2008 Olympic Equestrian Events Come to Hong Kong

[hkskyline]

China Wants Equestrian Events in Hong Kong
Mon Apr 11,11:42 AM ET
AP

LONDON - Beijing organizers want to move equestrian events at the 2008 Olympics to Hong Kong — more than 1,240 miles from the host city.

The organizers submitted the proposal to the International Equestrian Federation, citing the risk of equine diseases and problems with quarantine regulations in the Chinese capital.

The international federation, known as FEI, opposes relocation. The issue will come up before the International Olympic Committee executive board in Berlin next week.

The Beijing committee said it had "underestimated the veterinary issue of temporary import of horses in China and presented an alternative plan for hosting the equestrian competitions in Hong Kong," the FEI said Sunday.

FEI vice president Freddie Serpieri said if there were a venue change the repercussions for the sport would be "very grave."

Wei Wang, secretary-general of the Beijing committee, told the FEI that moving the events was necessary because of "uncertainties of equine diseases and major difficulties in establishing a disease-free zone." Wei said 17 equine diseases are prevalent in Beijing and other mainland Chinese cities.

Hong Kong, which reverted from British to Chinese rule in 1997, is a 3 1/2-hour flight from Beijing. The proposed venue for the Olympic equestrian competition is the Sha Tin racecourse and surrounding Penfold Park.

The equestrian events have been scheduled for the Beijing Country Equestrian Park in northern Beijing — 21 miles from the Olympic Village.

When Melbourne hosted the 1956 Olympics, equestrian events were held in Sweden because of quarantine restrictions in Australia.

The FEI also agreed at its London meeting to ask the IOC to reduce the number of Olympic dressage teams per nation to allow more countries to compete.

[hkskyline]

HK Olympics bid 'looks a winner'
Murray Bell
13 April 2005
South China Morning Post

The board of the International Olympic Committee is almost certain to name Hong Kong as the venue for all equestrian events at the 2008 Games after it meets next week.

The Hong Kong Jockey Club's presentation to the International Equestrian Federation (FEI) in London on Saturday was so impressive that key delegates believe the announcement in Berlin next week is a mere formality.

The IOC has asked the Jockey Club not to discuss the matter publicly, but one southern hemisphere delegate who viewed the presentation described it as a winner.

"It was the most impressive presentation we have ever seen in the equestrian arena," the delegate said.

The Jockey Club has taken a lead role in creating a plan that would harness facilities of Sha Tin racecourse, the infield Penfold Park and the neighbouring Sports Institute for most equestrian events.

For the cross-country events, a course and facilities will be constructed at the Jockey Club's property at Beas River, and will involve part of the land owned by the Hong Kong Golf Club.

The Sports Institute, which boasts a 20,000-capacity stadium and an air-conditioned indoor riding hall, is proposed as the site for the dressage events.

Jockey Club executive director of racing Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges returned from making the presentation yesterday. He said the Jockey Club's proposed role was only that of a venue provider - it would not be running the event.

"If the bid is successful, the upside for the Jockey Club is that after the Olympics have finished, we will have some significantly upgraded facilities at Sha Tin," he said.

"There would be the possibility of conducting more international racing, and a greater number of stables would give us some valuable flexibility if we ever need to increase the horse population."

In making his proposal, the secretary-general of the Beijing organising committee, Wang Wei , said moving the events was necessary because of "the uncertainty of equine diseases and the difficulty of establishing a disease-free zone".

Seventeen equine diseases are prevalent in Beijing and other cities on the mainland.

Hong Kong would not be the only city outside Beijing to host events. The port of Qingdao will stage sailing events, while soccer games will be played in five cities.

When Melbourne hosted the 1956 Olympics, equestrian events were held in Sweden because of quarantine restrictions in Australia.

Additional reporting by Associated Press

[hkskyline]

Move horse events, says Games chief
Sylvia Hui, Hong Kong Standard
June 1, 2005

It will be "highly risky" for Beijing to host the equestrian events at the 2008 Olympics, according to an International Olympics Committee executive member and Beijing Olympics official.

Yu Zaiqing, executive member of the IOC and Chinese Olympic Committee vice-chairman, reiterated Tuesday Beijing's stance that the equestrian events be moved to Hong Kong because of equine-disease risks.

He said Hong Kong has the ability to host the events instead of Beijing.

His comments came amid widespread speculation that the IOC will announce the location of the equestrian events this week, ending weeks of second guessing.

Speaking in Beijing, he said that moving the events to Hong Kong is the right decision, and that the International Equestrian Federation - which opposes holding the events in Hong Kong - must accept that China's horses are used mainly for agricultural purposes and carry equine-disease risks.

"We are a developing country ... that equine diseases exist in this country is a fact. If we don't welcome other places hosting the event, we will be taking a very big risk," he said.

The IEF, however, maintains that moving the event to Hong Kong will cut it off from the Olympics.

That opposition has led the Games' organizing committee to postpone its decision on the request by Beijing to move the equestrian events.

Hong Kong Olympic Committee president Timothy Fok, in Beijing for meetings with Games officials, said he is optimistic the IFE can be persuaded, and hopes a decision will be announced soon.

Edwin McAuley, vice-president of the Hong Kong Equestrian Federation, said his organization is in "total support" of the bid to move the events to the territory, although there are "different opinions" within the group.

"It is inevitable for an organization with more than 300 members to have different opinions,'' he said Tuesday.

"Some have concerns about climatic issues and some are concerned that the Games should take place in one city.''

But he stressed that Hong Kong has the historical advantage and facilities to host the events.

"The sport goes back to the beginnings of the Jockey Club. [It] has excellent facilities, and Hong Kong has lots of expertise.''

The government and Jockey Club propose that the core competition venue should consist of the Sha Tin racecourse, Penfold Park and the Hong Kong Sports Institute.

[superchan7]

The IOC met in mid-April. Why hasn't it been decided?

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Olympic equestrian events will bring in $351m, says Ho
Teddy Ng, Hong Kong Standard
July 7, 2005

http://www.thestandard.com.hk/stdn/std/Metro/images/hor0707.jpg
At least 300 horses and 1,150 athletes would come to Hong Kong should it host the Olympic equestrian events in 2008.

Hosting the 2008 Olympic equestrian events could bring up to HK$351 million to Hong Kong, Secretary for Home Affairs Patrick Ho said Wednesday.

The International Olympic Committee is expected to announce Friday whether the SAR can host the event as part of the 2008 Beijing Games.

Ho estimated that at least 300 horses and 1,150 athletes would come to Hong Kong should it host the events.

In addition, Hong Kong could expect between 9,700 and 31,900 visitors, including the management and technical staff of the International Olympic Committee, supporters of the various teams and representatives from overseas media organizations.

Ho said hosting the event would also reflect the growing recognition of, and the importance attached to, the mainland on the international stage and enhance public interest in sports.

Should Hong Kong be allowed to host the events, the Sports Institute at Sha Tin will be the venue for dressage and show-jumping events.

The Beas River Country Club and part of the Hong Kong Golf Club in Fanling will be used for the cross-country events.

The Sports Institute, which is the main training ground for eight of the 15 elite sports in Hong Kong, will be temporarily vacated from early 2007 to the end of 2008.

This has sparked fears among local athletes that their training for the Beijing Olympics will be severely affected.

Legislator Lee Cheuk-yan criticized the government for seeking international honor, while ignoring the needs of athletes. "I cannot understand why the government insists on hosting the equestrian events without considering the needs of our elite athletes," Lee said.

"Hong Kong can still win glory if any of these athletes get a medal at the Olympics. It seems that the government is only interested in seeking honor for itself."

In a bid to appease the athletes, Ho said the government would use the opportunity to upgrade and modernize training facilities for sports.

He said the government plans to upgrade some facilities of Wu Kai Sha Youth Village and other sporting venues managed by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department.

The Cornwall Street Squash and Table Tennis Centre in Kowloon Tong will also be used as a training venue.

Ho said the Sports Institute only has eight table-tennis tables, while the Kowloon Tong center has 16 and capacity to increase to 24 tables.

Other venues include the Kowloon Tsai Park Tennis Court, St Stephen Beach Water Sports Center and Tai Mei Tuk Water Sports Center.

Ho said training venues will provide fitness, resting, storage and car parking facilities.

Shuttle bus services between Wu Kai Sha Youth Village and the training facilities will also be provided.

Deputy Secretary for Home Affairs Lolly Chiu said 15 elite sports associations had agreed that the youth village was a suitable training venue.

She said the government would continue consulting with associations to decide how best to upgrade facilities.

Ho said the Jockey Club had agreed to pay for the equestrian-related facilities at the Sports Institute, while the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the 29th Olympiad will pay for upgrading other training venues. The amount required for the upgrading has not been decided, Ho said.

After the events end in September 2008, all indoor facilities and most of the outdoor ones at the Sports Institute will be reinstated and suitably upgraded.

"The government understands that the proposal to use the Sports Institute might arouse concern among athletes, and that it is necessary to address their dissatisfaction," Ho said.

"It is necessary to conduct a comprehensive review of the Sports Institute and facilities to work out the way forward and a definite timetable so that elite athletes will be provided with the best training environment," he said.

Ho said the hosting of the equestrian events was not a matter of seeking honor for himself or the SAR government, but to enhance recognition of sports among the public.

In Singapore, International Equestrian Federation president Dona Pilar de Borbon said a decision on whether the SAR can host events will be made Friday.

"Hong Kong does not need any advice. It is very good," she said.

Timothy Fok, president of the Sports Federation and Olympic Committee of Hong Kong, said the International Olympic Committee was concerned about the atmosphere in the SAR for the events.

"The committee gives major consideration to the atmosphere of Hong Kong. The support of the community and the whole sports sector will be very important," he said.

[HKT]

I think the equestrian events should be held in Beijing rather in HK. I don't know, but I feel sorry for China wants it here and ashamed when we beg for the event.

[hkskyline]

Beijing actually approached Hong Kong to host the equestrian events since it cannot guarantee a disease-free zone for horses in Beijing. The IOC should announce today whether they'll move the sport to Hong Kong for 2008.

[sfgadv02]

Wow, so excited if HK does!!

[HKT]

Beijing actually approached Hong Kong to host the equestrian events since it cannot guarantee a disease-free zone for horses in Beijing. The IOC should announce today whether they'll move the sport to Hong Kong for 2008.

.....while they guarantee the Olympic will be a successful one?...

That's just an excuse. While they have time to be able to build all the infrastructure it will need by 2008, they can't simply build a facility that deals with horses?....

Anyway, I support HK to host the event but I just don't like the way the media keep on asking whether HK will or won't, it's embarrassing~

[hkskyline]

The problem is not building a facility for horses. Equestrian officials needed Beijing to ensure the area is quarantined. Horse-racing is not a major sport in China, so facilities are lacking and the Olympic organizers could not guarantee a disease-free area. As a result, they turned to Hong Kong, with its horse-racing facilities, to host the event.

It is the disease-handling part of equestrian that was problematic, especially when horses will be brought from abroad to China, and not an issue of whether a facility can be built or not. Beijing could not ensure that diseases can be prevented from spreading among horses during the Olympics, but Hong Kong is far more experienced in horse-racing so HK is more capable of handling these issues.

[sfgadv02]

When can we actually know if HK is hosting the horce-racing event or not?

[Pangu]

I wasn't even aware there was horse-racing in the Olympics... how many people actually care about this event?

[hkskyline]

When can we actually know if HK is hosting the horce-racing event or not?
The IOC is expected to announce a decision this week.

[hkskyline]

Equestrian Events to Be Held in Hong Kong
By CHRISTOPHER BODEEN, Associated Press Writer
Fri Jul 8, 4:52 AM ET

SINGAPORE - Equestrian events for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing will be held in Hong Kong for the "best interests of the competition and the well-being of the horses," the International Olympic Committee announced Friday.

The agreement finalized Beijing's push to have the equestrian competition moved from the Chinese capital.

"Let me be very clear in that everyone would have wished that the competition could have been in Beijing," International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge said at an IOC meeting in Singapore where the decision was announced.

"Sanitary problems make this very difficult and by mutual agreement (the groups) have decided to move to Hong Kong," he said.

IOC Coordination Commission chairman Hein Verbruggen announced the switch during IOC meetings in Singapore.

"We are confident there will be a wonderful Olympic equestrian competition in Hong Kong. The agreement on the location for the equestrian event means the locations for all Beijing 2008 competitions have now been finalized, allowing progress in all areas of Games preparation," Verbruggen said.

The international equestrian federation had originally objected to the move, but accepted the decision after the Beijing organizing committee, BOCOG, made guarantees regarding the venue.

FEI president Infanta Dona Pilar said BOCOG had assured the federation of the best conditions for riders and horses in Hong Kong.

"This has always been our main objective. We are confident that BOCOG and Hong Kong will ensure the stage is set for excellent equestrian competition in Hong Kong," Pilar said.

The Chinese organizers lobbied hard for the switch, saying 17 equine diseases are prevalent in Beijing and other mainland Chinese cities.

This won't be the first time the equestrian events are held at a different site than the rest of the Summer Games.

In 1956, the Games were held at Melbourne from Nov. 22-Dec. 8, but the equestrian events were staged in Stockholm in June. Australian quarantine laws were too severe to allow the entry of the horses.

Pilar said her federation planned to work with BOCOG in setting up an equestrian training and competition center outside Beijing as a legacy of the games. The center, whose location will be decided next year, would be surrounded by a 6-mile disease-free zone.

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Jockey Club pushes to keep Olympic venue
Norma Connolly and Winnie Yeung
9 July 2005
South China Morning Post

In return for paying up to $800 million to stage the 2008 Olympic equestrian events, the Jockey Club is likely to get a 40,000 square metre chunk of Sports Institute land.

Jockey Club chairman Ronald Arculli admitted yesterday the club was in talks with the government to get permanent use of two soccer pitches and a golf driving range - now part of the institute's training grounds - which will be used to provide facilities for the Games.

Mr Arculli was speaking after the announcement that Hong Kong would host the equestrian events for the Beijing Games.

The Jockey Club first approached the government about acquiring permanent use of the land in May this year, a government spokeswoman said.

In early 2007, the Jockey Club will take over the Sports Institute grounds, where many of Hong Kong's elite athletes train for their own Olympic sports, and renovate them to host the equestrian events.

The soccer pitches and golf range - 30 per cent of the Sports Institute's 144,000 square metre outdoor area - will be transformed into 192 stables for the scores of horses that will take part in the event.

Mr Arculli said the Jockey Club would return the property to the Sports Institute at the end of 2008, but said of the pitches and golf range: "We are in the process of talking to the Lands Department, whether, in the long term, if we wanted to continue to use that facility, whether it is possible."

He insisted the Jockey Club was not funding the Olympic event simply to procure the land. He said he understood that the pitches and golf range were not heavily used by the institute and giving them up would not affect the institute's operations.

However, Malina Ngai Man-lin, vice-chairwoman of the Hong Kong Elite Athletes Association, said she was disappointed the government was considering giving the land to the Jockey Club because it meant the athletes would return to far smaller facilities at the end of 2008. She admitted the golf driving range, formerly a softball pitch, was underused, but said the pitches were used for cross-training by many athletes at the institute and was also rented out the public to raise funds.

Institute chairman Eric Li Ka-cheung said the sports community may have to accept a less-than-desirable situation. "None of us wanted to initiate the whole thing," he said of Hong Kong's quest to get the events. "But we have to accept it if this is what the HK people want."

Moving the institute to Wu Kai Sha Youth Village in Ma On Shan would pose a challenge to sportsmen used to their facilities.

The Frontier legislator Lee Cheuk-yan called on the Jockey Club and the government to adhere to usual bidding practice for government land. "The government should not just allocate the land to the Jockey Club because it has helped in funding this particular equestrian event."

International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge will arrive in Hong Kong tomorrow for a three-day visit during which he will tour sport facilities in the city.

Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen said hosting the events was an honour for Hong Kong and a milestone in its sport history.

[sfgadv02]

Sounds great!!

[vvill]

good news geh..

[superchan7]

That should bring some decent international coverage to HK...

[dingyunyang179]

Good message!

[hkskyline]

July 9, 2005
Equestrian events to raise HK's int'l status
Government Press Release

Secretary for Home Affairs Dr Patrick Ho says the 2008 Olympic equestrian events held in Hong Kong will raise the city's international status and arouse public awareness of sports development.

Speaking on a radio talk show this morning, Dr Ho said the events will also take Hong Kong's sports policy to a higher level, allowing the Government to seek more resources to promote sports and cater for athletes' long-term development.

Noting the Sports Institute will have to be vacated and converted into an Olympic-standard arena for the events, the secretary ensured that during the short reprovisioning period, athletes will be provided with a stable training environment that meets their needs.

The Wu Kai Sha Youth Village to be equipped with new sports facilities will become the athletes' main training venue. Other Leisure & Cultural Services Department venues will also provide the athletes all necessary facilities.

Dr Ho said the Beijing Organising Committee for the 29th Olympiad Games will be responsible for the institute's reprovisioning expenses while the Hong Kong Jockey Club will reinstate and upgrade the institute's facilities before handing them back to the institute.

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Horse crowd celebrates, but athletes thrown by decision
Hong Kong Standard Staff reporters
July 9, 2005

Territory celebrates Olympics success, but training facilities will be lost Reaction to Hong Kong hosting the Olympic equestrian events was mostly positive.

But objections came from a handful of athletes who will lose their training ground at the Jubilee Sports Centre at Sha Tin, which will become the site of some of the equestrian events.

Hung Chung-yam, chairman of the Hong Kong Elite Athletes Association, said the change in training venues could affect those athletes who are training for the 2008 games.

"The government should use this opportunity to promote sports,'' Hung said. "I also hope the government will make good on its promise to upgrade sporting facilities when the equestrian events are over.''

Association vice-chairwoman Malina Ngai said Beijing's decision to allow Hong Kong to host the equestrian events was very exciting news for Hong Kong, and that such an event would be an honor for any city.

She said the association had already agreed with the government to visit the proposed replacement venues in order to help in their reconstruction. The association had also discussed the potential impact the relocation would have on athletes.

Ngai said the athletes would remain at their current Sha Tin venue until early 2007, when they would be required to relocate.

Deputy director of the Central Government's Liaison Office, Zhou Junming, said the decision will raise Hong Kong's international status and boost economic activity.

Chief Executive Donald Tsang said it will be Hong Kong's honor to host the events and that it will be a milestone for the city's sports industry.

Major political parties also welcomed the decision. But Legco's social welfare sector legislator Fernando Cheung said the money spent on the events would have been better spent on helping the poor.

Liberal party legislator Tommy Cheung brushed off such concerns, saying taxpayers' money would not be used for the renovation of the Sports Institute.

Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong legislator Tam Yiu-chung said hosting the event will bring about huge economic returns to the territory.

But Democrat Andrew Cheng expressed concern over the plight of local athletes who will have to move elsewhere for training.

