Equestrian facilities in Hong Kong weathered Olympic test for 2008

German Frank Ostholt, riding After the Battle, got a feeling for the terrain of the next Equestrian Olympic Games 2008 in Hong Kong when he led the victory lap in the arena at the Sha Tin Equestrian Venue. On 53.40 points he won the international eventing competition named "Good Luck Beijing – HKSAR 10th Anniversary Cup" that served as a test event. From now on organizers have exactly one more year to prepare for the lighting of the Olympic flame.

"Our team came to gain insights for next year but winning makes this trip extra sweet, " the 31year old manager of Germany's Equestrian Olympic Center said.

Second place on the podium was left for Dirk Schrade (GER) who added one time penalty to his cross country result and came in with 54.6 points.

Australian Shane Rose (66.6 points) ended in third place. The 34-year old nursery manager rode Stratford Novalis.

Seven international federations had taken the effort and expense of the trip to Hong Kong to experience Hong Kong conditions. Seventeen riders took part in the 2star-competition and served as "guinea pigs" for the organizers at the same time.

The athletes' major interest was learning about the heat and humidity affecting their horses. Most found that their horses took the weather conditions typical for August in Hong Kong better than they themselves. After a few days of acclimatizing the horses seemed to cope well.

In addition to the team veterinarians an international group of 30 official practitioners had their eyes on them. Special effort was made to cool the horses down after every major workout. Forty tonnes of ice cubes were used on the day of the cross country phase on Sunday.

The weather presented some very testing conditions to everybody involved in the event. After the first days of intense heat in the high-30-degree Celsius area the weather cooled down and transformed into a typhoon that threatened the city. The danger level had forced organizers to change arrangements for the horse inspections that traditionally open an eventing competition.

A field of 20 local riders from Hong Kong riding schools rode in a second class of lower level. Their riding in the Olympic arena at Sha Tin and Beas River was the first eventing competition of considerable scale in Hong Kong.

Two out of fifteen riders still in the competition for the jumping stayed clear and without time penalties. Tara DELANEY riding the thoroughbred GAGNANT kept her lead after the cross country phase.

Since apart from racing equestrian sports have no tradition in Hong Kong the test event was an excellent opportunity for the public to become familiar with horses and to get the first taste of the Olympic feeling.

(Credit: The Official Website of "Good Luck Beijing" Sport Events)