Some 200 people chosen as volunteer leaders for the 2008 Olympic equestrian event Saturday joined in the orientation ceremony to kick off the Hong Kong equestrian volunteer program.

The leaders, who must be fluent in Cantonese, Mandarin and English, will take part in a two-day course to learn basic knowledge on the event and how to make it part of the 2008 Games held for the first time on Chinese soil.

The volunteers will be deployed to a myriad of responsibility areas ranging from competition beijing2008.cn/06/78/emap.shtml?categrey=331' target=_blank>venues to translation to media support, said the organizers.

At the ceremony, the equestrian company's chief executive officer, Lam Woon-Kwong, reminded those volunteer leaders that they should be aware that they are serving on the very front-line, that they are the ambassadors of our nation and that they are making part of the Olympic history.

Each volunteer was given a "smile wristlet," a token of their unity with other Chinese host cities in their meaningful work.

Following the orientation ceremony, volunteers will undergo some 80 hours of training, including residential training, which will be held in Pl Leung Kuk holiday camp in Sai Kung for two consecutive weekends in March.

The leadership training programs are tailored for Volunteers in Hong Kong by expert trainers.

Riordan, who also trained volunteers at the Athens and Sydney Olympic Games, said the training program is not simple despite it comes with just one Olympic event.

"The reality is that the equestrian event will be held far away from Beijing and in a separated environment. We need to have volunteers trained to greet guests from the airport, Olympic village and the transport hubs. It is like putting on a mini-Olympics," he said.