Chairman of the Hong Kong Sports Institute Eric Li believed this will give an unprecedented boost to the local sports community.

He appealed to those who will be affected by the temporary relocation of the institute to cooperate to make the Olympic event a success.

International Equestrian Federation president Dona Pilar de Borbon changed from opposing it to believing in the city's ability to make it an exciting event. The Hong Kong Tourism Board believes the events will draw an extra 10,000 to 30,000 tourists and up to HK$300 million in income.

But some critics are less enthusiastic, saying that most Hong Kong people have a very limited knowledge about equestrian events and will not be among the spectators.

[hkskyline]

Beijing 2008: Hong Kong to host Equestrian Events

http://www.olympic.org/upload/news/article/L_ART_1420_uk.jpg
©BOCOG

08 July 2005
IOC Release

Through constructive negotiations held during the 117th International Olympic Committee (IOC) Session in Singapore, the IOC, the Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI) and the Beijing Organising Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad (BOCOG) have agreed on the relocation of the equestrian events from Beijing to Hong Kong for the 2008 Olympic Games. The move is based on the best interests of the competition and the wellbeing of the horses.

Wonderful Olympic Equestrian Competition
“The IOC is pleased to announce the venue for the equestrian event during the Beijing 2008 Olympic and Paralympic Games has now been finalised. We are confident there will be a wonderful Olympic equestrian competition in Hong Kong,” said IOC Coordination Commission Chairman Hein Verbruggen. “The agreement on the location for the equestrian event means the locations for all Beijing 2008 competitions have now been finalised, allowing for progress in all areas of Games preparation,” said Verbruggen.

Working Group
The relevant stakeholders will jointly establish a working group that will determine the long-term and positive legacy for equestrian sport in China. This group will develop an equestrian training and competition facility, which will be located within a newly created disease-free zone and will be able to host international events.

Melbourne/Stockholm 1956
This will not be the first time that equestrian events will be held on the territory of another NOC. In 1956, the equestrian events of the Melbourne Games were held in Stockholm, Sweden, due to the quarantine problems affecting horses entering Australia at that time. The Games were also played at two different time of the year with the events in Melbourne taking place in November and December and those in Stockholm in June.

Equestrian sport at the Olympic Games
Equestrian events were included in the Olympic programme for the first time in 1900 in Paris. Since 1912, in Stockholm, the format of the events has remained very similar to the one used in the 2004 Athens Games. The three Olympic equestrian disciplines are jumping, dressage and eventing (three-day event).

[hkskyline]

CE speaks at "HK Hosts Equestrian Event for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games" gala show
Sunday, July 10, 2005
Government Press Release

Following is the speech by the Chief Executive, Mr Donald Tsang, at the gala show "Hong Kong Hosts Equestrian Event for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games" at the Sha Tin Racecourse today (July 10):

The Honourable Count Rogge, distinguished guests, athletes, ladies and gentlemen,

Tonight, we celebrate an historic moment for Hong Kong sport – indeed, an historic moment for all of Hong Kong. Back in 2001, we joined the men and women of our country to celebrate Beijing's successful bid for the 2008 Games. Tonight, four years later, we not only re-live that success, we are now an integral part of it.

With the trust and confidence placed in us by the International Olympic Committee, the Federation Equestre Internationale, and Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the 29th Olympiad, we are honoured to have been chosen to stage the 2008 Olympic Equestrian Events. This is the first time Hong Kong will have staged an Olympic event, and we are excited about it. We pledge to do all that we can to make the Equestrian Events a resounding success and to bring pride and credit to our home, and our nation.

We in Hong Kong have a shared vision and strong desire to ensure the success of the Equestrian Events. By doing so we can showcase to the world all that Hong Kong has to offer and provide a resounding echo to the 2008 Olympic slogan of "One World, One Dream".

I wish you all an enjoyable evening! Thank you very much.

News Clip : http://webcast.info.gov.hk/2005/ce/ce1007.ram

[hkskyline]

Monday July 11, 5:34 PM
Olympics head says Hong Kong's heat can be managed during equestrian event in 2008

AP - International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge said Monday Hong Kong's heat should not pose an insurmountable problem when the territory hosts the equestrian event during the 2008 Games.

Rogge said the International Federation for Equestrian Sports will advise riders on how to cope with the heat and that air-conditioned stables will be used. He also said the competition would be held during a time of the day when the temperature is acceptable.

"The fine schedule of the event, the time of the day at which the competitions will be held, will be adapted to the temperature," he said at a news conference in Hong Kong.

Riders have expressed concerns about the potentially high temperatures in Hong Kong. One former equestrian official in Hong Kong was quoted in local media as saying that some of the horses could die.

The equestrian event was moved from Beijing to Hong Kong because of concerns about equine diseases in the mainland.

Rogge is on a three-day visit to Hong Kong.

[hkskyline]

Tuen Mun school in Games gallop
Gavin Bowring, Hong Kong Standard
July 18, 2005

The International Olympic Committee's decision to hold the equestrian events for the 2008 Games in Hong Kong has boosted riding sports.

The SAR's few public riding facilities, such as the Tuen Mun Public Riding School, are already doing their best to promote the sport, in particular to teenagers and children.

The school has more open-day visits for families, introduced summer courses, and offered more school visits to the stables to raise awareness.

"We're much better at marketing now, and we're training more and more new instructors," said chief riding instructor Gina Porter.

"Horse riding is such a great activity for children. It keeps them fit, improves their coordination, and teaches them about animals and to act responsibly."

But the limited number of horses, mostly retired racehorses, means competition for places is high; there are more than 1,000 hopefuls on the waiting list.

"Even before the Olympic hype, the sport's popularity has been rising continuously," said senior riding instructor Bee Chan.

Last year the riding school saw an 8 percent rise in the number of students, two-thirds of whom are adults.

The Hong Kong Jockey Club-funded school, which is located on government land, consists of 60 stables and three training tracks suitable for dressage and long-jump training.

"We hope to expand our facilities to meet growing demand," said Riding School Officer Sam Lai.

Lai said the school would not be used for training during the 2008 Olympics because the tracks are not big enough and there are no quarantine facilities.

She is very optimistic about the Games taking place in Hong Kong.

"The horses' accommodation will be fantastic, with some of the best medical facilities in the world. As for the venue racetracks, I can't wait to ride on them myself," she said.

The climate will play a big part in the outcome of the events, Lai said. Horses and riders from warmer countries will have a definite advantage over others in Hong Kong's sticky heat.

Despite hosting the events, Hong Kong will not have its own equestrian team at the 2008 Olympics.

"We're not experienced enough," Lai said. Hong Kong has never had its own equestrian team, but the sport is becoming more popular in the mainland, notably in the western provinces where there is a strong horse-riding tradition among minorities.

When asked her thoughts over the debate to drop equestrian events from the London 2012 Olympics, Lai replied: "I understand the reasons behind it. The events are very expensive, much more costly than the other sports, and London might also have a problem with land availability.

"Furthermore, equestrian sports aren't true `human' sports since victory is 50 percent dependent on the horse's ability."

But she would be sad to see the events scrapped as they have been a feature of the modern Olympics since the Games began more than a century ago.

[hkskyline]

The president of Hong Kong's Olympic committee, Timothy Fok, left, and International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge gesture under the Olympic symbol at the opening ceremony for Olympic House in Hong Kong Monday, July 11, 2005. Rogge said the 2012 Olympic Games will definitely remain in London despite the recent bombings there. (AP Photo/Lo Sai-hung)
AP - Jul 11 3:42 AM

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International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Jacques Rogge (3rd R), Hong Kong Sports Federation & Olympic Committee president Timothy Fok (2nd R) and Yu Zaiqing (3rd L), executive vice president of the Beijing Organisation Committee for Games of the XXIX Olympiad, chat under the Olympic rings during an unveiling ceremony of the Olympic House in Hong Kong July 11, 2005. The switch of the equestrian events at the 2008 Beijing Olympics to Hong Kong -- the most radical since 1956 when Stockholm filled in for Melbourne, also for equestrian -- was announced last Friday after lengthy negotiations between Games organisers and the International Equestrian Federation (FEI). REUTERS/Bobby Yip

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International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Jacques Rogge (L) and Hong Kong Sports Federation & Olympic Committee president Timothy Fok chat in front of the official logo of the Hong Kong Olympic Committee during an unveiling ceremony of the Olympic House in Hong Kong July 11, 2005. The switch of the equestrian events at the 2008 Beijing Olympics to Hong Kong -- the most radical since 1956 when Stockholm filled in for Melbourne, also for equestrian -- was announced last Friday after lengthy negotiations between Games organisers and the International Equestrian Federation (FEI). REUTERS/Bobby Yip

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International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Jacques Rogge (C) speaks, as Hong Kong Sports Federation & Olympic Committee president Timothy Fok (L) and Yu Zaiqing (R), executive vice president of Beijing Organization Committee for Games of the XXIX Olympiad, look on during a news conference held upon Rogge's arrival in Hong Kong July 10, 2005. The switch of the equestrian events at the 2008 Beijing Olympics to be staged in Hong Kong, the most radical since 1956 when Stockholm filled in for Melbourne, also for equestrian -- was announced on July 8 after lengthy negotiations between Games organisers and the International Equestrian Federation (FEI). REUTERS/Bobby Yip
Reuters - Jul 10 2:57 AM

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An illustration shows a golf course at Hong Kong's Fanling district to be turned into a venue for the cross-country event of the Olympics equestrian events to be held in Hong Kong. Hong Kong announced on July 8, 2005 the equestrian events of 2008 Beijing Olympics will be staged in the territory. The switch of Olympic venue -- the most radical since 1956 when Stockholm filled in for Melbourne, also for equestrian -- was announced on Friday after lengthy negotiations between Games organisers and the International Equestrian Federation (FEI). NO ARCHIVE NO SALES REUTERS/Government Information Services/Handout

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An illustration shows the current Shatin race track to be turned into a venue for the Olympics equestrian events to be held in Hong Kong. Hong Kong announced on July 8, 2005 the equestrian events of 2008 Beijing Olympics will be staged in the territory. The switch of Olympic venue -- the most radical since 1956 when Stockholm filled in for Melbourne, also for equestrian -- was announced on Friday after lengthy negotiations between Games organisers and the International Equestrian Federation (FEI). NO ARCHIVE NO SALES REUTERS/Government Information Services/Handout
Reuters - Jul 08 3:52 AM

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Part of the venues, including Shatin race track (top right), for the Olympics equestrian events to be held in Hong Kong is seen in this undated illustration. Hong Kong announced on July 8, 2005 the equestrian events of 2008 Beijing Olympics will be staged in the territory. The switch of Olympic venue -- the most radical since 1956 when Stockholm filled in for Melbourne, also for equestrian -- was announced on Friday after lengthy negotiations between Games organisers and the International Equestrian Federation (FEI). NO ARCHIVE NO SALES REUTERS/Government Information Services Handout
Reuters - Jul 08 3:24 AM

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Hong Kong's Secretary for Home Affairs Patrick Ho (R) and Hong Kong Jockey Club chairman Ronald Arculli attend a news conference, announcing the equestrian events at the 2008 Beijing Olympics will be staged in Hong Kong, July 8, 2005. The switch of Olympic venue -- the most radical since 1956 when Stockholm filled in for Melbourne, also for equestrian -- was announced on Friday after lengthy negotiations between Games organisers and the International Equestrian Federation (FEI). REUTERS/Bobby Yip
Reuters - Jul 08 3:18 AM

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Progress on Olympics wins praise
Teddy Ng, Hong Kong Standard
August 17, 2005

The International Olympic Committee Tuesday praised Hong Kong's preparations for the equestrian events of the 2008 Beijing Games.

An official said after an inspection of the facilities that the organizing committee was confident of Hong Kong's ability to stage the events.

The chairman of the Coordination Commission, Hein Verbruggen, as well as the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad visited the Sha Tin and the Beas River Country Club venues in Fan Ling.

The group included a representative from the International Federation for Equestrian Sports, Cartin Norinder.

Jockey Club chief executive Lawrence Wong and racing director Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges briefed the group on the progress of the preparations.

Timothy Court, lead architect of the project, explained details of the facilities. Verbruggen said: "They are very impressive. Not only the facilities that were already built, but the work that has already been done on those being built. The work already done is more than we had expected.''

Beijing's committee executive vice president Yang Shuan said Hong Kong is qualified to host the events.

"They [The Jockey Club and the Sports Federation and Olympic Committee of Hong Kong] are very professional,'' he said.

"Their coordinating ability is excellent. I believe the equestrian events in 2008 will be a great success if we work hard together.''

Hong Kong plans to use the Sports Institute at Sha Tin for the dressage and show-jumping events.

The Beas River Country Club and part of the Hong Kong Golf Club in Fan Ling will be used for the cross-country events.

The Sports Institute, the main training ground for eight of the 15 elite sports in Hong Kong, will be vacated from early 2007 to the end of 2008.

During this period, athletes will train at the Wu Kai Sha Youth Village and venues managed by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department.

At first, the plan sparked fears that training for athletes, who had complained that the facilities at Wu Kai Sha were not up to standard, would be affected.

Legislators had also criticized the government for seeking international glory while ignoring the needs of local athletes.

However, the president of the Sports Federation and Olympic Committee of Hong Kong, Timothy Fok, insisted Tuesday the interests of local athletes would be protected. He said all facilities would be returned to the institute after the equestrian events.

Fok said both the IOC and the Beijing committee hoped that all sectors of the Hong Kong community would be involved in making the events a success.

[hkskyline]

Equestrian trade-off a winner for athletes
Hong Kong Standard

Athletes - both able-bodied and handicapped - and the people of Hong Kong will be the main beneficiaries of the HK$800 million being spent on hosting the equestrian events for the 2008 Olympics, Jockey Club chairman Ronald Arculli argued in an interview.

Ken Martinus
Saturday, September 03, 2005

Athletes - both able-bodied and handicapped - and the people of Hong Kong will be the main beneficiaries of the HK$800 million being spent on hosting the equestrian events for the 2008 Olympics, Jockey Club chairman Ronald Arculli argued in an interview.

The club also stands to gain, but that depends on whether or not the government will allow it to keep the stables being built to accommodate the visiting horses, Arculli said when asked to expand on his previous statement to the club's annual general meeting that the money was a "legacy investment."

"Much has been said about the athletes being moved from the Sports Institute for the equestrian events, but it must also be mentioned that the whole building is being refurbished and fittings and facilities upgraded to make it truly world class in order to host the games," he said.

The Sports Institute, the main training ground for eight of the 15 elite sports in Hong Kong, will be vacated from early 2007 to the end of 2008 to prepare for the games.

During this period, athletes will train at the Wu Kai Sha Youth Village and other venues managed by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department.

Athletes have raised fears that they will be shortchanged by the move and legislators have criticized the government for ignoring the needs of local athletes.

Fan Chun-yip, goalkeeper with the Hong Kong football squad, said returning the Sports Institute to elite athletes after the Olympics would do nothing to help their training before 2008. "The athletes have started their preparations," said Fan. "They are moving to Wu Kai Sha Youth Village soon, but the facilities there cannot be compared with the Sports Institute. Their performance will be affected."

The trade-off is worth it, insisted Arculli. "When the events are over, the athletes will be getting back a first-class institute," he said. The whole of Penfold Park, which lies in the center of the racetrack, is being redesigned and landscaped for the showjumping events.

"This park will revert to its original use as a public park, so the people of Sha Tin and elsewhere will have somewhere nice to go on non-racing days," he said. "In addition, a part of the park will be kept for Riding for the Disabled."

Arculli said that, if the club is allowed to keep the stables that will be erected on Sports Institute land, it will also be able to import better horses for the disabled to ride.

"At present, most of the horses used for showjumping in Hong Kong are retired racehorses which, the experts will tell you, are high strung and not the best for disabled athletes.

"We would like to import some proper horses as we feel that there is a lot of potential among the disabled riders, and some of them could even win medals at the upcoming Paralympics," Arculli said.

"While it is true the Jockey Club will also benefit should the stables be retained, the real winners are the people of Hong Kong, who will get the opportunity not only to witness an Olympic event, but also make use of the Olympic-class facilities when the events are completed."

He added: "We see it as an important long-term investment, as any Olympic event will do a lot to popularize sports in any sporting community, and Hong Kong is no exception. The facilities will have long-lasting community value."

Speaking about the new racing season, which begins on Sunday, Arculli said he is hopeful but not optimistic that turnover will rise, even without changes in the taxation system.

"We have seen turnover slide gradually over the years, and this has resulted in less racing revenue to the government," he said. "Fortunately, the revenue from football betting has not only offset this, but also added to total government revenue.

"But unless the changes in the taxation system are approved, there is a possibility that the drop in racing turnover could continue. And should this drop to what I have called the break- even point of HK$50 billion, we will have to seriously ask ourselves whether it is really worth running a racing club."

Arculli also discussed the question of children at racecourses, and pointed out that in only Hong Kong, Macau and Singapore are they banned from the racetrack.

"Actually, the decision not to allow people under 18 into the racecourse was the Jockey Club's own decision and not the government's," he said.

"The government only stipulates that people under 18 cannot gamble."

Racing director Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges, speaking Thursday, said that the rule banning children was unfair to members of what, after all, was a private club.

[hkskyline]

Vice-President briefed on preparations for Olympic equestrian events
Government Press Release
Sunday, September 11, 2005

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Vice-President Zeng Qinghong began the second day of his three-day visit to Hong Kong with a tour of the Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC) facilities in Sha Tin this morning (September 11).

Accompanied by the Chief Executive, Mr Donald Tsang, Mr Zeng was met on arrival by Secretary for Home Affairs Dr Patrick Ho, HKJC chairman Mr Ronald Arculli, deputy chairman Mr John Chan and chief executive Mr Lawrence Wong.

Mr Zeng received a briefing on the preparations for the 2008 Olympic Games equestrian events.

The Vice-President spent some time on the Sha Tin Racecourse balcony and was briefed on the club's $62 million state-of-the-art Racing Laboratory.

During the Olympic equestrian events, the laboratory will provide its services to test both horses and humans for the presence of prohibited substances. Mr Zeng saw a demonstration of how bodily fluid samples were tested.

Since 2001, the laboratory has been appointed by the Federation Equestre Internationale as its sole reference laboratory in Asia.

The party also visited the club's Equine Hospital, which will make available its facilities and services during the Games period. The hospital has an operation theatre, an anaesthetic and recovery room and a clinical laboratory.

Mr Zeng was shown the horse treadmill, which allows staff to examine the animals' heart and lung functions.

Mr Zeng believed Hong Kong would make every effort to ensure the success of the 2008 Olympic equestrian events. Quoting the motto of the Beijing Olympic Games "One World, One Dream", he said Hong Kong would join hands with Beijing to make the dream come true.

[hkskyline]

Disease fears and politics prompt Beijing's shift on Olympic equestrian event
By CHARLES HUTZLER
11 February 2006

BEIJING (AP) - When officers from the International Equestrian Federation arrived in China's capital to discuss preparations for the horse-riding events at the 2008 Summer Olympics, they were in for an unpleasant surprise.

