But the organizers have their eye on the weather and all the information they need to make decisions about postponing the competition (days are built into the schedule for that) or altering the course.
"We've got a huge amount of detail," said Mike. "We need to make sure we can run the competition safely, We know if storms are coming in, when they'll be coming in, how much rain they'll produce, how much wind they'll produce, so it's really up-to-the-minute stuff."
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- Rain is the order of nearly every day in Hong Kong during August.
- © 2008 by Nancy Jaffer
And besides, Mike said, a feng shui practitioner walked the course and told him it will be dry during the competition. Feng shui is the ancient Chinese art of positioning objects and buildings in harmony with nature. Asked if he had used feng shui in his design work, however, Mike said firmly, "No."
Cross-country isn't until Monday. The action gets underway tomorrow with eventing dressage. We've all been waiting for these Games a long time. Frankly, I've been waiting with apprehension, worrying about how the conditions will affect the horses. But they seem to love their air-conditioned stables, and the footing is perfect--it can take a hit from the storm clouds and still be fine.
I saw Debbie McDonald at a mini-version of the Beijing opening ceremonies here, and she said she is "pleasantly surprised" by the conditions, even though it is hot. She went on and on about the virtues of the venue, which is generally considered (weather aside) to be the best-ever for an Olympics.
Let's hope the storm clouds stay away.
Until tomorrow, or as they say around here, choi keen.
Award-winning equestrian journalist Nancy Jaffer is covering her eighth Olympics. Her columns, photos and articles appear regularly on EquiSearch.com.
