It is, indeed. Lam, who had a clear round on the opening night of qualifiers to be tied with some of the world's best - even managing to upstage such luminaries as Germany's world number one showjumper Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum - proved for a short while that Hong Kong was not just making up the numbers.

That was the popular feeling in the sports community after the IOC gave Hong Kong a wild-card entry to the Games, provided they could get the athletes and horses qualified.

We had four qualified for showjumping, and one more in the dressage, but British-based Arum Gregory failed to get a dispensation from the IOC - he did not have a Hong Kong passport

Patrick Lam, Samantha Lam, Kenneth Cheng Man-kit and Jennifer Lee managed to acquire the required capability certification that unlocked the door to Olympic participation.

Unfortunately for Lee, her horse, Mr Burns, was withdrawn at the eleventh hour, forcing her to pull out. It was a heart-breaking moment. Lee had given up her American citizenship to represent Hong Kong, but Mr Burns, a horse who had been saved from ending up as dog meat, had a bellyache and was deemed unfit for competition.

But for Hong Kong, the consolation was the sight of Patrick Lam throwing his helmet into the air after his remarkable round in the first qualifiers.

'This has been the perfect experience. I never thought I would get this far,' said an elated Lam after his third-round exit in the individual competition. The cries of 'Aiyah!' reverberated around the Sha Tin arena too frequently on Monday night as Lam and Urban knocked down fences helter-skelter. The home fans were willing Urban to sprout wings and hoping Lam could manage to pull off one more big round. But sadly that didn't materialise.

'We had no chance. My horse had no more power. I was also tired and not too careful. I was not concentrated,' said Lam in his wonderful Austrian-English.

Lam, who has an Austrian mother and a Hong Kong father, is based in Germany. He is unsure about his future as Hong Kong looks towards the next big international competition - the 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou.

'That is our next big goal,' says Eckjans. 'This team will now go back to Europe for competition. The target will be to use this Olympic experience and try to grow as a team.'

The biggest dividend Hong Kong's riders will have gained from Sha Tin in the past few days would have been the boost to their self-belief. The youngest team with the most inexperienced horses in the competition showed they belonged.

'It was always going to be difficult for us. This was our first Olympic Games and we were going up against world-class riders with some of the best horses around. But I'm proud of the way everyone, especially Patrick, has performed. They showed Hong Kong's can-do spirit,' Eckjans said.

Now the question is whether this can-do spirit will seep across the sports and government community. This event is too expensive for most individuals. Lam admitted as much when he revealed his primary sponsors were his parents.

Will they be willing to keep on throwing money at it in the future? Or should someone else step in to pick up the tab. That is a question which Eckjans hopes will be answered soon.

'We need to have a good training and competitive programme,' says Eckjans. That does not come easy. With decent facilities and high-level competitions virtually non-existent in Hong Kong, Lam and company will have to be based in Europe. Who will foot the bill? Who will pay for the upkeep of the horses? Who will pay for the costs of moving the horses from one meet to another?

This time, we were lucky the Hong Kong Jockey Club stepped in and gave HK$20 million for the riders to buy horses and pay for other costs. The Hong Kong Equestrian Federation does not have this kind of money. Who will step in and open their chequebook?

A question to ponder, once the euphoria has died down.

Jockey Club's donation (HK$ million): 20