The federation and Beijing Olympic organizers had bargained for three years over the stringent health regimes needed to protect the show horses from disease.

But during the federation's trip a year ago to discuss plans and tour the proposed venue, a decrepit suburban racetrack, the Chinese announced a change in plans. Beijing could not meet the requirements, they said, and the events should be moved to Hong Kong.

"Their presentations were full of 'everything is impossible'" for Beijing, said Catrin Norinder, a member of the visiting delegation. "I'm not sure they tried very hard."

Though publicly billed as a health issue, the episode had much to do with the communist government's political ambitions for the Olympics.

Worried that Chinese rule over Hong Kong was being strained by democracy protests and the enclave's faltering economy, leaders in Beijing decided an Olympic event in Hong Kong might be an image-booster, according to horse-industry executives, consultants and others involved in or briefed about the discussions.

The leadership "considered this a political issue," Cheng Yu, an official with Beijing Turf and Equestrian Association, a local horse-sports organization, said in an Internet posting to association members.

The change of venue, approved in July by the International Olympic Committee, marked one of the biggest glitches in Beijing's generally smooth preparations for the 2008 Games. The OK came after months of heated politicking between Beijing, the IOC and the federation, the world's governing body for horse sports.

The federation and even some in Hong Kong objected to the transfer. The coastal city is hot, humid and prone to typhoons in the summer, making competitions a health risk for horses. And being so far from Beijing -- about 1,200 miles -- threatens to marginalize equestrian sports at a time when the IOC is trying to reduce the number of sports and costs in staging an Olympics.

Federation officials still feel they were pressured into acquiescing. "We don't want to be seen as a headache, but we have to move horses around," said Frits Sluyter, head of the veterinary department at the federation.

Officials from the Beijing Olympic organizing committee and Chinese agencies formerly in charge of the equestrian venue declined to be interviewed or answer questions submitted in writing by The Associated Press.

The venue switch sheds light on the intense bargaining that accompanies every Olympics, but it also underlines how the 2008 Games are freighted with China's political agenda.

For China, hosting the Olympics has been seen as a moment of national glory. The IOC has walked a fine line, eager to bring the Games to a developing nation and booming sports market while worrying that the government may overly exploit the Olympics for nationalist aims.

The IOC rejected a Chinese proposal to hold the beach volleyball competition in Tiananmen Square, where the military quelled democracy demonstrations in 1989. It has yet to act on Beijing's request that the Olympic torch be carried through Taiwan, the democratic island that has resisted Chinese demands for reunification.

When it came to the equestrian events, however, the IOC relented. An IOC spokesman, Mark Dolley, said equine-health issues led the organizing committee and equestrian federation to propose the change, which the IOC approved as "the best way to ensure excellent conditions for the athlete, horses and competition in general."

Back in 2000 when Beijing bid for the 2008 Games, organizers promised to meet the federation's exacting health requirements, including special quarantine measures and a six-mile disease-free zone around the competition venue. They selected a rundown racetrack on the city's outskirts in the Shunyi district.

Right out of the gate, difficulties arose. Bids were solicited and then canceled. Beijing balked at the expense of the initial proposal, a $150 million facility with seating for 40,000 spectators, equestrian industry executives said.

On the health front, in early 2003 the equestrian federation gave Beijing a four-year schedule for meeting all the health requirements, the group's Sluyter said. Over the next two years, the federation saw no real progress.

"We gave them several plans," said Norinder, head of the group's Olympics and events department. "Every time they said ... it was too complicated."

As planning stumbled, Chinese leaders faced a more urgent crisis. Hong Kong -- the capitalist enclave China took over from Britain in 1997 -- was in trouble. Its once enviable economy was sagging, battered by the SARS outbreak, and popular approval for the Beijing-appointed governor, Tung Chee-hwa, was sinking. Hong Kongers staged three huge democracy protests.

Casting about for ways to shore up Tung's popularity and its own image, the Beijing leadership saw the Olympics as a boon.

"Leaders in finance, government and sports tried to revive the flagging public morale," Bernard Fong, an aide to Timothy Fok, head of Hong Kong's Olympic committee, said in an e-mail.

Tung and Fok, the son of a wealthy Beijing loyalist, had lobbied for an Olympic event in Hong Kong from the moment Beijing won the bid. At meetings with Chinese leaders and Beijing officials, "every time, I took the opportunity to bring this up," said Fok.

By mid-2004, the lobbying was in high gear, and Fok, who is also an IOC member, said the equestrian event seemed ripe for poaching, given the quarantine issues.

In the following months, Beijing Olympic officials dug in their heels on the quarantine and other health issues.

In private discussions with the IOC and equestrian federation, Chinese officials offered a range of explanations for why they could not set up a disease-free zone in Beijing.

Federation officials were told a meat-processing plant near the venue would have to be closed for a month to keep pigs, and their diseases, from passing through the area, Norinder said.

The IOC, meanwhile, was told large numbers of people would need to be relocated. "It could have become a big social issue," said Gilbert Felli, the IOC's executive director for Olympic Games.

Chinese and foreign veterinary experts, however, say the disease issues were resolvable and large numbers of people need not be moved.

Beijing exploited the disease issue to provide cover for the political motives, said horse-industry executives and Lin Degui, a veterinary medicine expert at Beijing's Agricultural University who was consulted on the health plans.

Tensions came to a head early last year. Federation leaders traveled to Beijing hoping to persuade Olympic organizers to reconsider. Instead, the organizers gave them a lengthy presentation on the need to switch to Hong Kong.

Afterward, the delegation, led by federation president Dona Pilar de Borbon, a Spanish princess, was invited to visit the meat-processing plant in Bejing.

She declined. "The president said she didn't come all this way to see a slaughterhouse," Norinder said.

[hkskyline]

Equestrian post seals comeback for Tung aide
Leslie Kwoh
Hong Kong Standard
Saturday, March 04, 2006

Marking another major step in his political comeback, Tung administration top aide Lam Woon-kwong has been named chief executive officer of equestrian events for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.

Lam, who fell from grace more than a year ago, was chosen by the Equestrian Committee to head the company set up by the SAR government to oversee and organize the events that will be held in Hong Kong, it was announced Friday.

"We can be sure that the organizational work of the events is in the best possible hands," said Secretary for Home Affairs Patrick Ho, who was on the committee that chose Lam.

Lam disappeared from the political arena after resigning his post last January, when a magazine published photographs of him at a Tokyo hotel with barrister and former journalist Po Wing- kay. Pro-Democrats, however, claimed the resignation was more the result of a disagreement Lam had with then-chief executive Tung Chee-hwa over the decision to bar Taipei mayor Ma Ying- jeou from visiting Hong Kong.

The Olympics job signals a rapid return to the political stage for Lam, an ally of Chief Executive Donald Tsang who just one week ago was named an adviser to the Bauhinia Foundation Research Center.

The think-tank, spearheaded by ex- senior government officials, has ruffled the feathers of pro-Beijing loyalists, who claim it's little more than a "de facto party" aimed at boosting Tsang's popularity in the run-up to next year's chief executive selection.

But Lam's equestrian post apparently has Beijing's support as Yang Shu'an, executive vice-president of the Beijing Organizing Committee for the 2008 Games, was also a member of the interviewing panel that chose Lam.

Ho, who will chair the company's board of directors, said he and other members of the Equestrian Committee had carefully considered job candidates from Hong Kong and overseas in an open recruitment program.

The committee felt that Lam, who was previously in charge of sports venues in Hong Kong when he was secretary for home affairs, would be able to "deliver a high standard international sporting event," Ho said.

Sports Federation and Olympic Committee of Hong Kong president Timothy Fok said he had pushed for Lam as he had seen his abilities first- hand when the two worked jointly on the application to host the 2006 Asian Games, a bid Hong Kong eventually lost to Doha.

The HK$2.2 million-a-year post will begin March 8 and is expected to last until the end of 2008, at which time the company will be officially disbanded.

[hkskyline]

Horse import arrangements for 2008 Olympic and Paralympic Equestrian Events announced
Monday, March 27, 2006
Government Press Release

The Government today (March 27) announced import arrangements for horses participating in the 2008 Olympic and Paralympic Equestrian Events to be held in Hong Kong.

Speaking at a press conference to announce the import arrangements, the Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food, Dr York Chow said Hong Kong had the experience and credentials in equine health.

"Hong Kong has an overall advantage in organising the events given its extensive experience in horse racing, its status in equine health and its world renowned regulatory framework for equine diseases which is well understood by the international community.

"As the animal health authority in Hong Kong, the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) is responsible for the inspection and quarantine of equestrian horses participating in the Events," Dr Chow said.

Also speaking on the arrangements, the Director of Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation, Mrs Stella Hung, said the import health requirements for equestrian horses had been worked out after consultation with the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE), the International Federation for Equestrian Sports (FEI), the Beijing Organising Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad (BOCOG) and the Hong Kong Jockey Club.

"According to the arrangements, horses for the Events will be imported from various countries via quarantine stables located around several designated transportation hubs," Mrs Hung said.

"Imported horses will be required to undergo a period of seven days pre-export quarantine in overseas quarantine stables and 10 days of post-arrival isolation in Hong Kong.

"To ensure that exotic diseases of concern are not introduced by the imported equestrian horses to Hong Kong’s equine population and to prevent the spread of diseases between competing horses in the events, all imported equestrian horses will be inspected and quarantined and should show no clinical signs of diseases, and undergo relevant tests and vaccinations before entering Hong Kong.

"These imported equestrian horses shall be accompanied by health certificates issued by the veterinary authority of the exporting places.

"AFCD will issue special permits for the importation of these equestrian horses. Applications for the permits will be processed six month prior to the Events.

"We will review the arrangements to take into account prevailing equine disease conditions in other countries and places and introduce relevant arrangements when necessary."

Details of the horse import arrangements will be uploaded onto AFCD’s website (www.afcd.gov.hk) for general information.

[hkskyline]

購良駒下苦功 亞洲賽創佳績
港馬術代表矢志參戰奧運
07/04/2006
太陽報

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距離○八年北京奧運還有兩年時間，香港的馬術代表隊已經「落重本」備戰，有隊員率先花費數百萬元購買合乎奧運馬術障礙賽要求的名種馬匹。隊員不斷下苦功，在奧運前夕再為港增光，本月初於吉隆坡舉行的亞洲馬術障礙挑戰賽中，囊括冠軍至第四名，成為港隊出外參賽以來最好成績的一次。但港隊要達標參賽奧運，仍要面對馬匹水平、經費和選手資格三大難關，可謂困難重重。

今次出賽吉隆坡的成員包括麥雪莉、唐靜宜、張仁慧、唐美宜及鄭文傑，首四名運動員依次分別獲得冠、亞、季及第四名的佳績。五人現時正接受密集式訓練，備戰兩星期後再於吉隆坡舉行的世界杯馬術障礙賽決賽。

擲數百萬購參賽馬
在高手雲集的亞洲障礙挑戰賽中勇奪冠軍的麥雪莉今年十八歲，在港島中學就讀十三級，已學習馬術十二年。她對馬術熱情甚至感染了父母一起接觸馬匹。為備戰奧運，麥雪莉不但拚命練習，還特別花上數百萬元購買全港唯一一匹符合參加奧運基本資格、可以跨越一點六米欄的障礙賽參賽馬，而一匹合資格的馬最少要港幣四百萬。但因美國籍的麥雪莉並非本港永久居民，目前正等候香港奧委會審批她的資格是否可代表港隊參賽。

然而，對於政府在馬術方面的推廣不足，對馬術活動不支持，麥雪莉略有微言：「美國及香港都有人騎馬，但美國更多人騎更多人睇，我希望政府可以資助騎術學校，令這運動在香港普及化！」

同樣是十八歲的鄭文傑，父親鄭啟明是馬術練，母親鄔雲拿更曾連續取得兩屆，包括騎術在內的「全國現代五項」冠軍，耳濡目染下，他六歲開始學習馬術，曾代表香港贏得多個國際賽獎項。為出戰年底多哈亞運會，本月中他會與父母飛抵歐洲揀馬。

多哈亞運奪獎有望
運動員出錢出力為港爭光，香港賽馬會馬術經理兼練米卓龍料，雖然多哈亞運中香港的對手擁有世界最強的五十匹馬，其中沙特阿拉伯的代表更是奧運銅牌得主，坐騎身價過千萬，但港隊隊員是有潛質，努力加上地利仍有機會取得獎牌。他說：「如果場地質地較軟，對港隊較有利！」

[hkth]

From news.gov.hk:
Horse venues on track for Olympic events (http://news.gov.hk/en/category/healthandcommunity/060809/features/html/060809en05001.htm)

[hkskyline]

Related thread on the history of the equestrian event moving to Hong Kong :
http://skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=201221

[hkskyline]

Exhibition on Olympic Games extends to August 20
Sunday, August 13, 2006
Government Press Release

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Due to a favourable response, an exhibition on the Olympic Games being staged at the arcade (adjacent to the indoor pools) at Kowloon Park will be extended until August 20 to let more people know about the Games.

The exhibition, entitled "Two-year Countdown to the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games - Exhibition on Olympic Games", which is co-ordinated by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) has run from 9am to 9pm daily since August 6. Admission is free.

An LCSD spokesman said, "As those who have gone to the exhibition found it interesting and informative, we have decided to run the exhibition until August 20, enabling more people to have the opportunity to go to the exhibition and learn about the Olympic Games."

The exhibition panels feature a brief introduction to the Olympic Games, 28 Olympic summer sports, achievements and highlights of the National Teams of China and Hong Kong Teams in the previous Games and the preparation for the equestrian events.

The history of the Olympics on video and the footage of China and Hong Kong athletes winning medals will be shown.

Visitors will be able to use the computer kiosks installed at the exhibition to surf for information on the Beijing Olympics, the 2009 East Asian Games and related websites.

Olympic memorabilia, such as mascots, first day covers and pins, will also be displayed.

[hkth]

From news.gov.hk:
Olympic body happy with HK's progress (http://news.gov.hk/en/category/healthandcommunity/060815/html/060815en05005.htm)

[hkth]

From news.gov.hk:
WK Lam ready for action (http://news.gov.hk/en/category/healthandcommunity/060823/features/html/060823en05004.htm)

[hkth]

From news.gov.hk:
Gearing up for the Olympics (http://news.gov.hk/en/category/healthandcommunity/060823/features/html/060823en05001.htm)

[hkth]

From news.gov.hk:
HK, Beijing sign equestrian pact (http://news.gov.hk/en/category/healthandcommunity/060831/html/060831en05003.htm)

[hkth]

From news.gov.hk:
Olympics exhibition returns to Kowloon Park (http://news.gov.hk/en/category/healthandcommunity/060901/html/060901en05005.htm)

[hkskyline]

Hong Kong faces race to complete equestrian facilities

HONG KONG, Sept 1 (Reuters) - Hong Kong faces a tight race to complete venues in time to host equestrian events for the 2008 Olympics, the incoming chairman of the Hong Kong Jockey Club was quoted as saying in a local newspaper on Friday.

John Chan, who was elected chairman on Thursday, was reported by the South China Morning Post as saying the territory faced a "race against time," to finish building the facilities.

"Everything has gone to our timetable but it is a tight timetable nevertheless and there is not a moment to be lost," Chan was quoted as saying.

However, Chan also said construction work on the Olympics equestrian facilities, including converting a golf course into a cross-country venue, had "proceeded very smoothly," according to the newspaper.

Beijing, which is hosting the 2008 Olympics, controversially decided to shift the equestrian events to Hong Kong because Games organisers could not guarantee a disease-free area for horses in the Chinese capital.

The facilities are expected to cost up to HK$800 million (US$103 million) to construct.

[hkth]

Gov't Press Release:
SHA congratulates Nelson Yip on qualifying for Paralympic equestrian events (http://info.gov.hk/gia/general/200609/05/P200609050189.htm)

[hkskyline]

HK earmarked as training base for foreign stars
17 September 2006
South China Morning Post

Hong Kong's role in the 2008 Beijing Olympics could be much greater than hosting the equestrian events because several countries are considering using the SAR as a base for their assault on the games.

National athletics associations, including those of the US, Britain and Australia, have shown an interest in making Hong Kong their home-away-from-home as they prepare for the games and for next year's world championships in Osaka.

Among the stars tipped to prepare here is British distance-running queen Paula Radcliffe (pictured).

The British team are also considering basing part of their squad in Macau.

Alan Storey, technical director for UK Athletics' endurance squad, said that Macau would probably be the base for the majority of the Britain team for both big events, while the distance runners would be based here.

"We have looked at Macau and it works for virtually all parts of our sport, except endurance," Storey said.

"Our first thoughts are that only the endurance runners will stay in Hong Kong. We expect a team of 50-60 runners in Osaka next year and - including the World Marathon Cup - that would give us around 20 endurance athletes.

"We would bring coaches, medics and administration assistants with us, so the total would be in the region of 30."

British team managers could be in for a disappointment if they don't choose their preferred location and book accommodation soon, as the American athletics team have already sent a representative here to check out the facilities, while the Australians have also earmarked Hong Kong as a potential base for Olympic acclimatisation.

[hkskyline]

Equestrian chief wants HK rider in Olympics
Hong Kong Standard
Tuesday, October 31, 2006

Hong Kong has a real chance of being represented at the equestrian events for the 2008 Olympics, according to the new president of the Hong Kong Equestrian Federation, Simon Ip Sik-on.

Ip acknowledged there was little time left before the start of the Olympics. "But I still think it's possible. I'm staying optimistic [about having a Hong Kong rider in the events]," he said.

Ip said not only would they need to find the right athlete, but also the right horse, before the team could reach the right standards.

"But it's not impossible," he said. "Even just participating will be a huge honor and having a Hong Kong representative will make the event far more meaningful for the Hong Kong public."

And while Hong Kong equestrian schools increase their efforts to find a future Olympian, they will also have a role to play in the publicity push to educate and promote equestrian events.

Ip acknowledged in an interview with Sing Tao Daily, sister newspaper of The Standard, that the sport was "foreign" to many and that the public will have to be educated about the sport before they can fully appreciate it.

Over the next six months, the federation will host promotional events, with the help of the Education and Manpower Bureau and the Leisure and Cultural Services Department.

On December 17, an equestrian school in Tuen Mun will be open to the public for a promotional event, and that will be followed by galas later.

An education kit comprising booklets and a CD will also be produced to help teachers promote the sport to children.

Ip hoped teachers would incorporate the information in physical education classes.

He also hoped to organize students to attend an exhibition equestrian event in August next year which will test Hong Kong's Olympic equestrian facilities.

The promotional events will focus on attracting youth but Ip hoped they will also educate the wider public.

A special video will also be broadcast on buses and public sports grounds. "Education is the best way of promotion," Ip said, but the problem at the moment is that even the educators have to be taught the basics about equestrian sport.

