for the horse(s), of course
as the world’s human athletes are girding themselves for nigh-unbreathable air at the beijing olympics starting friday, their equine counterparts are heading somewhere more hospitable: hong kong.
i had no idea the equestrian events were being held in HK - i’d figured they would be in beijing with everything else, and couldn’t fathom that the horse-and-pony set would voluntary submit their mounts to the foul atmosphere of the mainland. and they aren’t, although the reason given is that the mainland could not guarantee “disease-free zones” for the horses.
it will be interesting to see how the weather holds, though, as hong kong is prone to tropical storms in august. the weather was apparently problematic enough to lead the swiss team to withdraw from the games.