I'm writing this from my own desk chair, looking at the comfortingly familiar surroundings of my home office. Yes, I'm finally home from the 2008 Olympic equestrian events in Hong Kong.

The journey encompassed a 15-hour departure-flight delay due to Typhoon Nuri -- Hong Kong's worst in nearly a decade, and scoring a direct hit on the city -- a long flight that crossed the international date line, thereby rendering me incapable of knowing what day it was or how long I'd been in the air; the inevitable missed connection; some nail-biting moments at the U.S. Airways gate during which I wasn't sure whether I'd get on the next available flight; and several more cramped hours in the air before a mid-evening landing on the East Coast. It was, no exaggeration, a long day's journey into night.

I've been logging 10+ hours of sleep a night since I've been home, and probably will continue to do so for a few more days until I've erased the sleep deficit. But I wanted to write one last blog entry while the sights, smells, and events of this incredible experience are still fresh.

Attending an Olympic Games is an extraordinary immersion in international culture, not only of the host nation but also of the many participating countries. You'll meet people from all over the world and get the chance to compare notes, to learn a bit about one another's world views, and to gain new perspectives on how you and your own nation are regarded by others, and why. By traveling halfway around the world, I got to know myself better. Curious but true. As a fan of equestrian sport, attending an Olympics is a chance to see the very best that each country has to offer.

An Olympic Games is not just another international competition, and the participants know it. Competing not just for oneself but as a representative of one's country adds an entirely new dimension and significance, and it shows. Watching with a critical eye, one soon perceives that not all nations field the same caliber of athlete. Riders from the top countries generally exhibit an attention to detail and a precision that are lacking in many from nations that tend not to make the leader boards. And although there is no denying the fact that competing at the Olympic level takes money, money alone can't buy medals. Just ask the jumper riders from Saudi Arabia, to name just one example. Most of all, watching the equestrian competition in Hong Kong, I had a sense of continued amazement that horses do for us all of what they do.

At this level of competition, horses are asked to remain relaxed, confident, focused, and to perform at their athletic peak in the middle of the night while handling grueling journeys, strange surroundings, noisy and restless crowds, marching bands, gigantic jumbotron images, elaborate decorations, TV cameras, and an "electric" atmosphere that no garden-variety horse show can equal. Let me tell you, I'm astonished that those horses went into that arena at all, much less performed at the levels they did. The horses showed a willingness and a generosity of spirit that we as riders can only strive to emulate. In the end, when all the fanfare is stripped away, it's still all about the wonderful partnership that humans can have with horses. To see some partnerships crescendo in the glare of the Olympic spotlight is not a memory that will soon fade.

I feel privileged to have been in attendance. If you get the opportunity to attend an Olympic Games, I'd urge you to go. It'll be an experience you will never forget.

For those who traveled to Hong Kong for the 2008 Olympic equestrian events, August came in like a lion and is roaring out like a starving pride of beasts. An August 6 typhoon ushered in many people's arrival, and a real monster of a storm is ushering us out -- or, more accurately, preventing us from leaving.

As I write this, Typhoon Nuri is a T9 on the typhoon scale -- that's 9 out of a scale of 10, meaning that we're a baby step away from being a full-fledged hurricane, and probably will be so in a few hours when Nuri makes landfall smack-dab over Hong Kong.

The wind has been howling since this morning, and the rain is coming down hard. Needless to say, the storm is wreaking havoc on flight departures. My own flight, which was scheduled to leave late this evening, is currently delayed until mid-morning tomorrow. I imagine the same is true for any Olympic horses and riders who were supposed to leave today. I'll see what I can find out on that front.

For the moment, the media hotel has battened down the hatches and the town of Sha Tin has closed its doors; nothing is open. But the lights are on in the hotel (at least for now), and services appear to be functioning more or less as usual. I've asked the hotel if I can extend my stay by an extra night and they said yes, so it looks as if I'll have somewhere to sleep tonight. The local TV news showed footage of many stranded passengers at Hong Kong International Airport, so I'm glad I'm not stuck there. I guess this journey will be an adventure right to the very end!