"I believe that after active promotion [in addition to the 2008 spectacle] the people wanting to participate in this sport will increase," he said, adding he thought the Hong Kong public was already enthusiastic about the big event.

Ip took over as president of the federation in September.

He said he felt no pressure despite being in charge of promoting a "foreign" sport to the Hong Kong public in time for the Olympics.

In fact, he said his greatest job satisfaction came from "project-oriented tasks" which required certain achievements within a timetable.

Ip said he has been a lifelong fan of equestrian sport and that all his family members can ride horses.

[hkth]

From news.gov.hk:
Equestrian games to recruit 1,800 volunteers (http://news.gov.hk/en/category/healthandcommunity/061117/html/061117en05002.htm)

[xiaoluis]

good news.!

[hkth]

From news.gov.hk:
Olympic equestrian volunteers wanted (http://news.gov.hk/en/category/healthandcommunity/061123/html/061123en05002.htm)

[hkth]

Gov't Press Release:
Jumping Fence Design Competition for HK Equestrian Events (http://info.gov.hk/gia/general/200611/27/P200611270119.htm)

[hkth]

From news.gov.hk:
3,600 register as Equestrian Events volunteers (http://news.gov.hk/en/category/healthandcommunity/061201/html/061201en05004.htm)

[hkskyline]

Equestrian facilities work right on track
Michael Ng
Hong Kong Standard
Saturday, December 02, 2006

Construction work on the facilities for the 2008 Olympics' equestrian events at Sha Tin Racecourse is on schedule as a result of fine summer weather conditions, the Hong Kong Jockey Club's corporate development director Kim Mak Kin-wah said.

He also said that while the Beijing Olympic Games Organizing Committee has already announced details of its ticket sales, the club had not yet received details on the ticket arrangements for the equestrian events.

In a press briefing Friday announcing a Beijing Olympic Games Preparatory Exhibition to be hosted at Sha Tin Racecourse on December 9 and 10, Mak said construction work of all equestrian facilities were well within time frames.

"Given the late announcement in awarding the Olympics equestrian event to the SAR, we just had two years in which to prepare," Mak said. "But with the fine weather during summer, we are now well within our proposed schedule."

A club spokesman said the construction of a dozen exercise and trotting rings for competition horses had already been completed.

"The building of stables to accommodate 200 competition horses are half completed and we expected them to be finished by the first half of next year," the spokesman said.

He said building of the equestrian event stadium and the media center is still on hold, as the Hong Kong Sports Institute has yet to hand over the site.

This was expected around January 1 after Hong Kong athletes return from the Asian Games in Doha and move out of their flats on the proposed site.

The other site being prepared is at the Jockey Club's spelling stables and golf course at Beas River, where the cross-country event will be held. The spokesman said this should be ready by the first half of 2008.

Mak said an equestrian "test" event scheduled for August 2007 will offer Hong Kong organizers the chance to familiarize themselves with the logistics, and athlete and medal presentation arrangements.

The spokesman said the club's equine hospital and laboratory, which helped with equine sample testing during the 2002 Asian Games in Pusan, South Korea, and the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece, would provide the manpower and conduct laboratory tests for the August test event.

Last month Beijing organizers said the prices of tickets for the Games would range from less than 10 yuan (HK$9.90) for students to 5,000 yuan for the opening ceremony.

However, Mak said the club had not received any pricing formula for the equestrian events in Hong Kong.

"As you must understand, these events are part of the Beijing Olympics so the information must be provided by the organizing committee in Beijing," he said.

For the exhibition next weekend, models of Beijing's National Stadium and National Aquatic Center will be on display, while 500 secondary school students will be invited to meet China's first Winter Olympics gold medalist - speed skater Ye Qiaobao - during the opening ceremony on December 9.

Five Beijing Olympic mascots, collectively named FuWa, will also attend the exhibition to meet Hong Kong residents.

Mak said since December 10 was also a race day, only those aged 18 and above would be admitted to the exhibition. As such, he advised youngsters to turn up on December 9 instead.

Asked if the club were interested in selling FuWa souvenirs in Hong Kong, Mak said it would look into the possibility though the final decision lay with the organizing committee in Beijing.

[hkskyline]

3,600 register as Equestrian Events volunteers
Friday, December 1, 2006
Government Press Release

The following is issued on behalf of The Equestrian Company:

More than 3,600 registrations have been received by the Equestrian Company in its recruitment of volunteers to help with the smooth running of the Equestrian Events of the 2008 Olympic Games to be staged in Hong Kong.

Ninety-nine per cent of these applications were received on-line, in line with the spirit of a Green Olympics and High-tech Olympics, Chief Executive Officer of the Equestrian Company, Mr Lam Woon-kwong, said tonight (December 1).

Around 1,800 Volunteers need to be recruited to serve in the equestrian events in 2008 as well as the test event in August next year, Mr Lam said during a festival "lighting-up" ceremony at Tsuen Wan.

Appealing to those interested in rendering community service, Mr Lam said those who were not selected in the first round would be selected in the following two rounds.

The first batch of 90 to 100 volunteers recruited will become trainer-volunteers who are expected to help train others.

Those interested in applying can register at www.equestrian2008.org

Applicants can be of any nationality who have the right to enter and stay in Hong Kong during the training and service periods.

Trainer-volunteers are expected to serve from April next year until September 2008, when the Paralympics are over.

Deadline for application to become a trainer-volunteer is December 22, 2006.

[hkth]

Gov't Press Release:
HK and the Netherlands sign import and export protocol for 2008 equestrian event horses (http://info.gov.hk/gia/general/200612/13/P200612130191.htm)

[hkth]

From news.gov.hk:
Equestrian promotion to launch (http://news.gov.hk/en/category/healthandcommunity/061213/html/2e0ddd94-8035-44b5-a318-d53e0284df9f.htm)

[hkth]

From news.gov.hk:
Last call for Olympic volunteer applications (http://news.gov.hk/en/category/healthandcommunity/061219/html/061219en05003.htm)

[hkth]

From news.gov.hk:
Equestrian show set for New Year's Eve (http://news.gov.hk/en/category/infrastructureandlogistics/061222/html/061222en06008.htm)

[hkskyline]

More 7,000 people apply as Olympic Equestrian volunteers
18 January 2007

HONG KONG (AP) - Organizers of the equestrian events for the 2008 Summer Olympics will select their first batch of volunteers next week from more than 7,000 hopefuls.

Some 100 leader-volunteers will initially be chosen for the Hong Kong-based events, with the unsuccessful applicants invited to reapply for general volunteer positions, according to organizers, The Equestrian Company.

A total of 1,800 people will be chosen as volunteers at the equestrian events, working in areas including translation, medical care, public relations, said The Equestrian Company's Alexia Chan.

After Beijing won the bid to host the 2008 Games, it received permission to move the equestrian events to Hong Kong because of concerns about equine diseases on the mainland. Hong Kong has a horse racing tradition and experience working with the animals.

[hkth]

Gov't Press Release:
Gov't sets up Beijing Olympic Equestrian Events HK Fund (http://info.gov.hk/gia/general/200701/24/P200701240121.htm)

[hkskyline]

Olympics-Hong Kong sets up equestrian fund to boost enthusiasm

HONG KONG, Jan 24 (Reuters) - Hong Kong set up an Olympic fund on Wednesday to drum up community support for the city's hosting of equestrian events at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

The fund, chaired by former Justice Secretary Elsie Leung, will raise money from businesses and the public to support cultural, education and community involvement.

"The fund will also help enhance ... the value of sports in general and the Olympic spirit in particular," said a spokesman for the Home Affairs Bureau.

While horse-racing and gambling on it are wildly popular in Hong Kong, equestrian remains a fringe sport in the densely packed city.

The public has largely welcomed the chance to host an Olympics event, but there has been criticism from some quarters that the millions invested in equestrian infrastructure will ultimately go to waste.

Beijing, which is hosting the 2008 Olympics, controversially decided to shift the equestrian events to Hong Kong because Games organisers could not guarantee a disease-free area for horses in the Chinese capital.

Three equestrian events -- dressage, show-jumping and eventing -- will be held in new facilities costing HK$800 million ($103 million), including a stadium and cross country course constructed over part of an existing golf course.

[hkth]

From news.gov.hk:
Veteran horse lover shares equestrian fun (http://news.gov.hk/en/category/healthandcommunity/070130/features/html/070130en05001.htm)

[hkth]

From news.gov.hk:
Innovative equestrian fence design wanted (http://news.gov.hk/en/category/healthandcommunity/070130/features/html/070130en05002.htm)

[hkth]

From news.gov.hk:
Intensive training set for equestrian volunteers (http://news.gov.hk/en/category/healthandcommunity/070224/html/070224en05002.htm)

[hkth]

Gov't Press Release:
Entries pour in for Equestrian jumping fence design competition (with photo) (http://info.gov.hk/gia/general/200703/13/P200703130188.htm)

[hkth]

Yesterday's Gov't Press Release:
Hong Kong rides high to inaugurate 2008 Beijing Olympics 500-day Countdown (with photos) (http://info.gov.hk/gia/general/200703/27/P200703270232.htm)

[hkth]

From news.gov.hk:
HK people embrace equestrian events (http://news.gov.hk/en/category/healthandcommunity/070327/features/html/070327en05001.htm)

[hkth]

Yesterday's Gov't Press Release:
Olympic Equestrian Jumping Fence winning designs on display (with photos) (http://info.gov.hk/gia/general/200704/12/P200704120195.htm)

[hkth]

From news.gov.hk:
Equestrian marketing programme launches (http://news.gov.hk/en/category/healthandcommunity/070522/html/070522en05001.htm)

RTHK news:
HK businesses urged to support Olympics (http://www.rthk.org.hk/rthk/news/englishnews/20070522/news_20070522_56_402383.htm)

[hkth]

From news.gov.hk:
Olympic equestrian sponsors wanted (http://news.gov.hk/en/category/healthandcommunity/070608/html/070608en05005.htm)

[hkth]

Gov't Press Release:
International horses arrive for Good Luck Beijing Equestrian Events (http://info.gov.hk/gia/general/200707/28/P200707270323.htm)

[hkth]

RTHK News:
Equestrian events could be cancelled if weather too hot (http://www.rthk.org.hk/rthk/news/englishnews/20070802/news_20070802_56_420823.htm)

[hkth]

From news.gov.hk:
Equestrian contest experience essential (http://news.gov.hk/en/category/healthandcommunity/070808/html/070808en05008.htm)

[hkth]

Gov't Press Release:
Chief Executive urges New Zealanders to saddle up for 2008 Equestrian Events (with photos) (http://info.gov.hk/gia/general/200709/11/P200709110130.htm)

[hkth]

From news.gov.hk:
Medals to raise $10m for equestrian events (http://news.gov.hk/en/category/healthandcommunity/071018/features/html/071018en05003.htm)

[hkth]

RTHK News:
Govt says money on Olympic equestrian events is well spent (http://www.rthk.org.hk/rthk/news/englishnews/20071110/news_20071110_56_445635.htm)

[EricIsHim]

US rider in Hong Kong faces dilemma: change citizenship or miss Olympics
15 hours ago

HONG KONG (AFP) — Jennifer Lee is facing a dilemma of Olympic proportions. To get a place in the Hong Kong equestrian team, she will have to give up her US citizenship -- and officially become a Chinese national.

"It's a very serious thing to have to contemplate," the 42-year-old Virginian told AFP.

The Beijing Games offer the former riding teacher a shot at Olympic showjumping glory because as hosts, Hong Kong automatically gets to enter riders in the equestrian events as long as they meet a minimum standard.

Lee's riding ability isn't at issue. She is under pressure to change her nationality as local sports authorities have so far failed to grant her an exception that would allow her to ride for the local team as a foreigner.

She says she meets the conditions to win an exemption and be allowed to ride for Hong Kong.

"You have to live in Hong Kong, have a close relative who is Chinese, and have a good reason - which the Olympics would be," she said.

"I have been in Hong Kong for 14 years, I'm married to a local, my two kids are half Chinese and were born here. I am a permanent resident."

Hong Kong allows citizens to hold two passports but the territory is now part of China. And taking on Chinese nationality, she says, means giving up any other passports.

"If I give it up, I have to apply for a visa to go to the United States as a foreigner and they don't give visas easily. You have to jump through all sorts of hoops," Lee said.

Along with concerns about being able to quickly reach her mother and grandmother in case of a family emergency, there are implications for her own children, aged five and eight.

"My father-in-law is most concerned about the impact on my children, and it's difficult to know about these things before you get into the situation," she said.

There is little doubt that Lee has the ability to obtain the "minimum eligibility standard" certificate to qualify to compete, said the secretary of the Hong Kong Equestrian Federation (HKEF), Soenke Lauterbach.

Lee "is riding at that level," he said. "She has a good chance and she is confident she will qualify."

But unless she is granted a special dispensation on the nationality issue -- which has been extended to athletes representing Hong Kong in the past - she will not be entitled to represent the territory, Lauterbach said.

Her exclusion from the squad could mean Hong Kong will be unable to field a complete team for the three equestrian events -- jumping, dressage and eventing despite being granted a wild card as host.

It could also undermine efforts to drum up local enthusiasm for the equestrian events, with legislators expressing alarm at the lack of public interest in the Games, which begin on August 8.

The Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC), which controls all equestrian pursuits in the territory, has provided 20 million Hong Kong dollars (2.57 million US) to help support and train the selected riders, four of whom were named last week.

Lauterbach said that meeting nationality requirements was a condition of receiving the Jockey Club sponsorship.

Olympic eligibility rules were designed to prevent teams buying talent from other countries, but both the International Olympic Committee and the International Equestrian Federation can grant exceptions.

The South China Morning Post newspaper quoted an unnamed sports official as saying the Hong Kong Olympic Committee had pressured the HKJC and HKEF "to guarantee ... that the riders who would get the money would be eligible to represent Hong Kong at the Olympics, otherwise it was going to be a major problem".

Jockey Club sources told AFP that exceptions must be recommended by national Olympic committees.

In Lee's case, that recommendation must come from the Sports Federation and Olympic Committee (SF&OC) of Hong Kong.

In response to requests for comment, the honourary secretary of the SF&OC, Pang Chung said in an email: "We are not in a position to give concrete response in the matter at present as we are now in discussion with the Hong Kong Equestrian Federation for the way forward.

In the meantime, Lee remains on tenterhooks as she mulls the implications of changing her nationality from American to Chinese.

"Every athlete dreams of going to the Olympics," she said. "It's just that this is such a big ask."

-------------------------
http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5gMKJdoOdPla06rNW_ok3Hin0Ac7A

[EricIsHim]

Virginia Tech vet chosen to care for Olympic horses
The equestrian events for the 2008 games will be held in Hong Kong, not Beijing.

By Greg Esposito

A recent addition to the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine at Virginia Tech will be spending next summer in China, caring for horses in the 2008 Olympics.

David Hodgson has been selected as one of about 20 official Olympic Committee veterinarians, caring for about 200 horses that will be competing in the games. After a veterinary career that took him from his native Australia to Washington State University and back, David Hodgson and his family relocated to Blacksburg this summer. He heads the Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences at the vet school.

Hodgson specializes in internal medicine and has a doctorate in equine sports medicine. But he and the other vets at the games will treat a variety of ailments, from leg injuries to coughs and colds commonly suffered by horses after a long trip.

Keeping the horses cool in the heat of the summer in Hong Kong will be another challenge, he said. Because of quarantine restrictions for horses entering mainland China, the equestrian events will be held in Hong Kong, not Beijing. That should benefit the horses, Hodgson said, as air quality problems should not be an issue as some fear it will be in Northern China.

Hodgson has taken two trips to Hong Kong in the past few months and said the venue looks amazing. He has served as a veterinarian in past world championship events as well as at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney. He will spend five weeks in Hong Kong, starting in mid-July when the horses arrive.

Until then he'll be in Blacksburg, his new home. Hodgson admitted that relocating to the New River Valley may seem like an unusual career move for an Aussie with ties to the Pacific Northwest. But Mark Crisman, a colleague of his from Washington State who's now at Tech, encouraged him to make the move for years. Hodgson visited and liked what he saw.

"I told my wife, 'Mark's always been pestering me about Blacksburg. Let's do something different; let's see if there's anything here.' It was really as simple as that."

[hkth]

Gov't Press Release:
Beijing 2008 Olympic Games Equestrian Commemorative Medallion issued (http://info.gov.hk/gia/general/200712/13/P200712130188.htm)

[hkth]

From news.gov.hk:
Equestrian volunteer hopefuls urged to apply (http://news.gov.hk/en/category/healthandcommunity/071227/html/071227en05007.htm)

[hkth]

Gov't Press Release:
Swiss equestrian team pulls out (http://info.gov.hk/gia/general/200801/10/P200801100147.htm)

[hkth]

From news.gov.hk:
Equestrian venues to get weather forecasts (http://www.news.gov.hk/en/category/environment/080216/html/080216en04002.htm)

[hkskyline]

Equestrian events to spur room rates leap
Hong Kong Standard
Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Hotel room rates are expected to jump by 8 to 10 percent this year despite an expected 85 percent occupancy, the hotels chief said yesterday.
Federation of Hong Kong Hotel Owners executive director Michael Li Hon-shing blamed the increase on rising operational costs and the anticipated increase in demand as a result of the Olympic equestrian events in August.

However, confusion in the sale of tickets could result in Hong Kong losing some of the trade with sports fans unable to make concrete bookings in time, he said.

According to trade statistics, rates were raised by 10 to 12 percent last year as Hong Kong's economy took off after years of stagnation. The overall occupancy was around 85 percent, the same figure being projected for this year.

But operational costs have risen at least 10 percent due to inflation and the depreciation of the Hong Kong dollar, Li said.

He estimated the equestrian events could bring in 3,000 to 5,000 contestants, media representatives, fans and horse owners to Hong Kong, with many staying at five-star hotels. But except for hotels in the "Olympic village," most have not received many bookings, Li said.

Li said many European and Australian fans are unable, or do not know how or when, to get tickets, making it difficult to make occupancy estimates. He urged the Olympic organizing committee to start selling the remaining tickets in April or May instead of July as previously scheduled.

"If they start selling in July, many European or Australian travelers will have given up because it takes a long time to plan such trips," he said.

Li said the sector was also concerned at the possible loss of mainland visitors on the Individual Visit Scheme, and this could have an adverse impact on the three-star hotel market.

"The Olympics is a popular topic among Chinese," Li said. "Many consider it a national pride. We do not know if those who are unable to go to Beijing will stay at home to watch the Games on TV or travel to Hong Kong."

Li said more should be done to promote Hong Kong as an Olympic destination although he was pleased to note the government intends to spend about HK$200 million to showcase the event.

He also criticized some lawmakers, saying they had little idea how tourism works.

The result of promoting Hong Kong is long- term and intangible, he said, adding it is "idiotic" to judge the spending using a visitor head count.

