The FEI wishes to announce “On to Hong Kong,” a workshop to assist national federations to prepare for the 2008 Olympic Games in Hong Kong. The event, to be organized by the FEI’s Welfare Sub-committee, will take place in Lausanne, Switzerland, from February 16-18, 2008.

The objective of the workshop will be to promote the health and welfare of the horses by making the information collected at the August 2007 Test Event available to all Federation officials, veterinarians, riders, chefs d’equipe and others. The workshop will be open to all for a registration fee.

The program will include the following presentations:

• Setting the scene – John McEwen BVMS, MRCVS, Chairman of the FEI Veterinary Committee ([email protected])
• Overview of facilities and local arrangements – Dr Chris Riggs BVSc, PhD, DEO, Dip. ECVS, MRCVS, Head of Veterinary Clinical Services, Hong Kong Jockey Club ([email protected])
• Understanding the weather situation in Hong Kong for the Olympic Games – the results of a two year study with the Hong Kong Observatory – Professor Leo Jeffcott, MA, BVetMed, PhD, FRCVS, DVSc, VetMedDr, University of Sydney, Australia, Veterinary Delegate for the 2008 Olympic Games ([email protected]).
• Air conditioned facilities and cooling stations – Dr. David Marlin, BSc (Hons.) PhD, David Marlin Consulting Ltd, Newmarket, UK ([email protected])
• Results of horse monitoring – Dr. Catherine W. Kohn, VMD, Dipl. ACVIM, Professor, Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences at The Ohio State University, USA ([email protected])
• Horse transportation logistics – Martin H. Atock, Managing Director, Peden Bloodstock, Leyenburg, Rheurdt, Germany ([email protected])

There will be a Question and Answer Panel discussion following the presentations.

The Chairman of the Welfare Sub-Committee, Dr Andrew Higgins, commented, "It is vital that the FEI is fully proactive in providing the necessary information to ensure that competitors and national federations are well informed to enable them to prepare their horses optimally for the challenging climatic conditions that they will face in Hong Kong. The workshop will enable the leading scientists and veterinarians in the field to share all available information with stakeholders. This is an important and timely meeting."

For further information and to receive a registration form, please contact Nina Wittek at [email protected]. To assist with planning the event, these forms should be returned prior to December 1, 2007.