A number of people have posted or e-mailed to ask where they can find 2008 Olympic equestrian souvenirs. Many of us here in Hong Kong are asking the same question. The Beijing Olympics organizers have done a stand-up job on nearly everything here in Hong Kong, but they seem to have overlooked the merchandising cash cow that is Olympic souvenirs.

Sport-specific Olympic pins, which are always in demand for collecting and trading, are practically nonexistent at the equestrian-venue merchandise outlets. Polo shirts? Practically nil. T-shirts? Nope. Hats? Not much. Mugs? Sorry.

So what is in the venue store and its boutique outlet, located adjacent to the press center? Lots and lots of Fuwa -- which means "friendlies" in Chinese, or so I'm told: the cutesy child/animal mascots that are everywhere at these Games. You can get Fuwa-embellished key chains, plush dolls, cell-phone charms, eye shades, kids' toys, and generally a whole mess of rather kitschy items that look more like toys than Olympic souvenir collectibles, with almost no horses in sight.

So to my friends and family, if you are reading this, I am sorry but I won't be bringing you all those items I promised. What's frustrating is that a lot of the desired items apparently do exist, at least in Beijing (which, being a several-hours' plane ride away, is not an option for most) and in cyberspace. If you want to take a look at what's supposed to be available, here's the official merchandise site . I'll have to check it out to see if I can order items online after I get home.

It's midday on August 21 here in Hong Kong, and we're under what's known as a "T1" warning -- that's T as in typhoon.

A typhoon is a tropical cyclone, which when it makes landfall brings heavy rain and high winds. We're in the middle of typhoon season, which is much like hurricane season in the US, only with more frequent storms. A typhoon blew through Hong Kong on August 6, but since then we've been blessed with what I'm told is uncharacteristically dry and benign weather. Well, that may be about to end. The first of the rain is supposed to move in later today, and I imagine the Olympic equestrian photographers and broadcasters are busy wrapping their camera gear in plastic bags and getting out their raincoats and wellies for tonight's final equestrian competition, the individual jumping final and subsequent medals ceremony. But the show will go on, according to a news bulletin that popped up on my HK cell phone a short time ago.

Tomorrow and Saturday (Aug. 22 and 23) are contingency days built into the competition schedule, but evidently the organizers don't think they'll need to postpone the competition after all. And we know from the earlier typhoon that German footing expert Oliver Hoberg's handiwork in the main competition arena will stand up to anything Mother Nature dishes out. Actually, the brunt of Typhoon Nuri may come tomorrow, which is good news if you're a rider or a spectator but not so good if you are holding flight reservations for that date, as it happens that I am.

 My hope is that Nuri's worst blows through before my scheduled late-evening departure. Let me amend that to say that I hope that (a) Nuri goes elsewhere entirely, and, failing that, that (b) she's short and lacking in punch so as to disturb the fewest departures possible. For I'm not the only one scheduled to leave tomorrow: a number of the dressage horses, including individual silver medalist Satchmo of Germany, are scheduled to ship out then, not to mention the flood of media representatives, team members, officials, and others who will be trying to get out of Dodge this weekend. Safe and uneventful travels to all.

Olympic dressage competition joins the ranks of ice dancing with accusations of nationalism in judging. In the Grand Prix Freestyle, held last night, Germany's Isabell Werth earned a score of 78.100 percent to win the individual silver medal despite a major disobedience by her mount, Satchmo, who backed and bucked instead of piaffing at one point during their ride. It was essentially a repeat of the disobedience Satchmo showed in the Grand Prix Special test three days earlier.

The gold medalist, for a history-making third consecutive Olympics, was Anky van Grunsven of the Netherlands, paired again with her 2004 Games partner, Salinero. Their freestyle in Hong Kong earned a whopping 82.400 to secure the pair the undisputed top spot. Winning the bronze -- her first individual Olympic medal -- was Heike Kemmer of Germany, who had a lovely freestyle test aboard Bonaparte. I'd never met Kemmer before last night, but she was thrilled with her horse and their performance and struck me as someone I'd like to get to know better. If she comes to town to clinic, I'll sign up.

