Hong Kong's preparations to host the 2008 Olympic equestrian events got a resounding thumbs-up after the first day of the Good Luck Beijing HKSAR 10th Anniversary Cup Equestrian Eventing Competition, which opened here on Saturday.
Miranda Chiu, deputy CEO of the Equestrian Company, said everything had gone smoothly after first day's competition.
"So far all the reactions have been positive," she said. "We hope this competition will cultivate more intense interest in equestrian before the Olympics."
Frank Ostholt, a member of Germany's World Championship winning team in 2006 was impressed with the facilities at Sha Tin after completing his dressage test.
"The facilities are perfect," he said. "They are trying to do a good job. There are a few things to improve like the traffic flow to the stables. Little things."
The competition went ahead on schedule despite the influence of Tropical Storm Pabuk which prompted the Observatory to raise the No. 8 typhoon signal a day earlier. However, the weather didn't affect the performance of the horses.
Bruce Davidson, a member of the American team, was also happy following his first competitive ride at the Sha Tin venue.
"The lighting is perfect and is situated in a good place," he said. "I think a few things need to be ironed out like communications, but overall the facilities are way ahead of previous test events."
"This is a test event. We did not come here thinking about winning or losing but to get things ironed out for next year," he added.
John Chan, Chairman of the Hong Kong Jockey Club which is providing facilities for the competition, said he was pleased with the response from the participating teams.
"So far the feedback has been extremely positive," he said. "We have stood the test of the weather and the stabling facilities have been very well received. We will review the experiences to see if any improvements need to be made to the physical facilities."
The cross-country phase will take place at The Hong Kong Olympic Equestrian venue at Beas River on Sunday before the teams return to Sha Tin for the jumping competition on Monday.
Source: Xinhua
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