Olympic champion Eric Lamaze and European star Kevin Staut will be among the world's top 25 riders to compete in the Hong Kong Masters - Asia's first international five-star showjumping event in March.
The world's best riders and their horses will battle for prize money of US$1 million in an extravaganza at the AsiaWorld-Expo from March 1-3 that organisers say will be the biggest social-cum-sporting event to be staged in the region.
'The Hong Kong Masters is where sports meet the social scene and it will be the best in Asia. We have not only secured the top 25 riders in the world, we have also got the best 50 horses coming to Hong Kong and the biggest prize money. We want to cement Hong Kong as the equestrian capital of Asia,' Juan Dedeu, president of the Hong Kong Masters, said.
The event, which will be held annually until 2016, has received the backing of the Hong Kong Equestrian Federation, the government and the Hong Kong Jockey Club. It is understood that it will cost organisers US$8 million to put on the show.
'This is not just a horse show but a huge social event,' Simon Ip Sik-on, president of the Hong Kong Equestrian Federation, said.
'This will be the biggest equestrian event in Hong Kong since the Olympics in 2008, but it promises to have something extra.'