The controversy swirled around the failure of U.S. rider Steffen Peters on Ravel to medal. Their final average score (Special and Freestyle) was 74.150, a heartbreaking 0.305 behind Kemmer's 74.455. The crux of the grumbling was the fact that the head of the judging panel, Gotthilf Riexinger, who is German, placed Peters ninth in the freestyle while the other judges placed him second or third -- both medal positions. Riexinger defended the scoring by saying that Werth's freestyle had a higher degree of difficulty than Peters's and that, other than the disobedience, many aspects of Werth's ride were of superior quality. But if the annoyed buzzing on the shuttle buses and at the media hotel is any indication, not everyone believes Riexinger's explanation. "Steffen got robbed!" someone exclaimed this morning.

Peters, who is a gracious competitor as well as a superb horseman, isn't saying anything negative, at least in public. Werth, for her part, spoke frankly about the fact that Satchmo lost his confidence -- apparently this has been in issue in the past -- and said she'll have to work to regain it. She seemed in no way arrogant about her final placing -- happy to medal, of course; but I actually got the feeling that, had she not medaled, she would have been OK with it, despite some inevitable disappointment. She is too experienced a competitor to think that every competition will go exactly as she'd like it to.

Will anything come of this hubbub? If it does, I'll let you know.

I can't count the number of Olympic medal ceremonies I've watched on TV over the years. I even got to see one in person when I attended the 1996 Atlanta Games and saw Germany's Isabell Werth on Gigolo win the individual dressage gold medal over the Netherlands' Anky van Grunsven on Bonfire.

As thrilling as that experience was, last night I learned that nothing compares to hearing one's own national anthem played in person. The USA won the jumping team gold medal in a nail-biting jump-off with Canada, and when "The Star-Spangled Banner" rang out for Laura Kraut, Beezie Madden, Will Simpson, and McLain Ward and the stars and stripes were raised, it made for an unforgettable Olympic moment for this American journalist.

Olympic competition is so tightly scheduled that the medal ceremonies are finished practically before the results sink in, apparently even for some of the athletes. After last night's jump-off, the TV cameras caught Laura Kraut turning to Beezie Madden with a somebody-pinch-me-I-think-I'm-dreaming expression and saying, "Oh my God, we just won the gold medal!" The whirlwind of activity is such that it's hard to savor the moment. I hope the riders were able to do so. I know I did.

I see that a couple of blog readers have wondered about the competition schedule and how to access live coverage.

As I write this, the morning of August 16 in Hong Kong, team dressage has ended and individual competition begins tonight with the Grand Prix Special. US riders Courtney King-Dye on Mythilus and Steffen Peters on Ravel have qualified for the Special by placing 25th or better in the Grand Prix. Debbie McDonald on Brentina didn't make the cut. And yes, the mare performed very oddly but all those in the U.S. camp have insisted that Brentina is not unsound.

Individual jumping competition began last night with the first qualifier. So here's what's ahead: August 16: Dressage, Grand Prix Special August 17: Jumping, team round 1 & individual second qualifier August 18: Jumping, team round 2 and medal ceremony; individual third qualifier August 19: Dressage, Grand Prix Freestyle and individual medal ceremony August 20: rest day August 21: Jumping, individual final rounds A and B and individual medal ceremony NBCOlympics.com is streaming live coverage.

Hong Kong is twelve hours ahead of the US East Coast, so a competition that begins at 7:15 p.m. local time will be streaming at 7:15 a.m. that same day on your East Coast computer.

The morning's roundup of sights and observations at and around the 2008 Olympic equestrian events: The transport system.

Inter-venue shuttle buses are segregated by accreditation type, meaning that thou shalt not share a ride with an athlete or a venue worker. Environmentalists would shed more than one tear at seeing full-size motorcoaches idling empty, doors open and A/C blasting, waiting for passengers while would-be riders stand sweating, waiting for their buses -- both going to the same place. Begging, cajoling, and arguing with the security people have no effect.

