At exactly 8:08 p.m. on August 8, the official one-year-to-go countdown to the 2008 Olympic Games was launched.

Eight is considered a lucky number in Chinese culture. In general, eight is an auspicious number for Buddhists.

In front of 10,000 people gathered on Tianan’men Square, with the Forbidden City as a backdrop, a sumptuous ceremony took place where Chinese culture and traditions were clearly on show. The International Olympic Committee President handed out the official invitations to the National Olympic Committees and called upon the youth of the world to gather in China one year from now to celebrate the Games of the XXIX Olympiad.

The other host cities, including Hong Kong where the equestrian competition will be staged, were also involved in the ceremony through the miracles of modern technology. Celebration events in these cities were shown as part of the evening’s entertainment to the audience in Beijing and to television viewers across the planet.

Meanwhile, as the party is in full swing, the mood in Hong Kong is highly concentrated. Indeed, the test event—Good Luck Beijing, HKSAR 10TH Anniversary Cup Eventing Competition—which for international riders takes the form of a CCI**, will be held from August 11-13.

The main objective of this test event is to examine in detail the logistics surrounding the Olympic equestrian competition. The teams have travelled not so much to evaluate the sports performances of their horses and riders but to carefully examine the facilities and operate as effectively as possible next year. Special attention will be given to the study of the climatic conditions that may present difficulties given the high temperatures and level of humidity that occur in Hong Kong in mid-August.

Seventeen highly experienced riders and horses representing Australia, France, Germany, Great Britain, Ireland, The Netherlands, Sweden and the USA will compete in the test event. Among them is American Bruce (Buck) Davidson, Jr., winner of the 1974 CH**** Burghley on Irish Cap and the 1978 CH**** Lexington on Might Tango. In addition, Laine Ashker will represent the U.S. Ashker has represented the U.S. in the Junior Olympics, winning the Silver medal twice and three Bronze medals. In 2004, she won the Markham Trophy at the Fair Hill International CCI*** as the highest-placing young rider.

Other competitors include France’s Olympic team champion Nicolas Touzaint on Liam de la Roche; he is also the winner of the 2006 FEI World Cup™ Eventing Final and a national eventing champion. Australia is represented by Shane Rose on Stratford Novalis and Megan Jones on Kirby Park Fedwell. Shane Rose represented Australia at the 1998 FEI World Equestrian Games and finished third at last year’s CCI**** Burghley. Megan Jones, who will be seeking qualification for the actual Olympic Games with the same horse, was the groom for Wendy Schaeffer’s horse when Australia won the Gold medal at the Atlanta Olympic Games; she was part of the Australian team that won Bronze at the 2006 FEI World Equestrian Games.

The full list of the competing combinations is as follows:

Australia
Megan Jones/Kirby Park Fedwell
Shane Rose/Stratford Novalis

France
Nicolas Touzaint/Liam de la Roche
Gilles Viricel/Taco Van Het Klokkenhof

Germany
Frank Ostholt/Alter the Battle
Andreas Ostholt/Rainman
Anna Junkmann/Cancun
Dirk Schrade/Grand Amour

Great Britain
Caroline Moore/Don Giovanni II
Amy Young/Highville
Amanda Ratcliffe/Teveri

Ireland
Sarah Wardell/Kincluny

The Netherlands
Jan van Beek/Troy
Madeleine Brugman/Marengo

Sweden
Anna Hilton/Mr Spiritus

USA
Bruce Davidson, Jr./Ballynoe Castle
Laine Ashker/Anthony Patch

The tentative timetable is as follows

Saturday, August 11: