Live from the Equestrian Olympics

Farewell, Hong Kong

Jennifer — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 16:21:00 GMT

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.

The Ides of August

Jennifer — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 07:10:00 GMT

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!

Where's the Good Stuff?

Jennifer — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 05:47:00 GMT

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.

Stormy Weather

Jennifer — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 05:24:00 GMT

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.

Dressage Medals Controversy

Jennifer — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 04:01:00 GMT

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.