PrintA trip to the Olympic test event as groom for Megan Jones of Australia had an unexpected twist.
The 11 weeks I spent in Hong Kong in relation to the Olympic Test Event in 2007 turned into a once-in-a-lifetime experience. From the moment I stepped off the plane to welcoming officials who escorted us through customs, to splendid times with the grooms from other teams, through the rain of the actual event—and then nine more weeks looking after the two Australian horses in quarantine—I wouldn’t trade the experience for anything.
The conditions in Hong Kong were hot and humid, which everyone expected, and our horses, which had just flown over from winter in Australia, were put to the test.
But Hong Kong officials ensured that we were not left to fend for ourselves. The stables were air-conditioned through the day but not too cold as to shock the horses’ systems as they changed from the stables out into the heat. The misting tents were close and easily accessible, and willing volunteers kept them constantly stocked with ice-cold water.
None of the horses were allowed out of the stable complex between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m., the hottest hours of the day. Along with the twice-daily taking of temperatures (which the event officials monitored) and regular blood and urine tests, we kept the horses in fit condition to safely compete in the test event.
But the actual event is only part of my memories. Since the test event only had 17 horses we were all stabled in the same barn aisle, which gave us a good chance to get to know the other teams’ grooms. We had good times—camping out in the barn aisle while we waited for the outcome of the typhoon warning that delayed the jog to the next morning or weighing ourselves on the horse scales every morning, watching ourselves gain weight from the work of only looking after one horse and the all-day access to ice cream and soda in the dining hall.
I recall watching the horses gallop up the perfectly tended turf lane at the Hong Kong Jockey Club, with the skyscrapers, green hills and blue skies in the background. Or having the first horse inspection at 7:30 in the morning, doing dressage and being packed and ready to go to the cross-country venue by noon. The police escorting the horse trucks to the cross-country venue. Walking the horses into quarantine at 11 p.m. after show jumping, and walking them down the all-weather track and passing over the official finish line of the Hong Kong Jockey Club. But with all of these amazing memories, they were only the first part of my adventure in Hong Kong.
Unending Quarantine
I was chosen to be the Australian groom who stayed after the event to look after our horses in quarantine. They had two weeks in Hong Kong and two weeks in Sydney once they got back to Australia. So I said goodbye to the rest of the team on Aug. 14, believing that I would have two easy weeks of caring for two horses before rejoining my boss and friends back home in Australia.
I used a bicycle to get myself from my hotel to the quarantine barns in the Hong Kong Jockey Club. And for the first week I spent most of my time resting and looking after the horses. I made a few forays to do some sightseeing in Hong Kong. But the end of the first week brought the first set of news.
The 11 weeks I spent in Hong Kong in relation to the Olympic Test Event in 2007 turned into a once-in-a-lifetime experience. From the moment I stepped off the plane to welcoming officials who escorted us through customs, to splendid times with the grooms from other teams, through the rain of the actual event—and then nine more weeks looking after the two Australian horses in quarantine—I wouldn’t trade the experience for anything.
The conditions in Hong Kong were hot and humid, which everyone expected, and our horses, which had just flown over from winter in Australia, were put to the test.But Hong Kong officials ensured that we were not left to fend for ourselves. The stables were air-conditioned through the day but not too cold as to shock the horses’ systems as they changed from the stables out into the heat. The misting tents were close and easily accessible, and willing volunteers kept them constantly stocked with ice-cold water.
None of the horses were allowed out of the stable complex between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m., the hottest hours of the day. Along with the twice-daily taking of temperatures (which the event officials monitored) and regular blood and urine tests, we kept the horses in fit condition to safely compete in the test event.
But the actual event is only part of my memories. Since the test event only had 17 horses we were all stabled in the same barn aisle, which gave us a good chance to get to know the other teams’ grooms. We had good times—camping out in the barn aisle while we waited for the outcome of the typhoon warning that delayed the jog to the next morning or weighing ourselves on the horse scales every morning, watching ourselves gain weight from the work of only looking after one horse and the all-day access to ice cream and soda in the dining hall.
I recall watching the horses gallop up the perfectly tended turf lane at the Hong Kong Jockey Club, with the skyscrapers, green hills and blue skies in the background. Or having the first horse inspection at 7:30 in the morning, doing dressage and being packed and ready to go to the cross-country venue by noon. The police escorting the horse trucks to the cross-country venue. Walking the horses into quarantine at 11 p.m. after show jumping, and walking them down the all-weather track and passing over the official finish line of the Hong Kong Jockey Club. But with all of these amazing memories, they were only the first part of my adventure in Hong Kong.
Unending Quarantine
I was chosen to be the Australian groom who stayed after the event to look after our horses in quarantine. They had two weeks in Hong Kong and two weeks in Sydney once they got back to Australia. So I said goodbye to the rest of the team on Aug. 14, believing that I would have two easy weeks of caring for two horses before rejoining my boss and friends back home in Australia.
I used a bicycle to get myself from my hotel to the quarantine barns in the Hong Kong Jockey Club. And for the first week I spent most of my time resting and looking after the horses. I made a few forays to do some sightseeing in Hong Kong. But the end of the first week brought the first set of news.