The Dutch party room. A lounge in one of the official host hotels has been commandeered by the Dutch team, which has rented the space for the duration of the Games. Orange-accented posters of Dutch riders decorate the walls, thereby adding even more lurid contrast to the already over-the-top room, which is decorated with pink and purple upholstered chairs and a truly horrid carpet with hot pink and purple circles and swirls.

Out front is a large Heineken display, and I wonder what it looks like with a few (or more) beers under one's belt. Judging by the fact that the Dutch are nowhere to be found most mornings, my guess is that the effect can be pretty overwhelming. And I'm glad I'm on the twelfth floor of the hotel because the disco music kept several other journalists awake who were situated on lower floors.

When the crowds are away, the riders will play. The victorious German dressage team and its supporters gathered on the apron outside the main arena Thursday night around midnight, after the medals ceremony. There was Isabell Werth, walking over to the party with an official, still in her sweaty white breeches and show shirt. Walk inside the main building and there were the judges, grabbing a snack in the cafeteria at 12:45 a.m. The party went on until about 3:00 a.m., I'm told.

Want to cross the street? Take the "subway." Barriers prevent pedestrians in Hong Kong from crossing at street level (except for when this jogger vaulted a railing and crossed, half-expecting the police to descend). Instead, you're supposed to descend a flight of stairs (or a ramp, for cyclists) and pass through a tunnel under the street (the "subway"), coming up at the other end. The system is handy because you don't have to worry about traffic lights, but it can be tricky if you are directionally challenged, as I am. More than once I have emerged from a subway only to find myself proceeding in the opposite direction from the one I intended, thanks in part to the stairways that double back on themselves.

Interesting local cuisine. I'm reminded of the line by the comedian (I can't remember who it was) who said something along the lines of, "In China, they don't call it Chinese food; they just call it food." The nearby mega-shopping mall, New Town Plaza, has a Starbucks and a Shakey's Pizza; but the streetside establishments are just...food, many with outside floor-to-ceiling tanks housing all manner of sea creatures. Some of the dishes are relatively familiar to one who's visited lots of Chinese restaurants in the U.S., but others are quite a bit more exotic.

A daily special, spotted yesterday on a blackboard: fried spaghetti with ox tongue and tomato. Um, I think I'll pass. Ditto for the carp heads and the pigs' intestines. But my fried prawns in spicy salt were delicious and clear-your-sinuses spicy, served in heaps of panko crumbs dotted with little slices of red peppers. Shoppers' paradise. That mega-mall I mentioned? When I visited, it was thronged with visitors, some of whom lined the first-floor railing watching Olympic sports on a giant screen in the mall's huge open atrium. Equal numbers were dining in the many eateries, which range from the aforementioned Starbucks to every Asian specialty.

And then it was on to six (or was it seven?) floors of shopping, plus a movie theater. Each floor has a theme: electronics, sporting goods and apparel, cosmetics, etc. And each is staffed by young female customer-service guides attired in white newsboys' caps, white knickers, and white knee-high go-go boots.

The glasses. I don't know if contact lenses are popular here among the vision-impaired, but many young Chinese people sport glasses. The current fashion must be thick, black, narrow, rectangular "geek look" frames, for that's all I see on both guys and girls, except for a few girls who choose white frames instead of black. Not a flattering look in either color.

Here at the 2008 Olympic equestrian events in Hong Kong, it's not love; it's commerce -- or, more accurately, bartering.

Pin trading, long a popular Olympic pastime, is alive and well here. People stud their credential-card lanyards with pins, thereby becoming walking bazaars of sorts. Would-be traders eye the merchandise and offer up pins as prospective swaps. You don't need to speak the language to conduct a transaction. Some of the most enthusiastic pin traders here are the young Chinese women who, as part of the massive BOCOG work force, staff the shuttle-bus stops, information desks, and security checkpoints.

