CHINA: OLYMPICS - Media have a first look at the Hong Kong Olympic Equestrian venue

Record ID: 329509

  • Title: CHINA: OLYMPICS - Media have a first look at the Hong Kong Olympic Equestrian venue
  • Date: 25th May 2008
  • Summary: SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) JULIAN ROBERT WRIGHT, PROJECT MANAGER, THE HONG KONG JOCKEY CLUB SAYING: "If you then feel it here, it's all meshed together as I previously said. The plastic gives some spring. The rubber mat also helps to give some spring. So for show jumping this gives a little bit more spring and life to the footing." CLOSE UP OF A SAMPLE OF THE SAND CLOSE OF GEO TEXTILES AND OTHER FIBROUS MATERIAL REPORTERS WATCHING THE DEMONSTRATION
  • Embargoed: 9th June 2008 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: China
  • Country: China
  • Topics: Sports
  • Reuters ID: LVAAXGH2JVVVQK212Y3EOBIWFH76
  • Story Text: Hong Kong is gearing up to host equestrian events for the upcoming Olympics.
    The Hong Kong Jockey Cub previewed its all-weather equestrian venue to media on Thursday. The engineers demonstrated the state-of-art material and equipment used for the facility that has cost the club HK$1.2 billion (US$150 million).
    A combination of rubber mats and mix of fine quartz sand, geotextiles and fibres have been used to create the surface of the arena to provide bounce and stability for the horses.
    "If you then feel it here, it's all meshed together as I previously said," said Julian Robert Wright, project manager, The Hong Kong Jockey Club. "The plastic gives some spring. The rubber mat also helps to give some spring. So for show jumping this gives a little bit more spring and life to the footing."
    Expensive equipment has been brought in to level the outdoor and indoor arenas to take care of the drainage in case of heavy rainfall.
    "You'll see that there's a tripod with a laser that circulates at the top," said Wright. "That's set at a specific level and a particular angle and it's then picked up by the hydraulics at the back of the tractor.
    This means that all the time that it means across the arena it's adjusting itself. It then means that it can level the arena to a perfectly flat plane."
    The venue is designed to seat eighteen thousand spectators and includes training and veterinary facilities.
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