Marjanovic forced to rely on luck of draw

Pedja Marjanovic and his favourite horse, Profit Boy, will part company this weekend. But Hong Kong's top show jumper is still quietly confident he can lead the SAR to victory in the CSIO FEI East Asian team competition at Beas River Country Club in Sheung Shui tomorrow.

'It will all depend on the luck of the draw. Our advantage is that we will have seen most of the horses that will be in use, and will be more familiar with them than the other competitors,' says Marjanovic.

The Hong Kong Equestrian Federation will certainly hope so. For if Marjanovic, 31, leads the SAR to victory, it will be a huge shot in the arm for the federation which is hoping to send nine riders to represent Hong Kong at this year's Asian Games in Busan, South Korea.

Hong Kong will confront three-rider teams from China, Taiwan, Japan and Mongolia in this year's competition to be held today (preliminary rounds) and tomorrow (finals).

The local team comprises Marjanovic, Tang Pak-shing and Victor Chung.

Local officials are hoping the public will come in their numbers to Beas River (open this weekend to the general public) to root for the home team who finished runners-up last year to South Korea. The Koreans are absent this time as they are busy preparing for October's Asian Games. Apart from the team event, there will also be an individual event with additional opposition coming from riders from India, Indonesia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore and Thailand.

Due to stringent quarantine rules and prohibitive costs, the overseas riders are not allowed to bring their own horses. To make it a level playing field, organisers will not allow local riders to use their own horses, instead having a pool from which everyone draws their mounts.