[hkth]

Gov't Press Release:
Equestrian sport among floral displays (http://info.gov.hk/gia/general/200803/12/P200803120096.htm)

[hkth]

Gov't Press Release:
S for S (Secretary for Security): Police will ensure smooth running of Equestrian Events (http://info.gov.hk/gia/general/200804/01/P200804010196.htm)

[hkskyline]

Warning goes out to the Olympic spoilers
Hong Kong Standard
Wednesday, April 02, 2008

Hong Kong security chief Ambrose Lee Siu-kwong told lawmakers yesterday the Immigration Department will turn away unwanted persons from the territory during the Beijing Olympics.

Speaking at a Finance Committee special meeting on the 2008/09 budget, Lee said the government is prepared to refuse entry to those aiming to cause trouble during the Games.

He stressed, however that it is not barring protesters "except for those who intend to spoil the solemn Olympic Games."

Lee's remarks elicited a reaction from veteran activist-turned-lawmaker "Long Hair" Leung Kwok-hung, who wanted Lee to define the kind of protesters classified as such.

"How can you strike a balance? To maintain a solemn Games, do you mean human rights will be swept into the bin?" Leung asked.

To this, Lee replied: "The core values of Hong Kong include the freedom to protest and freedom [of speech] to speak.

"We will act [according to the law] to safeguard the public and [to] enforce the law as well."

Lee said police will adopt a multi-agency approach and an effective operation strategy for the duration of the games and the equestrian events in Hong Kong.

Lee denied Leung's request to make a categorical statement allowing all protesters to enter Hong Kong.

He said it would depend on the decision of the Immigration Department and on individual circumstances.

Lee also refused to answer whether there is an immigration blacklist.

With the surge of protests in Tibet and elsewhere, the Olympic torch global relay is expected to draw protests along its route.

Hong Kong is already on the agenda of Reporters With Borders, which is expected to make their presence felt when the Olympic torch arrives on May 2 and during the equestrian events.

Last week, the Falun Gong slammed Hong Kong's strict immigration control in the runup to the August Games, claiming hundreds of its members were prevented from attending a human rights awareness event.

Falun Dafa spokesman Kan Hung- cheung expressed concern saying Hong Kong is a free city, "but we regret the SAR government is more and more controlled by the mainland regime." Falun Gong is banned in the mainland but is legal in Hong Kong.

Meanwhile, the Immigration Department will make available 10 e-channels at border crossings dedicated to making life easier for those following the Olympics.

Director of Immigration Peh Yun-lu said the extra e-channels should not deter the public from using the current immigration facilities.

[hkskyline]

Olympic logo given pride of place
Hong Kong Standard
Tuesday, April 15, 2008

The five-ringed Olympic symbol will add a HK$7.5 million glow to Hong Kong's iconic Victoria Harbour.

The familiar Olympic symbol will be put up at an eye-catching site outside the Museum of Art in Tsim Sha Tsui as a part of the HK$17.8 million Beijing Olympics promotion campaign designed by the Hong Kong Tourism Board.

The board is also spending HK$5 million, plus HK$3 million in sponsorships, to build an Olympic Piazza in the area.

Tourism Board executive director Anthony Lau Chun-hon hopes the logo will impress overseas TV audiences as much as it did when it adorned the Sydney Harbour Bridge in 2000.

Construction of the 15 meter by 35m symbol is due to be completed on May 1 and will be displayed until December 31.

The best view will be from Golden Bauhinia Square in Wan Chai. Lau said the board had considered several other sites, including pier terminals in Central, the General Post Office and City Hall.

The International Olympic Committee does not want the five rings to be displayed near any commercial elements.

Putting it outside the museum will provide a quiet background without competing with other neon signboards.

The Olympic Piazza outside the Hong Kong Cultural Centre is expected to attract 10,000 visitors a day during its operation between July 25 and August 24.

The highlight of the piazza is the giant television screen on the center's curved wall. It will broadcast live games, highlights and other Olympic-related clips. The piazza comprises two zones, one with TVs streaming the games and the other an exhibition.

[hkskyline]

http://the-sun.on.cc/channels/news/20080417/img/a200417b_big.jpg

http://the-sun.on.cc/channels/news/20080417/img/a200417a_big.jpg

[hkskyline]

Super grass set for equine events
Hong Kong Standard
Thursday, April 24, 2008

Special turf designed for Hong Kong's climate is in "good condition" for the Olympic equestrian events, according to experts who carried out tests on the grounds.
More than 45,000 square meters of Bermuda grass was brought in from the mainland to lay training and jumping grounds for the Olympic events. The world-class grass will drain heavy rain expected in the summer and provide horses with good protection when they land after jumps.

It can absorb up to 200 millimeters of rain per day and withstand typhoon conditions.

The grass has been planted in jump zones and a cross-country course at the Hong Kong Golf Club and a warm-up area at Beas River Country Club since 2006.

"When the club started the construction work on the water jump, parts of the turf on the Hong Kong Golf Club were not so good as they were not being used," Jockey Club turf expert Cheung Tsz-yin said. "After two years of care, the turf for the Olympic cross-country course is now healthy." To improve the drainage of the cross- country course, some of the soil was replaced by sand, in which Bermuda grass can grow.

Some Zoysia grass - which can grow in limited light - was planted in shaded areas at the golf club after an Olympic test event last August to upgrade the turf.

[hkth]

Gov't Press Release:
HKETO (Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office) in San Francisco promotes Olympic Equestrian Events in Bay Area Trade Expo (English only) (with photos) (http://info.gov.hk/gia/general/200805/21/P200805210081.htm)

[hkskyline]

Riders to jump for joy at high-tech venue
Hong Kong Standard
Friday, May 23, 2008

The Hong Kong Jockey Club is sparing no expense in its meticulous planning for the Olympics this August, pouring HK$22 million into its dressage and jumping arena at the Hong Kong Olympic Equestrian Venue in Sha Tin.

With a perfect all-weather surface fit for 99 percent of the events, footing at the 105 by 75 meter main competition arena is made up of five layers of soil imported from China and Europe.

Designed by German engineers, the footing's top layers are bonded by a mixture of sand and quartz complemented with geo-textiles and fibers. Underneath, a perforated rubber mat is sandwiched between small and large granite chips.

Capable of draining 100 millimeters of rainwater an hour, the footing sits atop the old Hong Kong Sports Institute southwest football pitch, utilizing an environment- friendly drainage system that saves both money and materials, said Jockey Club project manager Julian Wright.

"This means you can restart competition very quickly after the rain starts to subside. The fiber and how the footing is put together allows for a little bit of spring so show jumping horses can get a grip, and it also allows enough flexibility for horses to twist," he said.

In all, 16,000 tonnes of sand have been used at the HK$1.2 billion venue with 13 training areas sharing a common design with the 18,000-seat main competition arena.

Aside from construction, transport, veterinarian, and waste disposal duties for the Games, the club has also brought in a laser-guided hydraulic leveler to build and maintain surfaces.

The HK$1 million hardware keeps a 0.5 percent gradient on either side of the arena for surface drainage.

With the events scheduled in the evening - for cooler temperatures and simultaneous broadcasts in Europe - the open-air arena is also high-definition broadcast friendly, illuminated by four sets of 40-meter floodlights each fitted with 100 lightbulbs.

Meticulously angled to provide maximum lighting and to reduce the risk of horses getting spooked by their own shadows, even the color of the arena's sand is tested to ensure it complements lighting conditions.

The arena is nearing completion with the arrival of custom-made jumps from Europe, HK$10 million in banners and flags and HK$1 million in flowers and plants.

The first air-conditioned indoor equine training area is only a stone's throw from the Olympic venue's stables and warm- up areas.

[hkskyline]

Tourism struggles to cash in on Olympics
Hong Kong Standard
Tuesday, May 27, 2008

The Olympics is less than three months away but there is still no sign of a stampede of visitors, the Hong Kong Tourism Board said.

Only about 50 percent of the available hotel rooms have been booked for the Olympic month of August, which is even 10 percent less than it was this time last year.

Board chairman James Tien Pei- chun confessed yesterday there was nothing the board could do to boost bookings other than continue with the planned promotion activities.

Federation of Hong Kong Hotel Owners executive director Michael Li Hon-shing described the bookings as "unsatisfactory."

He attributed this to the equestrian events' lack of appeal. "Even [the government] has no idea how many spectators the events could attract," Li said.

He said the complicated procedures introduced when applying for mainland visas and the Sichuan earthquake had also lowered the interest of tourists, who may have planned to visit the mainland after the events in Hong Kong.

However, Tien is confident total tourist arrivals in August will show a single digit growth when compared with last August, which recorded a 17 percent growth over the previous year.

Tien said the board had tried to assess the impact the Sichuan earthquake would have on Hong Kong tourism but could not arrive at a figure. He said tourists from Sichuan accounted for less than 1 percent of the annual total tourist arrivals of 28 million last year.

Mainland tourist arrivals between May 13 - the day after the earthquake - and May 25 showed a 25 percent rise on the same period last year.

Tien said this was because most tourists made their travel plans before the earthquake struck.

Meanwhile, Tien kicked off the HK$32 million promotion called Hong Kong Summer Temptations.

Between July 1 and September 21, tourists will get stamps from 18 designated attractions, including the two theme parks, the Avenue of Stars and The Peak with which they can redeem gifts.

Other activities include a lucky draw with prizes worth HK$1.2 million, special retail and hotel offers, free MTR tour guide books and the opening of the Hong Kong Olympic Piazza.

Tien also revealed former executive director Clara Chong Ming-wah had not yet refunded the HK$140,000 spent on medical insurance for her family. Executive director Lau Chun-hon has been asked to pursue the matter.

[hkth]

Gov't Press Release:
LCQ12: Impact of air quality and weather conditions on the Olympic equestrian events (http://info.gov.hk/gia/general/200805/28/P200805280193.htm)

[hkskyline]

Club hands over equestrian venue
Hong Kong Standard
Tuesday, May 27, 2008

The Hong Kong Jockey Club's Olympic venue in Sha Tin was turned over to the Equestrian Company yesterday with 75 days to go until the Hong Kong Olympic events.

"This is a day for all of Hong Kong to celebrate," the club deputy chairman Brian Stevenson said.

He described the venue as "where gold medals will be won and lost."

"A lot of work has to be done after today's handover, and we expect more partnership and co-operation with the Jockey Club in drills and rehearsals before the Olympics," Equestrian Company chief executive Lam Woon-kwong said.

HK$1 million will be spent on banners, flags and flowers to adorn the venue. Over the coming months, any problems in the 278,000-square- meter facility will be sorted out. The Beas River equestrian venue in Fan Ling - currently under construction - will be ready by July.

Lam took possession of a gold key - and the Sha Tin Equestrian Venue - from the Jockey Club chief executive officer Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges.

Congratulating the club's triumph in constructing the venue given the territory's climate and time constraints, Chief Secretary for Administration Henry Tang Ying-yen wished the city's five qualifying Olympic and Paralympic equestrians and the mainland's six Olympic qualifying equestrians good luck in their pursuit of gold.

[Skybean]

" The Beas River equestrian venue in Fan Ling "

Any photos of this U/C?

[hkskyline]

Saddle up for great Olympic tickets sale
Hong Kong Standard
Wednesday, June 11, 2008

About 60,000 tickets for the Olympic equestrian events in August will be available online and at China Travel Service outlets from tomorrow.

Prices range from HK$58 to HK$544.

Tickets for event finals and medal ceremonies will only be available at CTS branches in Sheung Wan. Wan Chai, Mong Kok, Kwun Tong, Tsuen Wan and Sha Tin.

With a limit of two tickets per final and 15 tickets per event for every transaction, purchasers will be required to submit their personal information and be held responsible if their tickets are resold or used for promotion.

Customers will receive ticket exchange coupons upon purchase, redeemable for admission tickets at CTS branches 7 days before competition days until noon the day before the event.

Chief executive officer of the Equestrian Company Lam Woon-kwong said the qualification of local riders for the games was "an historic breakthrough for our country in the Olympic equestrian events. As Hong Kong is a co-host city for the Beijing Olympic Games, I am sure many of us will want to be at the competition venues to cheer on our athletes."

Ticket holders can reach the Beas River's course via free shuttle bus service Fan Ling MTR station. A similar service for Sha Tin-bound spectators picks up at University MTR station.

Lam urged attendees to take sunglasses, caps and raincoats with them in case of inclement weather.

[hkth]

From news.gov.hk:
Sha Tin dresses up for the Olympics (http://news.gov.hk/en/category/infrastructureandlogistics/080627/features/html/080627en06001.htm)

[hkskyline]

China's VP visits Hong Kong to inspect Olympic sites
6 July 2008
Agence France Presse

China's Vice President Xi Jinping arrived in Hong Kong on Sunday on a three-day trip to monitor the city's preparations for hosting the Olympic equestrian events for the Beijing 2008 Games.

The southern Chinese city has built state-of-the-art facilities for next month's Games after the equestrian events were switched from Beijing because of fears of disease.

Xi will inspect the facilities, which include new "six-star" stables and a pleasure park, during his first visit to Hong Kong since joining China's central government.

"I came to Hong Kong this time to inspect the progress of Hong Kong's preparations for the 2008 Olympic and Paralympic equestrian events," Xi told reporters on arriving here Sunday.

"At the same time, I want to experience myself the changes of Hong Kong 11 years after its reunification with China."

Xi Sunday met Hong Kong Chief Executive Donald Tsang, whose popularity has slid since his controversial appointment of highly-paid political aides in June.

He told Tsang the country's focus was to convert the "great spirit" behind the nationwide effort to help the victims of the Sichuan earthquake into enthusiasm for the Olympics, according to Cable TV news.

The vice-president is seen as the most likely successor to China's President Hu Jintao when he steps down in five years.

Hong Kong was returned to China in 1997, following 155 years of British colonial rule.

[hkskyline]

Tests first for horses at Olympics
Hong Kong Standard
Tuesday, July 08, 2008

For the first time in Olympic history, horses entered in the equestrian events for the 2008 Beijing Games and the following Paralympics will be tested for possible medical infringements before competition starts.

In addition, the Hong Kong Jockey Club's laboratory will speed up the testing of horses after competition so those testing positive will be known within 12 days, instead of the 17 to 21 days it took for similar tests at the 2004 Athens Olympics.

The club said yesterday its post- arrival elective testing system, which is free and voluntary, aims to detect any infringement of medical standards before the competition begins. The first batch of horses may be tested within 12 hours of their arrival on July 26.

However, results will be confidential and only sent to the International Equestrian Federation after the competition. There will no punishment for horses violating the requirements.

Post-competition testing, on the other hand, is compulsory and carried out after competition to check whether the horses have been administered any banned drug.

"Quality and accuracy are far more important than time. We will make sure the tests are 100 percent accurate," said Jockey Club racing lab head Terence Wan See-ming.

He said Olympic rules insist horses must be entirely drug and medication free, whether or not these drugs or medications are legal.

A total of 229 horses are expected to take part in the Beijing 2008 Olympic equestrian events that start in August, and 70 in the Paralympics, which start a month later.

[hkskyline]

Parks share Olympic vision
Hong Kong Standard
Wednesday, July 09, 2008

Ten thousand people will be able to watch daily live broadcasts of the Olympics on giant TV screens at Victoria and Sha Tin parks from August 8 to 24.
The Home Affairs Bureau is spending HK$30 million on boosting the Olympic spirit in Hong Kong.

Permanent Secretary for Home Affairs Carrie Yau Tsang Ka-lai made the announcement after Vice President Xi Jinping told Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen to promote the equestrian events extensively to ensure a "joyful and harmonious Olympic environment."

There will be 1,000 seats at Victoria Park and 800 at Sha Tin Park for those watching broadcasts of events, including local favorites diving and windsurfing.

Each site will consist of seven sections. Other than broadcasting Olympic events, they will also feature stage performances, sport demonstrations, kung fu and acrobatic shows.

Visitors will be able to take photographs with horses and watch the highlights of the Hong Kong Olympic torch relay again.

Yau added Hong Kong will soon have its own Olympic path. A 5.2-kilometer hiking trail between Pak Mong and Mui Wo on Lantau Island will be officially named the Olympic Trail.

Director of Leisure and Cultural Services Thomas Chow Tat-ming said for safety reasons, all visitors to the parks will need to undergo security inspections.

All bags will be searched and hazardous items banned.

Chief leisure manager Yolanda Tong Lee Yan-yan said the public will not be allowed to bring food and drink into to the sites as there will be refreshment areas.

Free admission tickets will be available one hour before each session, except for the opening and closing days when tickets will be distributed by certain organizations.

The day session will be from 10am to 6pm, followed by an evening session from 6pm to 10pm.

There will be 3,000 and 2,000 tickets available at Victoria and Sha Tin parks respectively for each session.

[Kaitak747]

Sha Tin dresses up for the Olympics



As Hong Kong will co-host the Olympic equestrian events in August, the streets around the Sha Tin competition venue have been transformed with a vibrant Games theme.



The Highways Department has won approval to use the events' patent pictograms in road paving blocks in the district. The Transport Department has also designed Olympic decals for traffic signal poles.




http://www.news.gov.hk/tc/category/infrastructureandlogistics/080626/features/html/080626p032jpg.jpg
http://www.news.gov.hk/tc/category/infrastructureandlogistics/080626/features/html/080626p033jpg.jpg
We are ready!: Highways Department Senior Maintenance Engineer Mak Wing-shiu displays the two paving block designs with Olympic and Paralympic equestrian event pictograms. A shuttle bus terminus has been built near University MTR Station, and Olympic decals have been put on traffic signal posts. More Photos




Road revamp

Highways Department Senior Maintenance Engineer (Southeast New Territories) Mak Wing-shiu told news.gov.hk the road embellishment project has been in planning since early last year and is aimed at fuelling the city's Olympic atmosphere.



"The department applied to the Beijing Organising Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad to use the two pictograms for the Olympic and Paralympic equestrian events in road paving blocks. The committee has strict requirements on the patterns' size and colour. After taking into account factors such as aesthetics and durability, granite was finally chosen as the paving material, to symbolise athletes' resoluteness," he said.



Overcoming repeated manufacturing problems, the department finally gained the committee's approval for the paving block design, which will have natural black granite carved into the pictograms' shape embedded in natural pink granite.



Each block measures 60cm square and weighs 50kg. From early July more than 200 blocks will be permanently laid along the Yuen Wo Road footpath, acting as a directional sign leading people to the main event venue.



Paving blocks will also be laid at the shuttle bus terminus for the main competition venue located next to the University MTR Station.



Other upgrades

The renovations are among a host of upgrades to the district's facilities, such as the revamping of railings, pergolas, benches, footbridges, subways and flyovers. Evergreen and flowering shrubs will be planted in the verge or central dividers of Tai Po Road, Tolo Highway and Lion Rock Tunnel Road.



"The department will have a 24-hour standby team and contractors to handle emergency road repairs during the equestrian events," Mr Mak said.



