From
the Athens 2004 Web Site: 
Albino
Garbari Eventing:
Course Designer with True Olympic Experience, 11 Aug. 2004
ATHENS, 11 August - Designer of the Eventing Cross Country course,
Albino GARBARI, 70, is a man who knows how to overcome hurdles: literally.
Half way through the planning and preliminary design phase for the course
at Markopoulo Olympic Equestrian Centre he had to scrap what he considered essential
elements following Eventing rule changes in autumn, 2002. When road
and tracks and steeplechase phases of Cross Country were eliminated GARBARI
had to go back to the drawing board. He had initially planned to
have some key steeplechase fences in a nearby racetrack, including a lake.
GARBARI said: "Creating a safe course is paramount; but, we
do not have any feedback yet on how horses will perform on the reduced phase of
cross country. "I had some input following a trial of the format
conducted in the USA at the Kentucky Horse Trials last spring. "However,
we will have to see how things go here (in Athens) on the 5,700m course with 34
fences", GARBARI said. The Italian said most of the
fences were inspired by Greek culture and local features. The 2004
Games will be GARBARI's 11th Olympics presence, having started at the 1960
Rome Games as the co-ordinator of all activities involving the Italian team's
horses. He continued in similar roles at every Games through to Sydney 2000.
GARBARI was appointed course designer for Athens 2004 three years
ago and has since been commuting from Italy where he resides and works for the
Italian Equestrian Federation. He started course designing in 1965
in Pratoni del Vivaro, Italy, and since then he has been course designer in
every major event organised in the country, including the Eventing Open European
Championships in 1995 and the World Equestrian Games in 1998.
Both events were held at the Federal Equestrian Centre of Pratoni del Vivaro,
the former Eventing venue for the Rome Games, where GARBARI has been based
since moving from his home in Padua in 1959. Eventing cross country
starts on 17 August at 09:00 | 