Aussie Hero Hayley Saddles Up at the Last Minute for the Ride of Her Life

Australian dressage rider Hayley Beresford's Olympic performances have had people from many countries cheering for her! (Equestrian Federation of Australia photo)

If you're looking for a hero among the dressage princes and princesses assembled in Hong Kong, here's one you can look up to.

Opening the action today was Australia's Hayley Beresford who, long before she ever arrived in Hong Kong this summer, had already climbed a mountain of Olympic proportions. The 30-year old rider was diagnosed with breast cancer three years ago but, with typical toughness and determination, she hardly missed a day in the saddle throughout the intensive treatment that saw her win her battle back to good health.

Hayley came to Hong Kong with her 11-year old Brazilian-bred Lusitano stallion Relampago do Retiro. As if that Brazil-Portugal-Australia connection isn't international enough, consider this: Hayley lives in Germany, where she trains with the current gold medal leader, Isabell Werth.

Asked if she had advice for struggling amateur riders at home, Hayley quipped, "You have to go through the ups and downs and believe in yourself …or go home!"

Hayley had missed today's Grand Prix Special qualifier by one place, but when Hunter Douglas Sunrise became lame, the Dutch team withdrew him, so one place opened up...and Hayley passaged through on very short notice.

She is now in 19th place, improving on her position from the team competition, although not good enough for her to advance to the freestyle on Tuesday.

No one cheering for her in Australia, Portugal, Brazil and Germany feels the least bit disappointed. This rider had something for everyone, on many levels.

Tropical Storm Kammuri News: Sheik Mohammed Takes in Stranded Olympic Horses When Flight is Grounded!

Australian dressage and eventing teams met in their stable aisle at the equestrian center in Hong Kong. Their show jumping teammates are stranded in Dubai during the tropical storm. (EFA photo by Russ Withers)

Australian newspapers are hot tonight with news that the flight carrying the Aussie and Saudi Arabian jumping team horses from Amsterdam was waylaid in Dubai. The papers tell us that ten horses are aboard the flight. A second flight, which contained the US team horses, was aborted in Amsterdam. We have no word yet how the delay was handled there.

A friendly barn for the night was provided by Sheik Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, the ruler of Dubai, who also just happens to be the husband of International Equestrian Federation (FEI) president Princess Haya Bint al-Hussein.

But it was all in "Plan B" of the international equine airlift organizers at Peden Bloodstock, the flight managers. One reason the US horses flew to Hong Kong via European quarantine was that no horse-friendly stopover could be found in the North Pacific. (Alaska just wouldn't do. Dubai, on the other hand, halfway between Europe and Southeast Asia, and with lots of quarantine and equine transport experienceis ideal.)

Meanwhile, back in Hong Kong, storm force warnings of level 8 have been sounded.

Perhaps of more concern is that the eventers already in Hong Kong had to cancel training because of the high winds. The vet check is on Friday, so all the teams are following training regimens very carefully but the bad weather forced them to stay locked inside their stables.

Bad weather is common this time of year in Hong Kong and extra days have been blocked on the schedule to allow for makeup sessions.

The Spaniards, Germans and Dutch were the first to arrive in Hong Kong.