The Hong Kong Jockey Club today handed over Olympic-ready stables and other support facilities at the Hong Kong Olympic Equestrian Venue (Beas River) to the Equestrian Company, organisers of this summer's Olympic equestrian events.
The Beas River venue is where the cross-country phase of the Olympic Eventing discipline will be staged on 11 August. Training and warm-up arenas, air-conditioned stabling for 80 horses, an equine clinic and cooling stations have been built and outfitted by the Club at its Beas River property specifically for the Olympic Equestrian Events.
"While today's handover marks another major milestone in the countdown to the Games, the Club's involvement in the Olympic Equestrian Events is certainly not over now that both the Sha Tin and Beas River venues have been handed over to the Equestrian Company", said John Ridley, the Club's Business Manager for the Olympic project.
"As the official organiser the Equestrian Company is in charge of actually running the Olympic Equestrian Events, but the Club's role as Outstanding Contributor also involves a massive amount of back-of-house support, both in the build-up to the Games and during Games-time, as well as the use of important Club facilities such as the Racing Laboratory and Equine Hospital.
The cross-country course, on the grounds of the Hong Kong Golf Club adjacent to Beas River, is in the final stage of construction and will be handed over in mid-July. Course designer Mike Etherington-Smith is pleased with how his blueprints are being transformed into 3-D reality. "The compactness of the course is a huge plus for both on-site spectators and TV viewers at home, " said Etherington-Smith, who also designed the 2000 Sydney Olympic cross-country course. "It will look spectacular."
For his 2008 Games course, Etherington-Smith has incorporated a number of Chinese features into his design, with dragons, the Great Wall and chopstick motifs highlighting the cultural richness of Olympic co-hosts Beijing and Hong Kong.
As well as the artistic designs of the fences, which have been superbly interpreted by course builder David Evans, the grass footing has also earned high praise for its technical excellence. "The footing is amazing," Etherington-Smith said. "The Jockey Club technicians are the best in the business when it comes to footing."
The cross-country test is the centrepiece of the Olympic Eventing discipline. Eventing and the two other Olympic equestrian competitions of Dressage and Jumping are being organised by Equestrian Events (Hong Kong) of the Games of the XXIX Olympiad Company Limited (the Equestrian Company).
Together, the Club's back-of-house and support facilities and the cross-country course cover a total of 372,000 square meters. The Beas River venue will provide one of the most picturesque landscapes during the Beijing 2008 Olympics, with its undulating grassland against a sensational mountain backdrop.
