The ability of the Paralympic Games equestrian venue at Sha Tin to cope with heavy rain has highly impressed the Chef d'Equipe of Canada's Para-Equestrian Dressage team, Ms Elizabeth Quigg.

She inspected the venue 36 hours after heavy rain associated with a typhoon saturated many parts of Hong Kong, including Sha Tin.

"I'm very impressed. The main arena looks wonderful considering how much rain I saw as I arrived on Saturday (April 19), and there's not a puddle to be seen out there. I will have no worries about the footing in the arena if there is rain during our competition in September,"said Ms Quigg, who was accompanied by Mr Eric Chene, Manager of Canada's Paralympic Teams.  

The overall facilities also drew warm praise from the two delegates of the Canadian Paralympic Committee. "I've been working with able-bodied and para teams for 25 years and this probably the best site I've ever seen -- from the competition venue to the village for the competition personnel,"said Ms Quigg.

Miss Quigg said she has a list of seven riders, from which the team of four will be chosen. The team is likely to include two returning Paralympians -- Karen Brain (Grade IV) whose two bronzes were the country's only equestrian medal successes at Athens, and Lauren Barwick (Grade II).  Another likely team member is Ashley Gowanlock (Grade Ib), who was adjudged the best under-21 rider at last year's Para-Equestrian Dressage World Championships at Hartpury in England, her first international competition.

"We went to Hartpury rather as a new team coming together with unknown horses and our aim was to finish in the Top 10. We narrowly missed out on that, but still came 11th out of 34 nations, which was a sterling effort in the wet and muddy conditions."

She believes that in Hong Kong the team will be well placed to do even better, and be trying hard for a Top 5 finish in the individual events and for Top 3 in the team events. "But of course the competition is very tough," she said. For the first time, the team will be bringing its own horses to the Games, though one may be on loan.

Ms Quigg said Para-Equestrian in Canada has its base in British Columbia, and 'has grown remarkably since the bronze medal successes at Athens gave us publicity and provided an incentive for other people to take up the sport. British Columbia has long had good riding therapeutic riding schools, and the sports seems to have developed from that."