Hong Kong's first-ever Equestrian Pavilion further builds the City's Olympic atmosphere

4 November 2007

The Hong Kong Jockey Club today (4 November) unveiled its latest initiative to boost public interest in equestrian sports and next year's Olympic equestrian events in Hong Kong - a purpose-built Equestrian Pavilion in Penfold Park, Sha Tin.  The Pavilion will be open until the end of April 2008 and admission is free.

Officiating at the opening ceremony were Club Chairman Mr John C C Chan; Permanent Secretary for Home Affairs Mrs Carrie Yau; Secretary General of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the HKSAR, Mr Zhao Guangting; President of the Sports Federation & Olympic Committee of Hong Kong, China, The Hon Timothy Fok, GBS, JP; Chief Executive Officer of The Equestrian Company, Mr Lam Woon-kwong; President of the Hong Kong Equestrian Federation, Mr Simon Ip; Chairman of the Hong Kong Paralympics Committee & Sports Association for the Physically Disabled, Mrs Jenny Fung and Club Chief Executive Officer, Mr Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges.  The guests were then shown around the interactive exhibits at the Pavilion by the Club's Equestrian Ambassador.

Key elements of the Pavilion include an Novel Electronic Book with pages that auto-turn at the touch of a fingertip, detailing the chronology of events from Hong Kong being granted the rights to co-host the Olympic equestrian events until the HKSAR 10^th Anniversary Cup eventing competition this August; the Hands-on Data Bank operating through an interactive table interface; a walk-in Captivating Circular Theatre with a 120-degree curved screen, introducing the Olympics and the equestrian events through an engrossing multimedia presentation; a Photo Fun Corner enabling visitors to have their photos taken against selected equestrian-related backdrops; models of the equestrian venues; an Olympic stable and displays of equestrian gear.  As well as enjoying the indoor exhibition, the public will have the chance to see actual jumping fences and a judging hut used for equestrian competitions in the outdoor area, as well as meeting the Club's Shetland ponies "up close and personal". ( Please refer to Fact Sheet for details )

"The finish of the Olympics will not be the end, on the contrary, it signifies the start of the Olympic legacy in Hong Kong,!‥ Mr Chan said.  "We have plans to build a permanent Olympics & Olympic Equestrian Museum to commemorate Hong Kong's participation in the Games and its witnessing of this historic sporting event."

"I am sure the permanent Olympics & Olympic Equestrian Museum, when built, will extend Hong Kong people's collective memories on the Olympic equestrian events held in Hong Kong," Mrs Carrie Yau said. "The International Olympic Committee (IOC) Co-ordination Commission was very impressed by the Equestrian venue when they were here last month."

To enable more people to share the excitement of the fast-approaching Olympic Games and acquire knowledge of the Olympic equestrian events, the Club's C.A.R.E. volunteer team invited two groups of visitors from St James Settlement and Tung Wah Group of Hospitals Jockey Club Tin Shui Wai Integrated Services Centre to join today's opening ceremony.  

As Penfold Park will be one of the training venues for the Olympic equestrian events, it has to be handed over to the Government in May 2008.  Therefore, the Pavilion can only stay open to the public until the end of April 2008. ( Please refer to the Fact Sheet for detailed opening dates and hours )