The Transport Department has put Olympic-themed decals on traffic signal poles at 445 road junctions, on 5,600 parking meters and in some Government tunnel exits to publicise the Games across Hong Kong.



Street closures

To meet security and transport requirements Sha Tin's Yi Ching Lane and Pak Hok Ting Street inner lane will be designated prohibited zones. The nearby footpath will also be closed. The former public transport interchange next to Tai Wai MTR Station will be converted into a shuttle bus terminus.



The Shing Mun River footpath and cycling track between the Sports Institute and Penfold Park has been closed since May 1 and will reopen November 1.



Some roads will also be temporarily closed for special pedestrian and traffic arrangements two hours before and an hour after the events on each competition day. They include two bridge sections connecting the institute and Yuen Wo Road, and parts of the cycling tracks east of Sha Tin Road, outside the institute and on Yuen Wo Road opposite the institute.

[hkth]

From news.gov.hk:
Airport ready for Olympic visitors (http://news.gov.hk/en/category/healthandcommunity/080709/html/080709en05007.htm)

[hkth]

Gov't Press Releases:
SHA (Secretary for Home Affairs) inspects Olympic equestrian event core venue drill (http://info.gov.hk/gia/general/200807/12/P200807120277.htm)

Qingdao delegation visits HK equestrian venue (with photo) (http://info.gov.hk/gia/general/200807/12/P200807120259.htm)

[hkskyline]

4000警力海陸空護奧馬
16 July 2008
明報

【明報專訊】奧運馬術場地保安問題令人關注，警方昨日表示，今日起將封鎖馬術比賽場地搜查，其後更會取消警員的常規休假及訓練，動員多達2000至4000名警力，在海陸空設置防線加強保安。警方將有3個隊伍應付示威者，在「適當位置」設置示威區，但拒絕透露有關詳情。

今起搜比賽場地 嚴陣應付示威者

助理警務處長孫貴良昨日在記者會上表示，由今日起至22日，警方將封鎖搜查沙田比賽場地；而由周日起至下月8日，則會封鎖雙魚河比賽場地作搜查。而奧馬比賽舉行期間，所有警員取消常規休假，與奧運無關的警隊訓練亦將取消，以騰出2000至4000警力支援。

他形容，警方準備奧馬的工作長達55日，是前所未有的挑戰。其間，場地內的保安將由馬術公司負責，警方則負責場外保安。陸路方面，所有車和觀眾進入馬術場地都要經過X光或人手搜查；奧運選手入住的沙田帝都酒店，將採取最嚴格的保安措施，酒店旁的白鶴汀街會局部封閉，酒店外設有圍板，整間酒店會被包下，出入的人都要出示證件。

比賽場地旁的城門河亦會被列為禁區，由水警小艇隊駐守，除取得海事處發出的許可證外，任何船不得駛入。比賽場地和選手村上空2000呎範圍內，亦會被列為禁飛區。

孫貴良說，除了對恐怖分子嚴陣以待外，對於應付示威者，除了一般警備，亦隨時出動3隊緊急應變隊伍，警隊高空工作小組將處理高空示威活動；若遇上皇后碼頭的扣鎖式示威，警方亦會出動總區切割隊，切斷鎖鏈將示威者移走；警方談判小組亦積極和本地及海外示威組織聯絡。

他表示，目前未收到任何示威申請，警方對於示威區的設置已有初步計劃，但他拒絕透露詳情，只表示會根據現場交通、示威者數目等，在「適當位置」設示威區。

[hkskyline]

'Fatty' just perfect for Lam leap of faith
Hong Kong Standard
Thursday, July 17, 2008

Hong Kong now has its first equestrian teams for the Olympic Games and the Paralympics.

Chinese-Canadian Samantha Lam, 30, is one of five Hong Kong riders to have qualified for the Sha Tin events.

Lam, born in the Year of the Horse, said being able to participate is a prize in itself.

"Winning a medal will really be a big bonus ... I'm not really thinking about it, I only hope to represent Hong Kong," she said.

Lam will be riding Tresor, a Hong Kong Jockey Club-sponsored horse. But she prefers to call it "Fatty" because the horse is a big muncher and is especially fond of carrots and apples.

She said she met "Fatty" late last year and knew at first sight he will be her partner in success.

"All I need is confidence. I work quite well with the horse. Now I can be more aggressive," she said.

Lam is one of four Hong Kong riders who have earned Olympic spots, joining Kenneth Cheng Man- kit, Patrick Lam and Jennifer Lee Ming-hua. The Paralympic dressage entry is Nelson Yip Siu-hong.

Meanwhile, in Beijing, Olympic organizers said they may postpone some Hong Kong events if typhoons or extreme heat threaten the safety of horses.

Equestrian organizers and the International Olympic Committee are mapping out emergency measures, said Mark Pinkstone, spokesman for the Hong Kong equestrian committee.

"We will only postpone if it's unsafe for the horses," he said. "We may postpone the start of an event for an hour or two if conditions prove to be unsafe."

[hkskyline]

Luxury rides for Games horses
Hong Kong Standard
Friday, July 18, 2008

A fleet of 11 Hong Kong Jockey Club trucks will be deployed to transport the 225 Olympic horses and 72 Paralympic horses participating in the equestrian events in Sha Tin and Sheung Shui beginning next month.

The 15-year-old trucks, right, are 5.5-meters long and 2.3-meters wide, weigh 17 tons and can carry up to nine horses each at a time.

They are air-conditioned, equipped with urine channels and lined with shock absorbers on the inside walls to keep the horses from injuring themselves when they act up.

The driving speed will be kept at a maximum of 70kph to prevent bumpy rides from the stables. Police will also escort the trucks to the venue.

[hkskyline]

Olympics to make splash with Water Cube at TST
Hong Kong Standard
Friday, July 18, 2008

http://thestandard.com.hk/newsimage/20080718/5_2008071720493786448piazza.jpg

You can pose for pictures in front of the iconic Water Cube, the venue for Olympic swimming events, without traveling to Beijing.
The opportunity will present itself at an 18-meter replica of the Cube, which is the centerpiece of the HK$8 million Olympic piazza outside the Cultural Centre on Tsim Sha Tsui promenade.

The brainchild of the Hong Kong Tourism Board and Tourism Commission, the piazza is expected to draw 700,000 to 800,000 visitors from its opening next Friday up to August 24.

A three-minute light show featuring a version of the Olympic theme song, We Are Ready, will be projected every 30 minutes from 8.30pm to 10pm.

And Mason Hung Chung-hing, a senior manager for product development at the tourism board, said visitors may also get to hold an authentic Olympic torch. The curved wall of the Cultural Centre will be turned into a 22m projector screen for live broadcasts of the 2008 Beijing Olympic events.

There will also be the world's largest plasma television screen - 103 inches - and eight 50in TV screens on which to watch live and delayed broadcasts.

The tourism board hopes a medal presentation podium and three life- sized horse statues designed by local students will also be popular backdrops for photos.

Parades including traditional Chinese dances will be staged every weekend.

An Experience Hong Kong area will be set up to showcase a four-day itinerary covering the territory's 10 most popular tourist attractions.

Board destination market
ing general manager Gilly Wong Fung-han said the piazza is being included in tour itineraries.

One-third of the 3,000 free admission tickets for each session will be reserved for tour agents.

The other 2,000 will be available at the backstage entrance to the Cultural Centre's Grand Theatre an hour before each session.

[hkskyline]

田北俊對奧運期間遊客數字持樂觀態度
【10:44】2008年07月19日

【on.cc專訊】 旅發局主席田北俊在一個電台節目中表示，對奧運期間訪港遊客數字感樂觀。他指出，雖在奧運期間，遊客或會選擇在家欣賞賽事，又或因擔心難於訂酒店及塞車等問題，而避免到訪奧運城市；但他預計奧運結束後，潛在的外遊需求會釋放，遊客數字將會回升。

田北俊又指，據調查顯示，有近5成的內地居民，仍會選擇香港為外遊的首選目的地，故他相信兩岸直航，雖在短期內對訪港內地遊客人次會有影響，但隨著兩地增加航點及班次，香港與台灣的旅遊合作機會將會大幅增加。

[hkskyline]

July 18, 2008
Looser Olympic Security in Hong Kong
By KEITH BRADSHER
http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/misc/logoprinter.gif

HONG KONG — With three weeks until the start of the Olympics, Beijing officials are imposing increasingly stringent security rules there while Hong Kong, the host of all six Olympic equestrian events, is promising a more relaxed approach.

Mainland Chinese officials have sharply restricted the issuance of visas, installed thousands of outdoor surveillance cameras, clamped down more than usual on possible demonstrators and even disclosed plans to search large numbers of vehicles entering the greater Beijing area every day.

Hong Kong, a semiautonomous territory of China since its return by Britain in 1997, plans to continue allowing immediate, visa-free entry during the Olympics to citizens of 170 countries. Hong Kong police officers have begun holding discussions over the past week with representatives of more than 20 local groups to work out the logistics of any demonstrations, and have pursued a low-key program of asking utilities, transport companies, the airport and others to update their security procedures.

Hong Kong’s security measures are less overt than Beijing’s, but that reflects an assessment that the risk of violence at the Hong Kong events is not high, said Tang King-shing, Hong Kong’s police commissioner. The relatively low-key approach here does not make Hong Kong a weak link in Olympic security, he said in an interview.

“It’s very important for Beijing and the other host cities not to be seen as the weak link,” he said.

The contrast in approaches to Olympic security partly reflects Hong Kong’s position as a former British territory that still protects many individual liberties, and partly reflects differences in threats between Hong Kong and Beijing.

In Beijing and other mainland cities, the focus has been on preventing demonstrations, which are seen as embarrassing and a threat to the political order. The authorities have also focused on the risk that domestic and possibly foreign opponents might use explosives, which are available on the mainland from the country’s extensive and weakly regulated mining industry and fireworks manufacturing industry.

In Hong Kong, demonstrations are almost inevitable but are not seen as embarrassing except by some of the city’s most ardent supporters of Beijing. Yet Hong Kong may be less of a terrorist target than Beijing, despite easy access for foreigners, said Steve Vickers, a commanding officer of criminal intelligence with the Royal Hong Kong Police before the transfer to Chinese rule, and now the chief executive of an Asian security consulting firm, International Risk Ltd.

Few heads of state or corporate chief executives are expected to come here, and the equestrian events are likely to attract less media attention than the many events in Beijing, he said.

Hong Kong also has tight controls on explosives, stored on a heavily guarded island and seldom used except for the construction industry. Practically no one except the police has a gun, and the government even bans private ownership of two or more bullets. The police have worked with companies this year to further tighten controls on dangerous goods.

The Beijing Olympic organizing committee is setting basic security standards for each city-host of Olympic events and then leaving further measures to each city’s discretion, Mr. Tang said. Besides Hong Kong and Beijing, Olympic events will be held in Shanghai, Tianjin, Qingdao, Shenyang and Qinhuangdao.

One protest group already considering Hong Kong as a demonstration site is Dream for Darfur, which seeks greater Chinese pressure on Sudan to end violence in the Darfur region. Jill Savitt, the group’s executive director, said that she and Mia Farrow, the actress who leads the group’s advisory board, were still seeking visas for Beijing but were likely to go to Hong Kong if their visas were not approved by mainland authorities.

[hkskyline]

Spectators in HK urged to use public transport
19 July 2008
South China Morning Post

The Equestrian Company, set up to run the Olympic equestrian events in Hong Kong, has called on spectators to take public transport and shuttle buses to watch the events.

Shuttle bus terminuses will be set up near the University and Fanling MTR stations to pick up people going to see the jumping and dressage events at Sha Tin and the cross-country part of the eventing competition at Beas River.

The free services will operate from two hours before the competitions begin until about 11/2 hours after they end, with travelling time varying from five to 15 minutes.

Transport Department chief transport officer Nelson Chan Nap-sang said parking for taxis, private cars and coaches would not be provided at the venues, and roads around the venues would be cordoned off on competition days.

Spectators taking taxis, private cars and coaches would face a 15- to 20-minute walk to get to the venues from drop-off points, he said.

Special traffic arrangements will be implemented near the competition venues during the Games period, including the closure of the Shing Mun River footpath, Yi Ching Lane, Pak Hok Ting Street and Yuen Wo Road.

As the equestrian events will be held either early in the morning or late in the evening, some MTR services will start to run earlier or finish later.

A chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear exercise was held at the Sha Tin venue yesterday, involving nine government departments and the Equestrian Company.

During the exercise, codenamed "Equinox VII", a simulated dangerous device was "activated" at the venue shortly before an event, resulting in multiple fatalities and injuries.

Police officers and Fire Services Department staff then swung into action to rescue and decontaminate affected spectators at nearby Sha Tin Fire Station. The exercise was the last of a series aimed at testing the government's ability to respond to potential incidents at the Olympics.

[Kaitak747]

On course for HK's year of the horse

http://www.news.gov.hk/tc/category/healthandcommunity/080424/features/html/600ckt5888.jpg


Most Hong Kong people associate horses with a punt at Happy Valley on a Wednesday night. However, local equestrian rider Tara Delaney feels Hong Kong's hosting of the Olympic Equestrian Events will strengthen the population's understanding of the sport and earn the city global sporting recognition.



Delaney told news.gov.hk Hong Kong people know a lot about horseracing but little about horses and equestrian events. Hosting the Olympic Equestrian Events will be a boon for the sport in Hong Kong as it will boost the public's interest in it.



Promotional role

Five months pregnant, Delaney will not have the chance to represent her hometown in the August Olympics. However, she is participating on a lesser scale by helping promote the event.



Delaney said she is looking forward to the Hong Kong leg of the Olympic Torch Relay, saying it is a great honour for the city to be the first stop in China. The May 2 event symbolises the passing of the Olympic spirit and embodies the "One World, One Dream" ideal, she added.



The equestrian events are the only Olympic sports involving animals, requiring supreme communication and co-operation between rider and horse.



Top team

Having trained together six years Delaney and her horse Gagnant joined the Good Luck Beijing - HKSAR 10th Anniversary Cup last August, winning the preliminary competition for local entries with 52.9 penalty points. She said the contest was an amazing experience and the facilities of the two Olympic equestrian venues at Sha Tin and Beas River are the best she has experienced.



"I was impressed by the detailed planning of facilities, such as the air-conditioned stables, washing and feeding facilities as well as the indoor training arena which enables training during rainy days and helps the horses adapt to Hong Kong's hot and humid weather."



Delaney said the excellent preparations for the equestrian events will ensure Hong Kong's place in the Olympic spotlight in August.

[hkskyline]

HK has the infrastructure to host the equestrian events from our horseracing history, but now it's time to move one step further to know more about this sport and appreciate the horses beyond gambling winnings.

[hkth]

From news.gov.hk:
32 equestrian horses arrive in HK (http://news.gov.hk/en/category/healthandcommunity/080725/html/080725en05009.htm)

Medical experts at athletes' service (http://news.gov.hk/en/category/healthandcommunity/080726/html/080726en05002.htm)

[hkskyline]

Hong Kong gets 14,000 extra tickets for Olympic Equestrian Events
Government Press Release
Sunday, July 27, 2008

The following is issued on behalf of the Equestrian Events (Hong Kong) of the Games of the XXIX Olympiad Company and the China Travel Service (Hong Kong) Limited (CTS):

An extra 14,000 tickets for the Olympic Equestrian Events have been allocated to Hong Kong by the Beijing Organising Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad (BOCOG), Head of Games Services of the Equestrian Company, Mr Tang Ho-kong said today (July 27).

"With the Olympic equestrian enthusiasm, the 60,000 'Games-Time' tickets for the Equestrian Events allocated to Hong Kong in mid-June have been sold out. To further encourage public engagement in the events, the Equestrian Committee (Hong Kong) of BOCOG had applied for another 14,000 tickets to be sold in Hong Kong," Mr Tang said.

The last batch of Games-Time tickets is available for sale from Tuesday (July 29). As in the current ticketing phase, CTS has been appointed as the official ticket agent for the Games-Time tickets for the Equestrian Events.

To encourage more people to attend the events, the Equestrian Committee continues to adopt the BOCOG policy and set ticket prices at affordable levels ranging from HK$58 to HK$544.

The spokesman for CTS Mr Ng Hi-on said people could purchase the Games-Time tickets at all CTS branches or on its website (www.ctshk.com) on a first-come, first-served basis. For the six popular sessions (EQ04, EQ05, EQ07, EQ11, EQ12, EQ13), each session only has a small amount of tickets left (about 500 tickets or less). The tickets will only be sold at CTS Mong Kok Branch starting from July 29 and the Branch will open an hour early at 8am that day. Each applicant may select a maximum of two tickets for each popular session and 15 tickets per other session for every transaction. For details, please visit the CTS website or call its ticketing hotline: (852) 2998 7080.

For the first batch of the Games-Time equestrian tickets on sales in Hong Kong since June 12, CTS will arrange the ticket redemption by batches starting from this week. CTS will contact the Ticket Exchange Coupon holders regarding the exact redemption time and arrangement.

For the last batch of Games-Time equestrian tickets, the cut-off time for ticket sales for morning sessions will be at 8pm the day before the competition, and at noon on the competition day for evening sessions. As the spectators have to bring their physical tickets in order to enter the venues, the Ticket redemption arrangements for Ticket Exchange Coupon holders will be as follows:

* For tickets being sold 5 days or more prior the competition day, Olympic Equestrian Tickets can be collected at designated CTS branch as from 3 days before the competition day. (For example, the redemption period for event on August 9 that bought on or before August 4 will be from August 6 to noon on August 8);

* For tickets being sold three or four days prior the competition day, Olympic Equestrian Tickets can be collected at CTS Mong Kok Branch two days after the purchase until the day before the competition up to noon time. (For example, the redemption period for event on August 9 that bought on August 5 or 6 will be from August 7 to noon on August 8);

* For tickets being sold within two days from the competition day, Olympic Equestrian Tickets can be collected at the ticket boxes at the shuttle bus pick-up/drop-off points two hours before the competition starts. (For example, tickets of August 9 event that bought on August 7 or 8 can be redeemed on August 9 at relevant shuttle bus pick-up/drop-off points.) For competitions held at Hong Kong Equestrian Venue (Sha Tin), the ticketing box is at University Station shuttle bus pick-up/drop-off point; for competition held at Hong Kong Equestrian Venue (Beas River), the ticketing box is at Fanling Station shuttle buss pick-up/drop-off point.

* The ticket redemption arrangements such as time, places, etc, for various ticket purchase phases will be printed on the Ticket Exchange Coupons. The Ticket Exchange Coupon Holders can redeem the physical tickets accordingly.

Thirteen Olympic equestrian events will be held from August 9-21 at the Sha Tin and Beas River venues. Free shuttle bus services will be provided for spectators from MTR University Station to the Sha Tin competition venue and from MTR Fanling Station to the Beas River competition venue.

Mr Tang advised that spectators should arrive at the competition venues one or two hours before the start of competition for security checks to avoid a last-minute rush.

