Hong Kong Jockey Club hosts reception for equestrian officials as general assembly returns

Some 27 years after it was last in the city, the Federation Equestre Internationale general assembly returned to Hong Kong on Wednesday, and kick-started several days of meetings with a gathering at Happy Valley Racecourse.

The Hong Kong Jockey Club, which is supporting the FEI’s trip, hosted a welcome reception ahead of the world governing body’s congress to discuss the direction, development and management of the sport.

Ingmar De Vos, the FEI’s president, and Sabrina Ibanez, the general secretary, attended the reception alongside Martin Liao, the HKJC’s chairman, Lester Huang, the club’s deputy chairman, and its CEO, Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges.

“We are honoured that the Federation Equestre Internationale has chosen Hong Kong to host this year’s general assembly,” Liao said. “Just like the federation, the club is a global leader in horse sports. We nurture equestrian sports at the grass-roots level through our three public riding schools, which we have run for the past 50 years, and at the elite level through our support for the Hong Kong, China equestrian team in partnership with the Equestrian Federation of Hong Kong, China.

“The club is also renowned for its expertise in co-hosting major equestrian events. We have built state-of-the-art training and racecourse facilities in Conghua that will host world-class racing from next October in what promises to be a major milestone in the sport’s development. This will build capability and capacity and offer us a springboard to promote all forms of equine sports in the Chinese mainland.”

The general assembly will run until Friday, with the digital horse passport and the qualification system for the equestrian events at the 2026 World Championships in Aachen, Germany, and the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Los Angeles among the matters being discussed.