Yesterday, on my way out from the press center, I was approached by a checkpoint worker who gestured enthusiastically at my lanyard bling and held up a square pin bearing the Olympic rings, a Union Jack-styled logo, and the words "Team GB" (Great Britain). She chattered excitedly in Chinese, and I couldn't understand a word of it, but the result was that I got on the shuttle bus bearing a brand-new Team GB pin. And somewhere in China, someone is treasuring her new Dressage at Devon (Pennsylvania) pin.

The scenario was repeated just moments later, at the shuttle-bus stop. This time the exchange was conducted in English, and I now have a pretty silver pin from the Swedish equestrian team, and a Swedish groom has a Hong Kong equestrian pin.

2008 Olympic coverage on TheHorse.com:

• All Olympic Show Jumping Horses Pass Vet Inspection
• Surgery on Swedish Olympic Event Horse a Success, Vets Say
• Olympics: Germany is Tops Again in Team Dressage
• Cooling Systems Help Olympic Horses Beat the Heat  

When I visit a new place, or hear about someone else's trip, it's the little details that bring the place, the people, and the experience to life. In that spirit, here are some of the things I'll remember about Hong Kong and the 2008 Olympic equestrian competition.

A global melting pot. Want diversity? Attend an Olympic Games. Different accents and languages everywhere you go, many spoken by the same people. Coming from the city that made headlines for the "This is America; speak English" Philly-cheesesteak-shop debacle, I'm embarrassed at my inability to speak multiple languages and ashamed at how insular my country really is.

It's hot and humid ... in a different way. As an East Coast resident, I know all about heat and humidity. The wet blanket that covers this subtropical city doesn't seem much different at first -- but it is. Damp clothes and towels never seem to totally dry, even in my air-conditioned hotel room. I went for a jog yesterday and was doing fine on the flat terrain, right up to the point where suddenly I couldn't seem to get any air. I was OK, but it's as if the humidity sneaks up on you.

Blowing hot and cold. Want a surefire way to get a chill? Take your sweat-dampened self into any public place, which is air-conditioned to a truly arctic level. The Olympic press center is so cold that journalists can be seen sporting sweaters, jeans, shawls, and jackets in an attempt to keep warm. Frozen fingers clutch hot paper cups of tea, trying to get warm enough to type. The waiting is the hardest part. Almost everything about the organization of these Games is drawing praise from riders, officials, media representatives ... except the transportation system.

The good news is that Hong Kong appears to have commandeered every sparkling clean luxury motorcoach, wrapped it in "Beijing 2008" logos, and put it at the disposal of the accredited masses. The bad news is that someone decided for security reasons to separate those who take the shuttles: athletes, media representatives, officials, and so on. So if you're, say, a reporter and it's late and you've been up since 4:30 a.m. and it's now 10:30 p.m. and you really, really want to catch a bus back to your hotel, but the nearly empty coach before you has been designated "athletes only," then, well, too bad, you'll have to wait 30 minutes until your bus arrives.

This inflexibility, delivered in genuinely distressed tones by the many young BOCOG workers who staff the transit checkpoints, has drawn the ire of more than one well-known official or competitor.

Why have one when you could have three or four? I've never seen so many workers at an event. To ensure that I did not lose my way from the entrance to the Beas River cross-country venue to the shuttle-bus lot -- a distance of perhaps a hundred feet -- no fewer than six people helpfully waved me along. One appeared quite distressed when I diverted slightly from his ideal path.

At a media party at the Hong Kong Jockey Club last night, there were approximately three waiters bearing trays of drinks and hors d'oeuvres to every one guest. It can make for great service, but it's a little peculiar.

What's with the critters? In the same vein as Hello Kitty (which I think is actually Japanese), the Chinese seem wild for cutesy little creatures. The rear shelfs of many automobiles are filled with little stuffed animals. Practically every Olympic souvenir offered at the official venue shop features one or more Fuwa, the five 2008 Games "little children" mascots. No Olympic pins, no polo shirts, no mugs, no posters ... but oversized pens, eyeshades, key chains, cell-phone charms, trinkets, and stuffed likenesses of all sizes bearing Fuwa images.

