As a child, Patrick Lam played conventional sports - basketball and football - and it wasn't until he was a teenager that he got a horse and started riding.
Though Lam, 25, still enjoys other sports such as golf and climbing, it is in showjumping where he has found the most success and is now a part of Hong Kong's showjumping team.
Born and raised in Austria, Lam, who studies business and law part-time at the Business University of Graz, approached the Hong Kong Equestrian Federation in 2007 about his eligibility because his father is a Hongkonger.
He then became a member of the federation and, after qualifying with Urban in May, was named to the Games squad. Lam and Urban, a Belgian-bred stallion, have been training with team manager Dietmar Gugler and Lam has previously trained at the stables of Olympian Anton Martin Bauer. In Austria, he has won national 1.30-metre and 1.40m classes and has placed in national 1.50m and international 1.40m classes.
