They show horses, don’t they?

(Not really law-related, but interesting)

Readers may or may not know that the equestrian events of the 2008 Olympics are being held in Hong Kong, rather than Beijing, because of the incredible health and bureaucratic issues that would have resulted from trying to import the horses to Beijing. In particular, the horses would have had to stay in quarantine for an unreasonable amount of time in order to leave China after the games. Hong Kong was chosen as the alternate site because of its efficient, established ‘equine infrastructure,’ due to the huge presence of horse racing there. In fact, it was the Hong Kong Jockey Club that put forth the incredible effort into building and readying the various venues needed for eventing, show jumping, and dressage. Of note – the eventing cross country course was actually created on a golf course! And if you want to see how HKJC handled the arrival of so many Olympic horses, this video is great; Hong Kong is serious about horses.

I have noted before the fact that, in the interest of the horse, there needs to be a greater dialogue in the United States between the racing industry and the sport horse industry. Soundness, shoeing, drugging – these are common issues. Another common issue is footing. If you think that it’s hard to keep the various racing synthetic surfaces straight, try arena footing: rubber, textile, or hybrid, and that’s just one company.

That’s why I found the below video so interesting. Not only does it talk about the Hong Kong Jockey Club’s efforts at bringing the equestrian events to Hong Kong, but it highlights the teamwork that went into creating the footing.

Now, the footing quality on the cross country course? That remains to be seen ….

And if you’re curious to see what a retired racehorse can do after leaving the track – watch for  Courageous Comet with Becky Holder in the eventing competition.