“The weather has been against us but both horses and riders have coped extremely well with the heat and although crowd numbers have been lower than anticipated, we’re thrilled that the grandstand sold out, corporate sales were 30% higher than last year and more than 16,000 people have braved the unseasonable weather to see their heroes in action.”

With the potential for unseasonably hot weather over the weekend, organisers of the Australian International 3 Day Event  shortened Saturday’s cross country course, ordered extra ice and water trucks and installed water-spraying archways and sprinklers for horses.

While temperatures for Saturday reached 34 degrees – a temperature still considered comfortable for both horses and riders in dry heat – the decision to alter the course was made in the event that temperatures climbed even higher.

“This is still an exciting and challenging course being tackled by some of horse riding’s biggest stars,” Chair Bob Gillen says. “Instead of taking about 11 minutes to complete the course, it will now take about eight minutes and there are some terrific vantage points both in Rymill Park and other sections of the parklands where the shade was plentiful.”

The decision – which impacts on all event classes – was made in the morning at a meeting of organisers and officials, including veterinarians and members of equestrian’s world body, the FEI.

The course still meet all the FEI regulations and acted as a qualifier for world championships, including the 2012 Olympics. The decision was based on data collected at both the Atlanta and Beijing Olympics where horses had to face humidity as well as heat, considered more difficult to deal with than Adelaide’s dry temperatures which allow horses to sweat and then cool.

More than 110 riders entered the Australian International 3 Day Event – the Southern Hemisphere’s most important equestrian event - up from 80 riders who competed last year. Spectacular show jumping, a challenging cross country course and dressage are features of the Adelaide event, one of only six four-star events in the world and this years event was  huge success.

next page>>>