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.