PUHI — It was a stressful experience, bringing Clydesdale horses from Wisconsin to Puhi. The horses held up fine, but the Doug Albrecht family is still recovering from the adventure. Doug Albrecht, owner and operator of Plantation Carriages, as a
PUHI — It was a stressful experience, bringing Clydesdale horses from Wisconsin to Puhi.
The horses held up fine, but the Doug Albrecht family is still recovering from the adventure.
Doug Albrecht, owner and operator of Plantation Carriages, as a licensed air-transportation horse handler, was allowed to ride with the horses from Chicago to Honolulu aboard a FedEx jet, while nervous wife Justine Albrecht flew similar routes in commercial airlines.
“From a horse’s standpoint, it’s no different than being in a horse trailer,” Justine Albrecht said. From her standpoint, it was nerve-wracking, she added.
Besides saving $1,200 in shipping costs by going the FedEx route, Doug Albrecht was also able to ride along with and monitor the animals throughout the 15-hour flight from Chicago to Honolulu, including a three-hour layover in Oakland. While aboard a commercial flight, Justine Albrecht was paralleling the flight, her anxiety alleviated by cell-phone communication with Doug Albrecht whenever it was possible for connections to be made.
“We actually landed in Honolulu 15 minutes ahead of Justine,” Doug Albrecht chuckled.
Doug Albrecht had to shave his 18-year-old beard following successful completion of a 10-year background check that is part of the security measures in place. “That was so the oxygen mask could fit,” Doug explained. “Plus, it was part of security. This was the first time I shaved in 18 years.”
“I cried when I first saw him (without his beard),” daughter Mandy Albrecht was quick to add, now chuckling as she looked at a portrait of a beard-less Doug Albrecht she described as “Doug’s younger brother.”
Following an overnight stay at the quarantine facility on O‘ahu, the three Clydesdales were loaded aboard a Young Brothers barge for the final leg of their journey, which ended just before the tug operators went on strike.
“I don’t know what I would’ve done,” Justine Albrecht said as she tried to visualize the scenario had the horses missed their sailing.
“The people at both FedEx and Young Brothers were excellent,” Doug Albrecht said. “They off-loaded the horses first at Nawiliwili, and they let us in early so we could get them here. Every one was great.”
“Flying is better all around,” Doug Albrecht explained. “There is less stress on the animals (because of the shortness of the trip). For the trip, I was monitoring their reactions and taking their pulse every hour. There was medications in case they needed to have it.
“The only thing that would’ve made it better is when the ferry starts going, and we can make (the trip across the channel) in three and a half hours instead of the overnight Young Brothers trip.”
During the flight from Chicago, Doug Albrecht even got to get the captain’s view, enjoying the flight with the crew who wanted to know more about the horses, since it isn’t everyday that they get to fly cargo including live horses.
Now that everyone is settling in at Puhi, Justine Albrecht recalls how she was invited to do a short presentation on their experiences with the Kaua‘i birth of Amos, another Clydesdale, to the horse-breeders’-convention audience.
It was there that Justine Albrecht started the acquisition process for the three horses that would bring their horse-family population to eight.
Following the agreement in April, Justine Albrecht started to discover the many possible ways of transporting the animals to Kaua‘i, and finally settled on FedEx because, she said, they actually lowered the price to be able to do the job over railways, trucking companies and other cargo shippers.
Justine Albrecht also said that they could save additional money by having Doug Albrecht accompany the animals as the groomer, an aspect that other shipping firms did not agree to.
Amos was born in March of 2003, and little did the Doug Albrecht family know that the birth of the Clydesdale would lead them on adventures many people only dream about.
Tomorrow, Friday, July 9 marks the two-week anniversary since the arrival of three new Clydesdales to their Puhi stables and offices of Plantation Carriages.
The new ‘ohana represents the growth of their Clydesdale stable to eight, Justine Albrecht noting, “four senior citizens, and four young ‘uns, counting Amos.”
But, more than the increase in numbers, the trio that recently arrived at the Puhi stables are all related to Amos, who was born on Kaua‘i.
“The blood of the greatest Clydesdales of Scotland run through their veins,” Justine Albrecht said of the trio’s pedigree. “These are probably the finest-quality Clydesdales in the state.” And, standing almost the same height as their veteran Clydesdales, Justine Albrecht noted that they haven’t stopped growing.
“They’ll keep growing until they reach 5 years old,” Doug Albrecht said. “Already, they’re like growing children who outgrow shoes,” Justine Albrecht added, as she explained that the three newest horses have already outgrown their halters.
Trinity Farm Clydesdale Kiara was born six days after Amos, on March 9, 2003.
“She was born normally,” Mandy Albrecht was quick to note. “Amos was born prematurely.”
The difference in height of the two yearlings could clearly be seen, Amos standing a tad shorter than his half-sister. Kiara also shares the same birthday as Mandy Albrecht, which could account for how the Albrecht youngster seemed to be attracted to the young Clydesdale.
Prairie View’s Sensational Ira, known here simply as “Levi,” is a year-old gelding and the grandson of Hillmoor Fusilier (English for “rifleman”), an international grand champion Clydesdale. It is this blood that Levi shares with Amos, making Levi a nephew of Amos.
Trinity Farm Clydesdale Fusilier’s Image, known here as “Luke,” is a 2-year-old gelding and the true brother of Kiara, making him a half-brother of Amos. The oldest of the trio is “a spitting image of Hillmoor Fusilier,” Justine Albrecht noted.
Justine Albrecht said the horses are strawberry roan in color, compared to the dark bay that people associate American Clydesdales with. In Scotland, roan is the predominant color, Justine Albrecht explained.
Besides the week spent in getting the horses accustomed to their new home in Puhi, the Albrecht family is still recovering from their trip where Doug Albrecht, a licensed air transportation horse handler, accompanied the three horses on their trek from Wisconsin to Honolulu aboard a FedEx shipping container measuring 12 feet by 12 feet by 16 feet built to accommodate three horses and a groom.
At home in Puhi, Justine Albrecht said the horses are taking nourishment, and “are happy and content. Everything is new to them, and they did get a little upset on July Fourth, but they just ran in circles. But, they love the attention they’re getting from the people coming over to visit them.”
Training for the new horses have already begun, and Doug Albrecht said that by the end of August, the new horses should be pulling carriages for the Kilohana lu‘au and sugar tours, and in parades.
The ultimate goal of Plantation Carriages is to have a six-horse lineup by 2006, Justine Albrecht said. The Kamehameha Day parade was the first time they have had a four-horse arrangement in a while, but with the new horses now in Puhi, Justine Albrecht said.
Dennis Fujimoto, staff writer and photographer, may be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 253) or dfujimoto@pulitzer.net.
