Quentin Wallace, creator and founder of International Racehorse Transport (IRT) was an inspired & energetic 24-year-old when he founded IRT in 1972. Although he continues to remain involved, it is Managing Director, Chris Burke and Operations Director, Lachlan Ford who drives IRT in the 21^st century.

IRT works closely with Al Janah Transport to ship horses for the Dubai World Cup, Racing NSW for The Everest & Racing Victoria (RVL) for the Melbourne Spring Carnival.

Secretariat’s World in conversation with IRT’s Quentin Wallace and Lachlan Ford.

Q – How did IRT start? Were there any famous first cases?

 

IRT was created by Quentin Wallace in 1972 in Melbourne and has grown into the world’s largest horse transport company with 7 offices located in USA, UK, Germany, NZ& Australia. We transport over 6,000 horses a year and usually have a horse in the air, somewhere in the world, every hour of everyday. While the company has grown, IRT remains dedicated to providing it’s personal touch when it comes to servicing and keeping clients informed. A more recent development has been the introduction of a network of ministry approved quarantines around the world, which together with our global offices, long standing relationships with airlines and Government Departments ideally places IRT to provide seamless, swift and safe horse transport to all points of the globe. .

 

From IRT’s first flight in 1972 the company was inextricably connected to the breeding industry, especially in Australia & New Zealand. Little remembered PRETENDRE, the first shuttle stallion to stand in NZ, travelled on an early shipment from London to Auckland.

 

Q - With air travel becoming a very important component of the thoroughbred racing and breeding industry, what inevitable changes are expected in the near future?

 

International Race meetings have become the shop window of the Thoroughbred Industry, whether through recently introduced meetings like the Breeders Cup, the Dubai World Cup, the Hong Kong International Races or through the internationalisation of existing meeting such as Royal Ascot, the Melbourne Cup and most recently with the introduction of The Pegasus & The Everest races. With international runners bringing increased crowds and betting turnover, the number of international runners seems to be on the increase.  

 

Q - Assuming that the risks have remained the same over time, what has changed interms of policies, equipment and treatment of these horses which have made it air travel safer?

 

The jet plane and the air stable (jet stall) have been the major positive developments in the last 50 years. The former has significantly reduced travel time & the latter provides for a safe environment not only for the horse but also the accompanying attendant. A greater awareness of travel sickness, pioneered by Dr. Des Leadon in the 1980’s using IRT flights to Australia as his platform for his research, remains a leader in this field. Thanks to Dr. Leadon, more is now known about the causes of travel stress and shipping fever, along with the early recognition and treatment, which is the prime cause of concern when transporting horses.

 

Q - Are the regulations the same world over?

 

How you manage horses in flight is pretty universal and has not changed much since horses stated to fly regularly in the 1960’s. The best insurance is to use good horseman with as much flight experience as possible.Additionally giving more space through loading 2 horses to an air stable instead of 3 horses is another way, although costly, of improving the safety.