Wellie boots. Locals clomp around town in Wellies of every imaginable color and design. They may look pretty silly paired with shorts on a sweltering day, but endure one rainstorm and you'll begin to see why they're not such a bad idea.

Umbrellas. They keep rain off when it's wet and sun off when it's fair. Locals carry them everywhere. My umbrella has become like the famous American Express slogan: I don't leave home without it. Those are some of the unique features of this city and country. I have about 10 days to go, so I'm sure I'll be able to tell you about lots more in the days to come. Equestrian competition switches from mornings-and-evenings to evenings only starting tomorrow, meaning that we journalists and photographers might actually get some sleep and may be able to sneak off to do a little sightseeing.

Stay tuned.

At the Olympic level, riders usually have access to many horses and may have their names linked to a number of equine partners during their competitive careers. It's perhaps easy to get the impression that, to a top rider, a horse is a mere tool, used to achieve a goal and discarded if he doesn't deliver.

Thirteen top riders--the members of the 2008 US Olympic eventing, dressage, and jumping teams--dispelled that notion at a series of press conferences held today in Hong Kong. Asked an innocuous question ("tell us about the horses you'll be riding during these Games"), the riders responded with surprisingly heartfelt praise and appreciation for their mounts. The Hong Kong Olympics will be bittersweet swan songs for eventer Amy Tryon and dressage rider Debbie McDonald.

Tryon, who won team bronze in Athens 2004 aboard the Thoroughbred gelding Poggio II, said that the sixteen-year-old Poggio will be retiring from advanced-level competition after these Games. So will Brentina, the seventeen-year-old Hanoverian mare who's been McDonald's partner for fourteen years.

"It will be an emotional moment," McDonald said, referring to Tuesday, August 19, when (assuming she qualifies by finishing fifteenth or better in the Grand Prix Special) she and Brentina will ride their signature Motown-themed freestyle in competition for the last time. But the most emotional rider of the day was eventer Karen O'Connor. She's a three-time Olympian (1988, 1996, and 2000) with a team silver and a team bronze medal under her belt. Yet she became visibly emotional as she described the horsehair bracelet she'll be wearing when she goes cross-country on Monday aboard Mandiba, a nine-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding owned by Joan Goswell. The horsehair is "Teddy's"--Theodore O'Connor, the "little eventer that could" pony who captured the hearts of both O'Connor and eventing enthusiasts everywhere, and who was humanely destroyed on May 28 after a freak accident at O'Connor's barn in The Plains, VA.

Maybe it's the real horsemen and -women who make it to the top in our sport. I'd like to think that the cream rises to the top and that those who lack regard for the horse fall by the wayside.
 

Karen O'Connor

Karen O'Connor, for one, is keenly aware that eventing has faced harsh criticism and hat concerns for horses' welfare have been leveled at participants and officials--not surprising, given that two horses had to be put down following falls at the 2008 Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event.

"This is the most professional group of riders I've ever been on a team with," she said, referring to Tryon, Phillip Dutton (this year's Rolex winner aboard his 2008 Olympic mount, Connaught), and Gina Miles (McKinlaigh). "They have a tremendous moral compass. Our job is to make their [the horses'] job easy. We take that very, very seriously."

How seriously? Stay tuned for cross-country, which begins at 8:00 a.m. on Monday.

Are you geared up for the 2008 Olympic equestrian events -- eventing, dressage, and jumping? I am. I'm Jennifer Bryant, certified Olympics junkie and author of Eclipse Press's new book, Olympic Equestrian: A Century of International Horse Sport. I'm currently en route to Hong Kong for my first-ever sojourn as a credentialed Olympic journalist, and I'll be blogging here about the experience. Currently I'm jet-lagged in San Francisco, waiting for a zero-dark-thirty departure to HK. I'll update you as soon as I can after I arrive. Meanwhile, get a taste of what's in store by visiting the official 2008 Olympic equestrian Web site, http://www.equestrian2008.org. Opening ceremonies (in Beijing) are August 8 (the Chinese consider the number 8 to be lucky, and the ceremonies are on 08-08-2008), and equestrian competition begins August 9 with eventing dressage.