Hong Kong Chief Secretary Henry Tang Ying-yen complimented the city's preparation for the equestrian events and shared his thoughts about the Paralympic spirit yesterday in a family letter read out on a local radio programme. In Mr Tang's letter to his son William, he reviewed the efforts made by Hong Kong to prepare for the five-day equestrian events. 'We are ready. Thousands of frontline staff, including 600 volunteers, are all thrilled to welcome the first [Paralympic] competition, to be held tomorrow morning,' he said on RTHK's Letter to Hong Kong. Mr Tang said the events would set new records for the number of athletes, horses and participating countries or regions. The first-time participation of China's and Hong Kong's riders together in the event would make it even more special, he said. To meet the needs of physically impaired athletes, the Sha Tin venue has facilities to help athletes mount their horses, podiums for wheelchair users, and repair rooms to fix wheelchairs and artificial limbs. Forty-eight rooms at the athletes' village have been adjusted for wheelchair users and barrier-free design features have been applied in almost every quarter. 'When I visited the Para-equestrian venues, I really admired my colleagues' carefulness and their professional spirit to take users' needs as the priority. Several overseas experts I met in the visit gave a thumbs-up to our venues and organisation,' Mr Tang said. In his letter, he also encouraged his son to learn from the athletes' strong will and optimism to overcome life's difficulties. By yesterday, all 23,000 tickets for the equestrian events made available to the public had been sold out, the Hong Kong Equestrian Company said.