Ready to jump the hurdles

Name: Magali Tong Jing-yi

School: Shatin College

Grade: Year 13

Sport: Show jumping

Achievements: Magali, 17, was the FEI Young Rider World Cup Final champion in Malaysia last year. Last July, she came third in the MTU FEI World Cup SEA League, with a jump of 1.40 metres. She came seventh in the FEI World Cup Show Jumping Championship in September.

She also took part in the show jumping event at the 2006 Asian Games in Doha, Qatar.

Soundbite: 'I've been taking riding lessons for nine years. Show jumping is very technical and fun. It's difficult to get the distance to the fence right. You have to calculate the distance, because the horse can't,' Magali said.

From her coach: 'I've been Magali's coach for four years. She has good potential. Her highest [show-jumping] height - 1.45m - is of international standard. For her age, she's performing at quite a high level. But she would need to try harder to make the next level, which is 1.50m to 1.55m. We are aiming to achieve that in the next 12 months,' said coach Stuart Mitchell, of the Hong Kong Sports Institute.

'She might be going to the FEI World Cup qualifiers at the adult level. There's a chance that she'll get through, but she will have to work very hard and she will need an element of luck. She needs to be a professional, be dedicated and be mentally strong.'

Ambitions: 'I was very happy that I got to take part in the Asian Games. I would like to compete in Europe in the future, where the standard is higher than in Asia. My sister, Gaelle, and I might go to Germany for training this year,' Magali said.