To facilitate spectators, live commentary in Cantonese and English will be available on radio (FM) channels at the Sha Tin competition venue. Spectators can take an FM radio with headsets to enjoy the events; whereas for the Beas River venue, English commentary will be available via the sound system at the venue.

For more information about the competitions, please browse the Equestrian Company's website at http://www.equestrian2008.org, or call the 24-hour spectator enquiry hotline 2107-9955.

Olympic Equestrian Events comprise three disciplines: Dressage, Jumping and Eventing. Each discipline includes team and individual events. There are a total of about 200,000 equestrian tickets for sale in Hong Kong, the Mainland and overseas.

The 2008 Beijing Olympic Games tickets have a design full of Olympic flavour, and can be kept as collectibles. Attending the Equestrian Events is the best way to show support for the China and Hong Kong teams and experience the Olympic spirit.

[Kaitak747]

空氣污染 為港辦「綠色奧運」添憂

(星島)7月29日 星期二 05:30
(綜合報道)

(星島日報 報道)正當奧運 保安措施搶盡大家注意力之際，本港部分地區的空氣污染指數 創下歷來新高，馬術比賽場地所處的沙田 區污染程度也達甚高水平，提醒本港除了搞好「平安奧運」，也不能忽略「綠色奧運」。

　　國內外對「綠色奧運」的關注重點，向來集中於北京 的空氣污染情況。為此北京採取了多項措施，又減地盤塵埃，又實施單雙號車牌隔日行車，把路上車流量減半，連毗鄰的河北省也有部分工廠要停產。豈料嚴重污染事件卻出現在奧運風帆比賽場地的山東青島 ，綠藻污染大片海面，本港絕對不能掉以輕心。

　　為響應「綠色奧運」，本港也舉辦過多項保育活動，而賽場設施也盡量減少耗電，使用物料可循環再用，連馬糞也安排做有機肥料。但是，如果運動員要在空氣污染程度甚高的環境下比賽，「環保奧運」將大打折扣。

　　污染指數新高不利運動

　　由於擔心北京空氣污染，部分外國運動員卻步。今年一月創下馬拉松最佳時間的埃塞俄比亞長跑手基比施拉斯，由於患有哮喘 ，只參加京奧一萬公尺項目。有些國家的參賽隊伍去日韓集訓適應氣候，澳洲 田徑隊要過了開幕禮才到北京。至於本港，瑞士 退出馬術盛裝舞步賽，原因只是擔心天熱影響馬匹健康，並非因為污染。其他各國馬術運動員和馬匹正陸續抵港，卻面對比想像中嚴重的空氣污染情況。

　　昨日本 港塔門空氣污染指數，創下二百零二的歷史新高，根據環境保護署的分級，指數超過二百，屬於污染嚴重，要立即減少體力消耗和戶外活動。沙田昨日指數達到一百七十三，也屬於甚高水平，有心臟或呼吸系統疾病者，不宜戶外活動。

　　要藉奧運清洗污染形象

　　今次污染的特別原因，是本港一帶受到颱風「鳳凰」的外圍氣流影響，陽光普照，令氮氧化物經過光解作用產生大量臭氧，形式光化學霧。這些氮氧化物，多是電廠和汽車排放出來，是包括本港在內的珠三角 共同面對的問題。本港兩家電廠已經同意，在奧運期間盡量增加天然氣和超低硫燃煤發電。廣東省環保局也答應，到時會監察內地空氣污染物排放，確保電廠脫硫系統正常運作。昨日的污染情況顯示大家在減排方面還要多下工夫。

　　本港空氣污染問題，不但影響居民健康，且已令部分跨國公司卻步，商品大王羅傑斯也因而擇居新加坡 。如果奧運期間空氣污濁，將進一步加強國際對本港空氣質素的不良印象。故此，成功辦好一個空氣清新的奧運，是非常難得的國際正面宣傳機會。而且即使奧運過後，粵港兩地也要努力合作，改善珠三角的空氣質素。

[hkskyline]

http://www.globalphotos.org/hongkong/2008/0727/IMG_2193.jpg

http://www.globalphotos.org/hongkong/2008/0727/IMG_2192.jpg

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[hkskyline]

Security in the bag
Hong Kong Standard
Friday, August 01, 2008

MTR passengers face being stopped and searched in a security crackdown at stations during the Olympic equestrian events.

An extra 200 uniformed security guards have been hired and the MTR has canceled leave for all staff. Rubbish bins will also be removed from stations.

MTR Corp head of operations Wilfred Lau Cheuk-man said the MTRC will follow Beijing's example and allow its staff - or the 200 guards from two security companies hired for the events - to check passengers' belongings.

Details about the security guards' training and experience are not known.

The scope of the measures including the areas, such as station concourses, escalators and platforms, and the times passengers may be searched are not clear. Rush-hour measures have also not been spelled out.

"We have contingency plans and we work in close liaison with the authorities. We have also taken into account the convenience and expectations of punctuality of passengers," Lau said.

"It all depends on the situation. If [an inspection] is necessary, yes, but if it is not necessary, we will do something else. I cannot tell when this will be imposed, or if it will be imposed."

Lau said MTR bylaws allow staff to check passengers in any area of the station if they suspect they are carrying inflammable materials.

In Beijing, all subway commuters faced tighter security checks from yesterday and have to submit all bags, regardless of size, for screening by X-ray machines or portable scanners. Those who refuse can be barred from the subway. Over the past month, only large bags were checked.

The MTR bylaws empower staff to request a passenger for "an agreed visual inspection" of their belongings or goods if the staff member has reasonable suspicion that a passenger contravenes a bylaw.

If the passenger refuses, MTR staff may seek the assistance of the police.

The hired security guards will be responsible for patrolling MTR stations and trains.

Lau said 800 rubbish bins will be removed to make it easier for inspections. He denied the removal is to prevent bomb explosions in stations, saying similar measures had been adopted by some other Olympic hosts and the Sixth WTO Ministerial Conference in Hong Kong in 2005.

To ensure there will be enough manpower for the railway services during the events, all leave has been canceled and some staff from non-train-operation departments have volunteered to be goodwill ambassadors to explain arrangements to tourists.

[hkskyline]

Health measures for Games contestants
Hong Kong Standard
(08-01 20:17)

Equestrian athletes will not be able to enjoy sashimi or fresh oysters in Hong Kong because those have been classified as high-risk items and have been removed from the menu by the Centre for Food Safety.

Controller of the center Constance Chan Hon-yee said the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department is committed to meeting the target of zero incident in food poisoning set by the Beijing Organizing Committee.

Measures include replacing the food items in the buffet served in the Olympic Village every two hours.

The department also increased inspections of the food premises.

The department has deployed 15 mosquito control teams to work with the Equestrian company in mosquito prevention at the event venues in Sha Tin and Beas River and the hotels for athletes and guests.

[hkth]

From news.gov.hk:
Weather teams posted to equestrian venues (http://news.gov.hk/en/category/environment/080803/html/080803en04002.htm)

[hkskyline]

Not surprising as it is typhoon season after all ... with La Nina this year.

[hkskyline]

HK suppliers to lower pollutant emission during Games
3 August 2008
Agence France Presse

Hong Kong's two electricity suppliers will cut their emissions of air pollutants by increasing the use of natural gas during the Olympic equestrian events, a government spokesman said Sunday.

The companies, Hong Kong Electric and CLP Power, will reduce the burning of coal, a major source of air pollution in the southern Chinese city, at their plants, the government said.

"We have already made proper arrangements with the two electric power companies. Throughout the equestrian events, they will increase the use of natural gas by 20 percent," Edward Yau, Hong Kong's secretary for the environment, told local broadcaster RTHK.

"We hope the measure will help improve Hong Kong's air quality," he said.

Concerns for the health of Olympic athletes and horses competing at the equestrian events were raised after pollution levels hit record highs in Beijing and Hong Kong last week.

Meanwhile, Hong Kong was making arrangements for unstable weather forecast for the first few days of the equestrian events, which begin August 9.

The Hong Kong Kong Observatory told RTHK it will likely rain and a typhoon was possible.

The observatory said Sunday in a statement it will issue additional detailed weather forecasts for the competition venues and has provided seven-day forecasts to help with planning.

A system to measure heat stress -- the combined effect of temperature, humidity, wind and solar radiation -- has also been set up at the equestrian venue, the observatory said.

[hkskyline]

Hong Kong police to re-check security after Xinjiang attack
4 August 2008
Agence France Presse

Hong Kong's police said Monday they would re-assess the security level of the Olympic co-host city after a suspected terrorist attack reportedly killed 16 policemen in China's northwest Xinjiang.

"Hong Kong police take a very, very serious view on the tragic incident in Xinjiang," Suen Kwai-leung, the city's assistant commissioner of police, told a news conference.

"Once we obtain more facts, we will conduct a very thorough assessment to see if the incident has any indication or implication on the overall security of Hong Kong, or more specifically, the Olympic equestrian events."

The southern Chinese city will host the equestrian events of the August 8-24 Olympic Games.

Suen said that all 4,000 police officers deployed are ready to provide security for the equestrian events.

[hkskyline]

Source : http://www.pbase.com/specialteam/tsim_sha_tsui_2007

http://www.pbase.com/specialteam/image/101123422/original.jpg

http://www.pbase.com/specialteam/image/101123426/original.jpg

[hkskyline]

HK sets pace as pre-Olympic training base
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Government Press Release

Hong Kong is awash with international sporting talent in the run-up to the Beijing Olympics.

As well as staging the Olympic Equestrian Events, Hong Kong is the training base of choice for athletes from more than a dozen countries in various disciplines who have their sights set on Olympic glory in Beijing.

World-class hockey players, swimmers, badminton players and track and field athletes are among those who are making final preparations to their Olympic challenge in Hong Kong before heading to Beijing.

Equestrian teams from Canada, Holland, Germany and Australia were among the first to arrive to gear up for the Olympic Equestrian Events at local venues in Sha Tin and Beas River.

For the Dutch swimming team, Hong Kong is the perfect place to put the finishing touches to its Olympic preparations, according to Cees-Rein van den Hoogenband, the Royal Dutch Swimming Federation Chairman - and father of swimming sensation Pieter van den Hoogenband.

"The facilities are superb. The Gold Coast Hotel, where we are, is a very good hotel, very good meals and the accommodation is fantastic," Mr Van den Hoogenband said, adding that the team's dietician had discussed nutritional requirements for the athletes with the hotel.

"He made arrangements for special food. It is superb, more than 100%."

Mr Van den Hoogenband said the main reason for choosing Hong Kong for the pre-Olympic build-up was the comparable climatic conditions to Beijing and the high-quality training facilities.

"We have two pools where we can have our training sessions. One is here at the (Hong Kong) Institute of Education. They have good blocks. The other is at Lingnan University. They both have eight lanes which is sufficient for our team," he said.

The Dutch swimming team includes two-time Olympic champion Pieter van den Hoogenband and the female quartet of Inge Dekker, Femke Heemskerk, Ranomi Kromowidjojo and Marleen Veldhuis - which broke the 400-metre freestyle world record in March.

Their hotel is away from the city centre overlooking the South China Sea, while one of their rivals in the pool, the Czech swimming team, is based at the Regal Kowloon Hotel in the heart of bustling Tsim Sha Tsui East.

Although the surroundings are different, the Czech Swimming Federation is also delighted with its pre-Olympic arrangements.

Technical director of the Czech Swimming Federation Jan Novotny said his swimmers had settled in well in their temporary home.

"The facilities in Hong Kong are similar to the Czech Republic and we are satisfied with the pool, with the hotel, with the food, with everything," Mr Novotny said.

"The time in Hong Kong is the same as Beijing and I think the weather in Hong Kong will be the same as in Beijing so we hope the swimmers will adapt to the conditions (at the Olympics)."

While the Czech swimmers get a taste of Hong Kong's unique city life, the Dutch are happy to be surrounded by friends and build on their team spirit going into the Olympics.

"Our equestrian team is here and our football team is here, too. The equestrian team came to watch our guys training and to have dinner with us," Mr Van den Hoogenband said.

"The whole team is grateful for the hospitality. We are proud to be here. We feel comfortable."

He said some of the team coaches went to support Holland in the pre-Olympic ING Cup football tournament at Hong Kong Stadium. Holland won the tournament, which also included Cameroon, Ivory Coast and the USA.

Hong Kong is best known as an international business and financial centre, but it is fast earning its stripes as Asia's world city for sports.

The Honorary Secretary General of the Sports Federation & Olympic Committee of Hong Kong, China, Mr Pang Chung, said Hong Kong's global exposure and similar climatic conditions made it the very best training and acclimatisation base for athletes preparing to start competition for the Beijing games.

The Leisure & Cultural Services Department has been working hard to make the visiting teams' stay in Hong Kong as smooth as possible through its "Hong Kong - Ideal Training Base for 2008 Beijing Olympics" programme.

LCSD Director Mr Thomas Chow said there were altogether 16 national sports teams that were conducting, or will conduct, training in Hong Kong to prepare for the Beijing 2008 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

"LCSD has been pleased and honoured to offer assistance to teams looking for help in arranging accommodation, training facilities and transportation," Mr Chow said.

Although much of the pre-Olympic training takes place away from the glare of the media, hockey - a popular sport in Hong Kong - has been drawing the crowds with teams from New Zealand, Great Britain and Canada playing Olympic warm-up games at the Hong Kong Football Club.

New Zealand's men's and women's hockey teams are based in Hong Kong along with the men's team from Canada. They share the state-of-the-art training facilities at the Football Club.

The University of Hong Kong - the city's oldest university - also happens to be the home to some of the newest and best sports facilities in town, making the venue a huge draw card for overseas teams using Hong Kong as their pre-Olympic training base.

Track and field teams from Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Fiji and Vanuatu, as well as a multi-sports team from Austria, and Trinidad and Tobago's swimming squad are all making the most of the university's extensive facilities.

Some teams have taken up residence on campus during their stay in Hong Kong, while other squads are staying at nearby hotels before moving on to Beijing for the ultimate challenge.

Good luck to all the teams at the Olympic Games.

[hkskyline]

Kammuri swipes Games sites but show will go on
Hong Kong Standard
Thursday, August 07, 2008

http://the-sun.on.cc/channels/news/20080807/img/sn03080705_big.jpg

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The Equestrian Company yesterday rushed to fix damage caused by Tropical Storm Kammuri at its Olympic venues but assured the public the Games will not be affected.

The company's senior manager Keith Chau Cho-kei said there were at least six reports of damage to fences, logos and bunting at Sha Tin and Beas River but that they were being fixed.

An Equestrian Company spokesman said there were backup decorations and that all repairs will be completed by Saturday when the first competition, team eventing dressage, takes place at Sha Tin.

Meanwhile, 24 competition horses originally due to arrive in Hong Kong yesterday were held up when the planes carrying them were delayed.

Fourteen horses from China, the US and United Arab Emirates were offloaded from a plane in Amsterdam before they were due to depart. Ten horses from Australia and Saudi Arabia en route to Hong Kong from Amsterdam were off-loaded in Dubai.

The horses were resting in quarantined quarters. Along with the last batch of 17 horses, they will arrive in Hong Kong today if the weather improves and will compete in jumping competitions beginning Friday next week.

The spokesman said all horses have already completed a seven-day quarantine period and will undergo 10-day quarantine on arrival in Hong Kong. During this period they cannot mix with Hong Kong racehorses but can participate in the equestrian events.

He said none of the 161 equestrian horses already in Hong Kong had been affected by the heavy rain and wind, and many were given the day off yesterday and were resting in their stables.

Training in the outdoor areas was postponed. Only the indoor dressage training arena was opened at 10am. The other training arenas reopened after the No8 signal was lowered.

Some competitors took advantage of the time off to shop at malls near the Olympic Village in Sha Tin. They were confident organizers had drawn up contingency plans to cater for emergencies.

[hkskyline]

Equestrian evacuation plans put in place
Hong Kong Standard
Thursday, August 07, 2008

The Equestrian Company estimates it will be able to evacuate all 15,000 spectators at the Sha Tin and Beas River venues within an hour if the need arises.

Senior manager Keith Chau Cho-kei said 75 double- decker buses could do the job.

Regarding other transport arrangements, assistant transport chief for the New Territories Candy Law Fung- ping said there will be 13 bus pick-up points at both Sha Tin and Beas River.

Coaches will arrive at three to 10-minute intervals two hours before and an hour and a half after the events. Traveling time will be about five to 10 minutes.

The Transport Department's Emergency Transport Co-ordination Centre will monitor traffic situations with police, public transport operators and other relevant parties.

The center will release information to the public as necessary, Law said.

Spectators heading for the two venues are urged to take the train and free shuttle bus provided by the Equestrian Company at University or Fanling stations as taxis, private cars and coaches will be banned from directly accessing the venues.

[hkth]

From news.gov.hk:
HK equestrian team aiming high (http://news.gov.hk/en/category/healthandcommunity/080807/html/080807en05004.htm)

[hkskyline]

1,500 sign up for HK Games tour
8 August 2008
South China Morning Post

At least 1,500 mainlanders, mostly from Guangdong, will visit Hong Kong to watch the Olympic equestrian events.

China Travel Service (Hong Kong) said there had been an overwhelming response on the mainland to the equestrian tour it launched two weeks ago, with more than 800 people registered in the first two days.

By yesterday, about 1,500 people, mainly Guangdong residents, had joined 40 tours organised by the agency to watch the equestrian events and visit tourist sites.

"I believe most Chinese people wish to get involved in these once-in-a-lifetime events. Hong Kong appears to be a natural choice, especially for those in Guangdong, who need not bother going to Beijing to feel the Olympic atmosphere," said Ng Hoi-on, general manager of the agent's package tour department.

The tour is priced from HK$600 to HK$1,200 per person, which covers a ticket for an equestrian event, one or two nights' hotel stay and tickets to other attractions. Some tours will also arrange visits to riding schools.

The travel agency - the only authorised seller of Beijing Olympics tickets in Hong Kong - said the 100-plus tours it had organised to the Games in Beijing were all nearly full, with more than 2,000 Hongkongers registered.

However, the local hotel industry does not expect to benefit greatly from the Olympics.

A booking agent at the Metropark hotel in Wan Chai said occupancy for the coming week was between 80 and 90 per cent and was no significant change from the same period in previous years. A similar situation was reported by the City Garden Hotel in North Point and at Rosedale on the Park in Causeway Bay.

[hkskyline]

Traffic and transport arrangements for Equestrian Events in North District
Monday, August 11, 2008
Government Press Release

The 2008 Olympic Equestrian Events today (August 11) will be held from 8 am to 12 noon in Beas River in North District. Spectators should use rail services to Fanling Station and then walk to any one of the shuttle bus termini at Pak Wo Road or and Fanling Station Road outside Fanling Station for interchange with the free shuttle bus services provided by the Equestrian Company to the venue. The free shuttle bus service will operate from about 2 hours before the commencement of competitions to about 1.5 hours after the end of the competitions at a frequency of 3 to 10 minutes. MTR Tsuen Wan Line, Kwun Tong Line and East Rail Line will be enhanced to match the event schedule.

