Equestrian at the 2008 Summer Olympics

Equestrian competitions at the Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics were held from August 9 to August 21 at the Hong Kong Sports Institute and Beas River Venue in Hong Kong. It was the second time the equestrian events were hosted by another member of the IOC other then the member hosting the main games. Unlike 1956, however, the equestrian events are part of the main games, and are held within the same period.

Events

6 sets of medals will be awarded in the following events:
* individual dressage
* team dressage
* individual [Show jumping|jumping]
* team jumping
* individual [eventing]
* team eventing

Qualification

Each event has its own qualification rules, but generally rely on FIE rankings.

Dressage qualification

For the team competition there were a total of 10 quota spots and as many composite as qualify. Three team spots were awarded at the 2006 FEI World Equestrian Games. In addition 7 team spots were awarded at regional competitions (Europe: 3, Americas: 2, Asia: 2). In addition, should a country have three athletes qualified in the individual competition, they will be considered a team and allowed to compete as a composite team. Five teams qualified under this scheme.

For the individual competition, 50 spots were allocated as follows. Thirty spots were awarded to the athletes who qualified as teams above. In addition, the highest ranked rider from each of seven geographic regions and the host nation qualify. Then the top twelve riders based on rank FIE rank who had not otherwise qualified are given spots.

Jumping qualification

A country may send up to five riders if it qualified for the team competition, two otherwise. Similar to Dressage, teams of five riders were qualified at either the World Equestrian Games, a region competition, or through a composite spot. The WEG awarded five spots, the regions eight (Americas: 2, Europe: 2, Asia: 4), and two composite teams qualified. For the individual competition there were a total of 73 spot allocated as follows: 45 team member, 1 host nation, 7 regional, and 22 at-large.

Eventing qualification

Competition schedule

All times are Hong Kong Time (UTC+8).

Venue

The equestrian competitions are to be held apart from the main games in Hong Kong, which is a separate member to the IOC. This is because the Hong Kong has established a huge horse racing industry since its British colonial days; therefore, strict quarantine measures for horses has been well established in the region, and will likely result in fewer problems with equine disease than other cities in mainland China. Additionally, there are already some stabling sites for horses within Hong Kong, hence less construction is needed to facilitate the equestrian sports required by the Olympics.

There will be 2 main equestrian venues: Hong Kong Sports Institute (adjacent to Sha Tin Racecourse) and the Beas River Country Club. The Sports Institute will hold the main competition arena, which includes 80 x 100 meter stadium will all-weather footing and seating for 18,000. The Beas River Country Club will be the site of the cross-country phase of eventing, which will be held on the golf course.

Weather

Hong Kong is known to have hot, humid, and sometimes dangerous weather in August, so much so that racing is cancelled during the summer months.Or|date=August 2008 This includes a mean air temperature of 28.4 °C (83.1 °F) with 82% humidity, making it even more inclement than Athens (mean temperature of 27.6°C (81.6 °F), humidity 48%) and Atlanta (26 °C (78 °F), 75% humidity).

Some competitors made it clear that they believed that it would be unfair to work their horses in such weather. Swiss dressage rider Sylvia Ikle was one such rider, and the Swiss unfortunately decided not to send a team because they would have had little chance of winning a medal without her.Verify source|date=August 2008

To combat the heat, the horses will be transported from the airport in Hong Kong to the stabling facilities in air-conditioned vans. The stables are all air-conditioned as well, at a temperature of 20 °C (68 °F). For the first time in history, there will also be an indoor arena for training that will also be air-conditioned. Misting fans will be placed under tents at both venues to cool off horses that have worked outside. There will also be vast quantities of ice water available. There is also a veterinary clinic on site, which can test the horses' urine several times to ensure they are all properly hydrated.

The cross-country course was also designed with a shorter, alternate route to be used if the heat and humidity warrant it. The show jumping will be held under lights at night to avoid the heat. The footing is made of high tensile fibers and quartz sand, which has a great ability to absorb water, so that any rain should have minimal effect on the footing used for dressage and show jumping competitions.

Courses

The show jumping courses (both Grand Prix and the eventing stadium phase) are to be designed by Leopoldo Palacios of Venezuela and Steve Stephens of the USA. Michael Etherington-Smith of Great Britain will design the cross-country course.

Participation

More than 200 horses from 41 nations will be competing.
*Dressage: 13 teams of 3 riders each, and 10 individuals.
*Eventing: 5 riders per team, with only 3 scores counting.

References

* [http://www.beijing2008.com Beijing 2008]
* [http://www.equestrian2008.org/ Beijing 2008 Equestrian]
* [http://www.horsesport.org Federation Equestre Internationale]
* [http://www.fei.org/Events/Olympic_Games/Documents/2008CompetitionScheduleJuly2007.pdf FEI Official Competition Timetable]

External links

* [http://www.equineonline.net/equestrian-olympics-beijing-2008.php Latest Equestrian News & Results from Beijing 2008]