At exactly 8h 08min pm on 8 August was launched the official one-year-to-go countdown to the 2008 Olympic Games.

Eight (? in Mandarin, pronounced b?) is considered a lucky number in Chinese culture. In general, eight is an auspicious number for Buddhists.

In front of 10,000 people gathered on Tianan’men Square, with the Forbidden City as a backdrop, took place a sumptuous ceremony where Chinese culture and traditions were clearly on show. The IOC President handed out the official invitations to the National Olympic Committees and called upon the youth of the world to gather in China one year from now to celebrate the Games of the XXIX Olympiad.

The other host-cities, among which Hong Kong where the equestrian competition will be staged, were also involved in the ceremony through the miracles of modern technology. Celebration events in these cities were shown as part of the evening’s entertainment to the audience in Beijing and to television viewers across the planet.

Meanwhile, as the party is in full swing, the mood in Hong Kong is highly concentrated. Indeed, the test event – Good Luck Beijing, HKSAR 10TH Anniversary Cup Eventing Competition - which for international riders takes the form of a CCI 2*, will be held from 11 to 13 August.

The main objective of this test event is to examine in detail the logistics surrounding the Olympic equestrian competition. The teams have travelled not so much to evaluate the sports performances of their horses and riders but to carefully examine the facilities and operate as effectively as possible next year. Special attention will be given to the study of the climatic conditions which may present difficulties given the high temperatures and level of humidity that occur in Hong Kong in mid-August.

Seventeen highly experienced riders and horses representing Australia, France, Germany, Great Britain, Ireland, The Netherlands, Sweden and the USA will compete in the test event. Among them is France’s Olympic team champion Nicolas Touzaint on Liam de la Roche; he is also the winner of the 2006 FEI World CupTM Eventing Final and a national Eventing champion. Australia is represented by Shane Rose on Stratford Novalis and Megan Jones on Kirby Park Fedwell. Shane Rose represented Australia at the 1998 World Equestrian Games and finished third at last year’s CCI 4* Burghley. Megan Jones, who will be seeking qualification for the actual Olympic Games with the same horse, was the groom for Wendy Schaeffer’s horse when Australia won the gold medal at the Atlanta Olympic Games; she was part of the Australian team which won bronze at the 2006 FEI World Equestrian Games.

The full list of the competing combinations is as follows:

Australia
Megan Jones / Kirby Park Fedwell
Shane Rose / Stratford Novalis

France
Nicolas Touzaint / Liam de la Roche
Gilles Viricel / Taco Van Het Klokkenhof

Germany
Frank Ostholt / Alter the Battle
Andreas Ostholt / Rainman
Anna Junkmann / Cancun
Dirk Schrade / Grand Amour

Great Britain
Caroline Moore / Don Giovanni II
Amy Young / Highville
Amanda Ratcliffe / Teveri

Ireland
Sarah Wardell / Kincluny

The Netherlands
Jan van Beek / Troy
Madeleine Brugman / Marengo

Sweden
Anna Hilton / Mr Spiritus

USA
Bruce Davidson, Jr. / Ballynoe Castle
Laine Ashker / Anthony Patch

The tentative timetable is as follows

Saturday, 11 August, Dressage – 9h00
Sunday, 12 August, Cross Country – 9h30
Monday, 13 August, Jumping – 20h20

However, in view of a tropical cyclone, the timing may be slightly postponed.

The weather conditions may indeed prove challenging but specialists are confident that a safe event will be delivered.

“Conditions here are slightly more oppressive than they were in Atlanta or Athens, because of the higher humidity,” says from Hong Kong Australian team veterinarian Denis Goulding. “But the stables are air-conditioned, the indoor arena has air conditioning, there are cooling and misting tents. Everything that’s required is here and the facilities are probably better than at any other venue.”

Goulding, who will be taking part in his fifth Olympic Games next year, also pointed to the experts in equine welfare that the Organising Committee and the FEI have assembled from around the world.

The other countries’ officials are also happy with the conditions at Hong Kong. The horses arrived between 28 July and 2 August; they maintain hydration and eat well. The organisation is running smoothly, no major unexpected problems have arisen.

For additional information on the test event, please visit the official website www.equestrian2007.org.

2008 Olympic Games
The Games of the XXIX Olympiad – Beijing 2008 will take place from 8 to 24 August 2008. The equestrian events will begin on 9 August and will end on 21 August. Three contingency days have been specifically integrated in the timetable to allow for the competitions to be rescheduled if difficulties in connection with the climate were to arise.

The Games will play host to the 28 summer sports currently on the Olympic programme. Approximately 10,500 athletes are expected to participate in the Games with around 20,000 accredited media bringing the Games to the world. The numbers of riders / horses per disicipline is as follows: Dressage. 50 riders / 50 horses (10 reserve horses, 1 per team); Jumping: 75 horses / 75 riders (15 reserve horses, 1 per team); Eventing: 75 horses / 75 riders (no reserve horses).