Following Canada's Equestrian Team

It’s been a bit busy lately and sadly I’m behind on my postings. On Monday night, I was invited to dinner with the Canadian Eventing team at a restaurant atop the Sheraton Kowloon. The view as spectaculor! Not only do most of the buildings have brightly coloured decorative lighting, but at 8pm a number of the buildings put on a synchronized laser show. My pictures here from my little Powershot camera don’t do it justice, believe me. The dinner was sumptious, and it was nice to get to know the Eventers a little bit better (being a Dressage girl myself). Also sitting around the table were Canadian Team Leader Mike Gallagher, US Team Leader Jim Wolf, Canadian Event Coach David O’Connor and the head of racing operations at the Hong Kong Jockey Club John Ridley. Converation was both interesting and entertaining, especially the discussion comparing the changes to the sport of eventing today compared to 20 years ago…..and where it might be heading in the future. Not to mention I had some of the most delicious crab cakes I’ve ever eaten!

Yesterday and today were pretty quiet days. Went to the New Town Plaza to pick up the rest of the sim cards for the phones that the riders, grooms and support staff will be using to stay connected during the games. Enjoyed an absolutely delicious lunch of beef regahn (sp?). Prices here are incredibly good. Lunch for 2 including soft drinks came to approx $18 Canadian dollars. I decided to be a bit adventurous (for me) and walked back to the hotel from the mall. I did a bit of exploring of the Sha Tin Park, then walked across the bridge over the Shing Mun River. Only took about 15 mins although the heat was pretty intense.

fountain by the mall......yes, those are eyeballs

Today was another quiet day. Met with the hotel’s catering director to organize the final details on a Welcome reception that is being held for the Canadian Team August 5th. I love the food here and can’t wait to try the spicy fish cakes and satays! In the afternoon, Mike and I travelled to Hong Kong Island to meet with members of the Canadian Consulate who will be holding a special reception in honour of the Canadian Equestrian Team. Their office offered a fantastic view so I’ve posted a few pictures here. Today is apparently the hottest day on record (34 but feels like 50…..that’s not a typo either!), with also record smog as is evident in the photos. The ‘very hot weather warning’ remains in effect. The next few days are supposed to be rainy so hopefully that will cool things off a bit and won’t produce a sauna effect. I think the Eventers are planning their first day of riding tomorrow as their team coach, David O’Connor, arrived last night.

the building on the left was used to shoot an action scene in the latest Batman movie "Dark Knight". Sadly, I did not see Christian Bale.

cool architecture

more cool architecture

iphones are everywhere!

police station

botanical version of the Olympic rings

Today was an exciting day as the first Canadian Team horses arrived – the event horses. Madison Park (Kyle Carter), Kingpin (Mike Winter), Buenos Aires (Sandra Donnelly), Columbo (Selena O’Hanlon) and Livewire (Samantha Taylor) all stepped off the rockstar horse van looking great. The Hong Kong Jockey Club officials demonstrated their superior skills in getting the horses off the plane, into the horse van and to the stables in less than 2 hours since the plane touched down. A little different than Rio that’s for sure!

The horses seem to enjoy their new luxurious accommodation and settled in quickly. The Canadian Eventing Team have been preparing at a training camp in Florida so both the horses and riders are already well acclimatized to the hot & humid weather. Other horses arriving today include those from the Netherlands and Germany, including Anky herself who strolled by on Salinero. Although the barns have been pretty quiet these past couple of days things will be getting busy fast as more horses continue to arrive. Next Canadian horses due are the Dressage Team who are set to arrive July 30th. Very exciting!

Also woth mentioning are the grooms quarters. I had the chance to take a small tour and they are really quite nice. Each room sleeps 3 and includes its own bathroom & shower. There are also common areas with couches, tvs, a selection of newspapers and computers with internet access. And a pool! The grooms seem quite happy with the setup.

Misting station for the horses

warm-up rings

another warmup ring

one of the common rooms in the grooms quarters

check out the incredibly spacious aisles, complete with rubber matting

very fluffy stall

muck baskets and broom...Hong Kong style

Madison Park and Paige

Livewire and Debbie

Columbo and Pam

Buenos Aires & Marlene

walking towards the stables

.....enjoying a quick catnap

Hi Mom!

Hospitality Desk at the airport

The flight was 15 1/2 hours long, and it felt every minute of 15 1/2 hours long……but I finally made it to Hong Kong. I think Mike was worried that I would leave gouge marks in his arm, and was pleasantly surprised to find that his arms were mark free. Travelled beside a woman who has been teaching in Singapore for the last 5 years and regularly makes the trip back and forth. She had to transfer in HK to another flight which was 4 hours. Yikes!

Pictured here is the hospitality desk that is located right before customs. If you are coming to HK, I recommend that you stop here as they are extremely helpful and want to make sure that everyone is greeted properly. The accreditation area is right behind them in a white tent. We had 2 very nice girls who personally escorted us to the accred. area, took us through the express lane in customs, made sure a shuttle bus was waiting for us and escorted us to the bus. Now that is service! The bus still had that new car smell and we were the only customers.

Our friendly helpers from the hospitality desk

The bus took us straight to the Regal Riverside Hotel where I am staying. Mike also stayed the first night as the Olympic Village hotel was not opening until the next day. The Regal is where media is staying, plus there will be some athletes and grooms as well. I think we were just about the first to arrive as we didn’t see anyone, although Graeme Thom (Eventing’s chef) and Debbie (Eventing’s stable manager) arrived on the 23rd and are also staying at the Regal.

Time to check in, freshen up, then meet with Graeme to get the lowdown since he and Debbie had already been to the venue. Next it was grabbing something to eat and heading back to the airport to meet 3 of the Eventing grooms who were flying in ahead of the horses.

more helpers at the shuttle bus service!

first glimpse of Hong Kong

series of bridges from the airport which light up at night

highrises are the building of choice in HK where land is at a premium

Ashley Holzer & Pop Art

Wow, the media coverage is coming from all angles for members of the Canadian Equestrian Team!

Check out the article in the South China Morning Post on Olympic dressage team member Ashley Holzer and Pop Art.