Germany won first and second places in the Good Luck Beijing HKSAR 10th Anniversary Cup Equestrian Eventing Competition which opened on Saturday.
Dirk Schrade, riding Grand Amour, ranked first with a penalty points of 48.80 after first-day's dressage event, followed by his compatriot Anna Junkmann, riding Cancun, in the second place at 51.20 and Caroline Moore of Great Britain in the third place with 51.60 points.
A total of 17 riders from seven countries and regions are competing in the tournament, which will run from August 11 to 13 in Sha Tian Equestrian Center of Hong Kong.
Hong Kong's preparations to host the 2008 Olympic equestrian events got a thumbs-up after the first day of the competition.
Miranda Chiu, deputy CEO of the Equestrian Company, said everything had gone smoothly after the first day's competition.
"So far all the reactions have been positive," she said. "We hope this competition will cultivate more intense interest in equestrian before the Olympics."
Frank Ostholt, a member of Germany's World Championship winning team in 2006 was impressed with the facilities at Sha Tin after completing his dressage test.
"The facilities are perfect," he said. "They are trying to do a good job. There are a few things to improve like the traffic flow to the stables. Little things."
The competition went ahead on schedule despite the influence of Tropical Storm Pabuk which prompted the Observatory to raise the No. 8 typhoon signal a day earlier. However, the weather didn't affect the performance of the horses.
Bruce Davidson, a member of the American team, was also happy following his first competitive ride at the Sha Tin venue.
"The lighting is perfect and is situated in a good place," he said. "I think a few things need to be ironed out like communications, but overall the facilities are way ahead of previous test events."
"This is a test event. We did not come here thinking about winning or losing but to get things ironed out for next year," he added.
John Chan, Chairman of the Hong Kong Jockey Club which is providing facilities for the competition, said he was pleased with the response from the participating teams.
"So far the feedback has been extremely positive," he said. "We have stood the test of the weather and the stabling facilities have been very well received. We will review the experiences to see if any improvements need to be made to the physical facilities."
The cross-country phase will take place at The Hong Kong Olympic Equestrian venue at Beas River on Sunday before the teams return to Sha Tin for the jumping competition on Monday.
Results of Good Luck Beijing Equestrian tournament
Following are the results after the dressage competitions of Good Luck Beijing Equestrian Eventing Competition which opened on Saturday (tabulated under the riders, countries, horses and points):
1. Dirk Schrade, Germany, Grand Amour, 46.80;
2. Anna Junkmann, Germany, Cancun, 51.20;
3. Caroline Moore, Great Britain, Don Giovanni II, 51.60;
4. Lain Ashker, United States, Anthony Patch, 53.40;
4. Frank Ostholt, Germany, After the Battle, 53.40;
6. Shane Rose, Australia, Statford Novalis, 54.40;
6. Megan Jones, Australia, Kirby Park Fedwell, 54.40;
8. Jan Van Beek, the Netherlands, Troy, 54.60;
9. Madeleine Brugman, the Netherlands, Marengo, 55.20;
10. Nicolas Touzaint, France, Liam De La Roche, 56.20;
11. Bruce Davidson, United States, Ballynoe Castle, 58.20;
12. Gilles Viricel, France, Taco Van Het Klokkenhof, 58.40;
13. Amy Young, Great Britain, Highville, 59.40;
14. Amanda Ratcliffe, Great Britain, Teveri, 60.00;
15. Anna Hilton, Sweden, Mr Spiritus, 60.20;
16. Andreas Ostholt, Germany, Rainman, 62.60.