Spectators can also choose to take a 15 to 20 minutes' walk from Sheung Shui Station via Pak Wo Road, Po Kin Road and Fan Kam Road to the venue.

Spectators taking taxis can alight at the taxi stand at Fanling Station Road outside Fanling Station, while spectators taking coaches can alight at Pik Fung Road. They can then walk to the free shuttle bus termini and take free shuttle buses to the venue.

Crowd management measures will be implemented around Fanling Station, pedestrians from Fanling South should follow the instructions of the Police and pay attention to the directional signages.

The section of Fan Kam Road between Po Kin Road and Lin Tong Mei will be temporarily designated as a prohibited zone from 5 a.m. to about 2 p.m. At the same time, the road sections near North District Hospital will be designated as restricted zones. During this period, the service of KMB route no.77K (Cheung Wah - Yuen Long West) will be truncated to operate between Yuen Long and Lin Tong Mei; the service of GMB route no.50K (MTR Sheung Shui Station - Hang Tau) will be strengthened; and the service of GMB route no.57K (MTR Sheung Shui Station - Tong Kung Leng) will be suspended.

To facilitate the affected locals, the Equestrian Company will provide free shuttle bus services running between Cheung Lek Village/On Po Village/Tsiu Keng and Sheung Shui Station (via Lam Kam Road and Fanling) at a frequency of 6 to 8 minutes.

Spectators and members of the public are advised to plan their journeys early in advance, allow more traveling time to cater for unexpected delay. They are also advised to watch out for announcements by the Transport Department and the Police and the latest traffic and transport news broadcast by radio and television stations.

[hkskyline]

Busy, busy Beas River is picture perfect
12 August 2008
South China Morning Post

The equestrian cross-country course at Beas River saw action in earnest for the first time yesterday and drew the thumbs-up from spectators and competitors alike, on a day that saw heartbreak for China's young medal hope, Alex Hua Tian.

More than 10,000 spectators turned out at the Sheung Shui venue, where they were free to roam and watch the horses and riders negotiate the 29 obstacles laid out on a vast area of hills and grassland transformed from a golf course.

Hong Kong Equestrian Company chief executive Lam Woon-kwong pronounced himself happy with the smooth operations at the venue.

"Everything went according to plan. All spectators behaved very well and it's apparent that they enjoyed themselves tremendously," he said.

Katharine Mata, a 23-year-old university student from Australia, agreed. "This is a very beautiful course," said Ms Mata, a keen rider and equestrian fan who flew to Hong Kong with her mother for the event.

But for Hua, 18, the day ended in tears when his mount, Chico, stumbled after the eighth fence, dumping him on the wet ground and putting him out of the rest of the eventing competition. "I'm absolutely gutted. I can't believe it has finally ended with a fall at one of the easiest fences on the course," sobbed Hua, the first mainland Chinese to take part in an Olympic equestrian event.

Spectators enjoyed a hiking-like experience as they moved around to take up strategic positions near obstacles, such as ditches, water, stone walls and benches, kept cool by overcast conditions and light rain.

International Equestrian Federation president Princess Haya bint al Hussein said holding the event in Hong Kong had meant a "huge step forwards in the research into heat and humidity in the sport".

Competition manager Chang Wei read out a glowing report from the Beijing games organising committee saying Hong Kong had received high praise for its four-star course, condition of the track and its drainage.

Some riders complained the course was a little on the short side after it was reduced from its potential 7km to 4.56km because of the wet conditions. Britain's Daisy Dick said the obstacles were very close. "Everything was coming at you at about 1,000 miles an hour."

[hkskyline]

Horse sense needed to aid casualties
Hong Kong Standard
Thursday, August 14, 2008

Ambulance officers working at the Olympic equestrian events at Sha Tin and Beas River received special training in understanding horses as well as watching out for riders.

Senior ambulance officer Alex Wong Ying-keun said the training included the right way to approach horses and removing protective gear from injured riders.

While Wong was talking about equipment and training yesterday, one of the top brass was engaged in a tougher public relations effort. Assistant chief ambulance officer Chan Shiu-kwan denied the suggestion the best ambulances were on Olympic call and everyone else had to settle for lesser ones.

"As the roads in eventing-cross- country were narrow, we had to use light ambulances," he said. "Maybe this gave the public the impression we chose ambulances in better condition for the Olympic venues."

[hkskyline]

Public-safety awareness still in short supply
13 August 2008
South China Morning Post

Hong Kong prides itself on its phenomenal rise to prosperity and modernity. From a fishing village in a 19th-century backwater, it has developed into a modern city known for its advanced infrastructure and management.

Against that background, it is disheartening to see how the blaze in a Mong Kok building, which was first categorised as a No3 fire, soon escalated into a No5 fire in less than three hours, killing four, including two firefighters, and injuring dozens.

Images of panic-stricken residents waiting for rescue and exhausted firefighters battling the blaze spoke volumes about the intensity of the blaze. They also raised questions, however, about other potential hazards across the city, which have been made all the more dangerous through people's neglect and ignorance.

The Fire Services Department said the karaoke nightclub on the mezzanine floor where the fire broke out had no smoke-prevention doors, which is believed to be the reason for the so-called "chimney effect" that fed the blaze and made it difficult for residents to escape.

Such apparent laxity in fire prevention brought back painful memories of the Garley Commercial Building blaze, in Tsim Sha Tsui, in 1996, which killed 40. Following an independent inquiry after that incident, the government adopted a series of measures to strengthen fire safety and building management in old residential complexes with commercial premises.

In recent years, there has been no shortage of publicity and new measures to improve the management and renovation of old buildings.

Sunday's tragedy shows that our state of preparedness to prevent fire and other hazards at home and at work leaves much to be desired.

It was not long ago that heavy downpours brought massive landslides in the countryside, severe flooding in urban areas and falling concrete from old buildings in Kowloon.

Falling windows from a newly completed commercial tower in Quarry Bay that caused severe damage to four apartments at a nearby residential block during last week's severe tropical storm highlighted the danger of the lack of safety awareness.

There has been no lack of grand visions, such as building a global financial centre, a cultural hub and the like, together with mega projects such as the Hong Kong-Macau-Zhuhai bridge.

Though they are strategically and practically important for Hong Kong in the long term, ordinary people are equally, if not more, concerned about immediate issues such as the air they breathe and the environment they live in.

Now that the government has adopted a people-based approach and service-oriented culture, expectations have grown of a better quality of life in areas such as public safety.

These are some of the livelihood issues they hope the government will act on by taking a serious look again at relevant legislation and enforcement following Sunday's tragedy.

Ordinary people also expect their own district councils to play a role in relaying their concerns to the government.

Many residents at Cornwall Court in Nathan Road are no doubt still feeling the shock of Sunday's tragedy. Public attention has so far focused on the sense of selflessness and professionalism of the pair of firefighters who lost their lives. But, while the victims' families mourn, questions are being raised about what went wrong. The government will come under pressure to take specific action to improve fire safety in old buildings.

It will be far more important if this tragedy brings about a change of mindset for greater vigilance, determination and effective measures to make our city safer.

Chris Yeung is the Post's editor-at-large. chris.yeung@scmp.com

[chisinchai]

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[dodge321]

Lots of empty seats :(

[hkskyline]

Items wanted for Games museum
21 August 2008
South China Morning Post

Hongkongers have been urged to donate collectables for a planned Hong Kong Olympic Museum.

The Hong Kong Jockey Club called on people to do their share for the museum, which is aimed at preserving the Olympic legacy and promoting sporting culture in the city.

The museum will feature three major themes: Hong Kong as a co-host city of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games; sports development in Hong Kong; and the Olympic spirit and sportsmanship.

The club will acknowledge donors whose exhibits are displayed.

"We are in an open stage for people's donations. All forms of collectable items are welcomed," a club spokesman said.

Donors can submit items to the Hong Kong Racing Museum at Happy Valley from Tuesday to Sunday and on most public holidays.

The Jockey Club will be responsible for developing the museum in Sha Tin under a co-operation agreement signed with the International Olympic Committee in April.

The spokesman said the exact size and location of the museum had not yet been decided. The museum is expected to be completed within the next few years.

People interested in contributing to the project can contact the Racing Museum at 29668065.

[Dallas star]

any images at all really must be a great view from the surrounding hi-rises.

[hkskyline]

any images at all really must be a great view from the surrounding hi-rises.

Here are some including surrounding views : http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=682348

[hkskyline]

Schools snap up equestrian tickets
Hong Kong Standard
Thursday, August 28, 2008

Some 100 primary and secondary schools have snapped up 12,000 tickets for the Paralympic Games after the Education Bureau told them this month that free tickets were available.
There are still 8,000 seats left for the Paralympic equestrian events, which will be held from September 7 to 11. They are expected to be taken when schools start the new academic year on Monday.

Benjamin Yung Po-shu, curriculum development principal education officer at the bureau, said the response has been very enthusiastic.

Tickets for three out of nine competitions have already been fully booked by schools with night competitions seeming to be more popular.

Some schools had applied for a large number of tickets so that all their students can attend.

Although schools will have already commenced during the Paralympic Games, some will organize an outing for students to let them gain some other learning experiences.

According to Equestrian Company chief executive Lam Woon-kwong, International Paralympic Committee regulations stipulate a certain number of tickets must be reserved for the education sector.

But it is the Beijing Olympics Organizing Committee's decision to set the number of reserved tickets at 2,400 per event.

The Paralympic equestrian events are a golden opportunity to promote moral and civic education among students, Yung said.

However, there are worries over attendance rates as all nine competitions will be on dressage, which is not as popular as show jumping and cross country with Hong Kong spectators.

The Education Bureau will continue to give away free tickets to schools and other educational organizations while stocks last.

[EricIsHim]

Quoted from: http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2008/aug/31/horseracing

Tattenham corner: Olympics that went wrong for Hong Kong

* The Observer,
* Sunday August 31 2008

There must have been red faces at the Hong Kong Jockey Club during the Olympics when the show jumping stage of the men's Modern Pentathlon became a muddy farce.

Of the 36 riders who took part, all incurred penalty points and five failed to complete the course. British competitor Sam Weale went into the event in eleventh but despite putting in a round where his horse refused twice at the fourth obstacle he moved into third. The combination of rain-softened conditions, a raucous crowd in a cramped arena and fences too difficult to jump (they were lowered before the women's contest the next day) proved too much for the horses used - thoroughbreds loaned out by the HKJC whose names were changed for the day. The idea of each horse - drawn by lottery - being used twice during the event was quickly scrapped once it started to look as if some had never seen a fence before.

Not that the HKJC can be accused of cutting. They spent US$150million on facilities for the visitors and the stables had air-conditioning, water dispensers, padded floors and walls to prevent injury and most intriguingly - play rooms.

[hkskyline]

Paralympic tickets sell well
(09-02 18:09)
Hong Kong Standard

The Paralympic equestrian Games have already sold 60 percent of their tickets and distributed 80 percent of their allotted educational tickets four days before their official start.

''[The audience] will come more for support of the athletes and for an educational experience, than for the [actual] entertainment,`` chief executive of the Equestrian Company Lam Woon-kwong said.

Despite a protest held at the airport by several airport service contract workers threatening to cut services to wheel-chair bound athletes, Secretary for Home Affairs Tsang Tak-sing assured that ''the matter would be followed up appropriately,'' and he hoped that the workers would not disrupt the operations of the Games.

[Kaitak747]

Equestrian excitement expected to gallop



With horse-riding buffs around the world focused on the Olympic equestrian competition in Hong Kong, local enthusiasts forecast the Games will further promote the discipline in the city.



Experts have hailed the organisation of Olympic and Paralympic equestrian events in Hong Kong and its facilities, saying the city has the capability of holding more world-class horse-riding competitions.



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Horse sports: Michael Lee and Wendy Yu hope the Olympic equestrian events will promote the sport in Hong Kong.



Those in the know

Hong Kong's para-equestrian team leader Michael Lee and equestrian ambassador Wendy Yu are two of the veteran riders who have supported the city's hosting of the events.



Mr Lee praised Hong Kong's high efficiency in preparing for the Games, saying it is amazing the city has completed the complicated job in less than three years.



The veteran rider who also participated in last year's Good Luck Beijing Cup in Hong Kong said the city's equestrian venues and support facilities meet the highest international standards.



He said the excellent work done by the Equestrian Company, Jockey Club and Equestrian Federation was augmented by the professional input offered by international experts, making Hong Kong's events comparable to major overseas ones.



"The events have given us an opportunity to show Hong Kong's ability to organise major sports competitions," Mr Lee said. "I hope Hong Kong will continue to host international equestrian games regularly, attracting top overseas riders to showcase their spectacular techniques. I also hope equestrian sports will become more common in Hong Kong."



Growing enthusiasm

Television celebrity Wendy Yu has been made an equestrian ambassador for her enthusiasm for the sport. She has appeared in a promotional video, given talks in more than 20 schools and led student visits to stables.



She said co-hosting the Olympic equestrian events is a precious opportunity, with many of her horse-loving friends working at the games as volunteers.



Equestrian disciplines can be learned at more than 10 venues in the city, with numerous horse-riding schools run by the Jockey Club and other private organisations fully enrolled with long waiting lists.



Noting sport improves people's health and mood, Ms Yu urged equestrian learners to continue their enthusiasm after the Olympics to keep the discipline alive in Hong Kong.



Mr Lee added: "More people are learning about the sport, so I am optimistic on its future development in the city."

[hkskyline]

HK's equestrian events praised
12 September 2008
South China Morning Post

The final three Paralympic equestrian competitions concluded in front of a crowd of 4,000 at Sha Tin last night, with Britain winning two of the gold medals on offer.

Sophie Christiansen came first in the individual Grade 1a freestyle, while compatriot Lee Pearson won the Grade 1b freestyle, collecting his third gold medal from the five days of competition. The Grade 3 freestyle title went to Hannelore Brenner of Germany.

Britain, host of the next Games in London in 2010, won five of the 11 equestrian gold medals.

British team leader Will Connell said Hong Kong had done a fantastic job in organising the competition.

"The decision to move the equestrian events to Hong Kong was a bit late, as it was not made until 2005, but the hosts coped with it very well," he said. "They provided the facilities they were asked to provide, and it was just fantastic.

"Also, organisation of the event was very professional and there has been no complaint from any of the teams. Hong Kong should be proud of this."

Katrine Puttick, head coach of South Africa, said the events were "absolutely amazing", adding that the volunteers had given the teams a big hand.

"People here are so helpful and friendly," she said. "Some of them look very tired after working for hours at the venue.

"But they will come up with a big smile and offer their helping hand whenever they see you."

More than 30,000 spectators - of a possible full capacity of 45,000 - attended the Paralympic equestrian events, an attendance rate of more than 60 per cent.

Lam Woon-kwong, chief executive of the Equestrian Company, which organised the event, was happy with the overall attendance.

"The figure is much better than we expected and is a very high attendance rate for any international event," he said. "The spectators helped create a good atmosphere and showed strong support to the competitors."

[hkskyline]

By Lemonstar from dchome :

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[WANCH]

Should this thread be unsticked? The events is already a month over!

[hkskyline]

The Paralympic events also took place after the main Olympic events.

[hkskyline]

Equestrian: Another German horse faces Olympic doping scrutiny: report
3 May 2009
Agence France Presse

A report in German magazine Der Spiegel claims the metabolic-enhancer lactanase was given to one of the Germany team's horses during the Equestrian Show-Jumping competition at the 2008 Olympic Games.

Eight months after the games finished, German rider Marco Kutscher said in the report, to appear Monday, that a syringe containing arnica and another containing lactanase was administered to his horse Cornet Obolensky during competition.

"It is correct, my horse was treated with Arnica and Lactanase. Whether that was declared, I don't know," Kutscher is quoted as saying in the report by German sports agency SID.

The German Equestrian Federation's Chief veterinarian Michael Duee said the national governing body are now checking the case.

Der Spiegel says the treatment was approved by German veterinary surgeon Bjoern Nolting, but if the procedure was not officially announced then there could be serious consequences for both the Germany team and Kutscher.

The German team finished fifth in the competition.

In all, five horses taking part in the Olympic showjumping competition staged in Hong Kong last August tested positive for Capsaicin, which is normally rubbed in as a lotion to ease pain.

Capsaicin is a derivative of the chilli pepper plant and, when used improperly, can cause the horses to suffer a burning sensation if they fail to clear the showjump bars, thereby straining themselves to jump higher to avoid the pain.

German rider Christian Ahlmann, whose horse Coster failed a drugs test at the Beijing Olympics for Capsaicin, was last October handed a four-month ban by the International Equestrian Federation (FEI).

Ahlmann appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), who then increased his ban to eight months after upholding another appeal by the German equestrian federation calling for a tougher sanction.

He is now banned until April 20, 2009.

[hkskyline]

FEI official avoids ban as Olympic probe starts
5 June 2009
Associated Press Newswires

LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) - A disciplinary tribunal of equestrian's governing body rejected a request Friday from within its own organization to suspend one of its officials over an alleged banned drugs treatment given to a horse at the Beijing Olympics.

The International Equestrian Federation's tribunal ruled that Hanfried Haring can continue working on the body's ruling bureau during a wide-ranging investigation of the German Olympics team's activities.

Haring's colleagues on the 18-member bureau had asked the tribunal to suspend him for allegedly keeping quiet about the treatment.

The tribunal said that "rules in horse-abuse cases did not allow for suspension prior to a final decision."

Princess Haya of Jordan, the FEI president, said the verdict had proved the tribunal's independence.

"Hanfried Haring remains a member of the bureau and his fellow bureau members will accord him the respect that he deserves," Princess Haya said in a statement.

The tribunal also refused to suspend German showjumper Marco Kutscher, a bronze medalist at the 2004 Athens Games, whose horse Cornet Obolensky is at the center of the probe.

Kutscher was reported to have broken competition rules by having the horse secretly treated between rounds at Hong Kong, where the Olympic equestrian events were held.

The FEI said it received reports the treatment "may have resulted in pain or discomfort to the horse when he fell against a stable wall, that the horse subsequently competed and that neither the treatment nor the welfare issue were reported at the time."

The tribunal could still act against former German team vet Bjorn Nolting, who was unable to attend hearings last week.

Kutscher placed 42nd in individual jumping and also competed in team jumping.

Germany topped the equestrian medal table at the Bejing Games with three golds, one silver and one bronze.

However, Germany disbanded its equestrian teams last week after separate drugs revelations involving Olympic horses ridden by Christian Ahlmann and Ludger Beerbaum.

A special FEI ethics panel is investigating the German team for possible "violations of FEI rules, Olympic rules or any other relevant state laws."

Led by John Stevens, a former chief of London's Metropolitan Police, the panel will also examine whether medals or standings were affected at previous Olympics.