of course.

We can easily comply with all the safely guidelines and felt that as long as we could legally transport, that we would diligently continue to support our industry which has been so good to us for so many years and over the generations.

Most of our clients are rurally located and rely on being able to sell their horses, so our motto was, if you can sell them during this time, we will do our very best to get them there.

Our drivers were confident and happy with their work, in fact they are incredibly isolated and can easily comply with the protocols. The shipping companies are still accepting freight bookings and have excellent sanitisation and social distancing in place.

Export suspended

Unfortunately, it’s an ever-moving and rapidly changing landscape. What is fact today, becomes impossible tomorrow and we moved our last load to Sweden last Saturday, March 28th, just as the Government suspended the certification of horses for two weeks on Monday.

The export of other livestock continues and we hope this [horses] will be re-evaluated and the horse export certification will recommence soon. It’s a huge worry for many producers who have sold horses and now clients fear they will not get the horses due to the lockdown and in many cases, want refunds.

All EU countries except Holland and Ireland are still issuing horse certification, as are the UK. We need Horse Sport Ireland and all the governing bodies to fight for the industry. I have spoken with HSI and I know they are in close contact with the Department of Agriculture.

Everybody understands that the shows are cancelled but the knock-on welfare issues of how to feed and carry horses when horses are now excluded from certification is a blow.

These are trying times indeed and we now must weather the storm from home and wait for further clarification on the certification for exports.

Hopefully the world will start turning again and shortly this will be in our rear-view mirror.

Seale Transport Ltd is run by Roy and Deirdre Seale and based in Durrow, Co. Laois.