We're Ready To Go!

It's always a good feeling when you start to see horses work and get settled in. All that's gone pefectly with the show jumpers now that we're here at the Olympic stables.

We had a little bit of a rough start, though, because of all the logistical things about getting here. None of it was unreasonable, but there was a lot to go through, including the quarantine in Holland and all the waiting to get here. Even for us, who are always away from home, it's been a long time away.

The big excitement was the typhoon that hit Hong Kong when we were getting ready to fly out of Holland. It was a great decision by the airline, KLM, to take the horses off the plane, though the riders stayed on. U.S. Coach George Morris told me to get off the plane and manage the grooms and make sure everything would be okay with the horses, so I hopped off.

"How do you leave Beezie on the plane and take your horse off?" some people asked me. But I talked with the pilot and he assured me he'd take good care of my wife.

KLM was fantastic. I'm sure it was a big economic loss for them because the plane wound up flying half-empty to Hong Kong without the horses.

The decision was made because the potential problem was too great if the plane had to divert for safety. It was safe for passengers in that instance, but it could have added 24 or 30 hours to the horses' trip. You see, we don't have papers for horses to get off anywhere else but Hong Kong, so they would have had to stay on the plane. As things worked out, bringing them in a day later was much better.

The people here in Hong Kong have been fantastic. Everybody seems to be very aware the equestrian events are here and appreciate that.

We went walking through the streets in Kowloon where we're staying. I wound up getting a suit and a sport jacket from one of the many custom tailors in the area, but Beezie didn't want anything.

I could use some new close, because I've lost 100 pounds on my diet and working with my trainer, Tony Cabralas, in West Palm Beach.

I'm happy to say I'm sticking to my diet here, because they have a lot of rice in Hong Kong and that's something I can eat.

Hong Kong is very western, so we've had all the convenience of things we're used to. At the same time, it's great to be exposed to all the Eastern cultural things.

The opening ceremonies they had at the Hong Kong Jockey Club on the equestrian venue were wonderful. It was held at the same time as the official opening ceremonies in Beijing.

Beezie got very emotional in the ceremonies because we were hit by the fact that we are at the Olympics. The Olympic values are special.

Where else could you have people getting ready to jump for no money and dressed up in the outfits that the designers come up with for each nation (some of them are pretty funny).

We enjoyed seeing the official ceremonies on the big screen at the Jockey Club. I don't think we could have had a better seat in Beijing. And there was another plus -- no crowds!