Singaporean Ho Nai Yue will be the overall chief steward for the Olympic equestrian events in Hong Kong - the first Asian to receive this honour.

The 60-year-old was picked by the sport's world body, the Federation Equestre International (FEI), and will be leading a stable of over 100 stewards come August.

As overall chief steward, he will be in charge of making sure that all three equestrian events - jumping, dressage and eventing - run smoothly.

His job: Looking after the welfare of the horses, and ensuring that FEI rules are adhered to.

'This is the biggest honour and also the biggest challenge of my life,' said Ho who, along with the jury, will be one of the most important and high-ranking officials there.

'If you had asked me 10 years ago if a Singaporean could become an overall chief steward at the Olympics, I would have said, 'No chance'.

'The post usually goes to Europeans, so I'm proud that I've bucked the trend.'

The soft-spoken businessman, a social rider in the 1970s, picked up judging and stewarding quite by accident in 1990.

He was taking photographs for the Equestrian Federation of Singapore (EFS) at a local tournament, where a judge failed to turn up. He was then asked to help out.

He fell in love with the job and went on to become an FEI-certified official and one of the sport's elder statesmen in Asia.

'I like to see fair play, whether as a judge or a steward,' he said. 'An even playing field is the most important thing.'

The father of two - who is affectionately known as 'Papa Ho' to his friends in the sport - has an impressive CV.

He has been the overall chief steward at the last three Asian Games and South-east Asia Games. In 2004, he was a steward at the Athens Olympics.

Aside from his duties as an official, he is also an EFS council member and vice-president of the Asian Equestrian Federation.

But he will face his biggest challenge yet in Hong Kong, which is hosting the equestrian events after Beijing failed to establish a disease-free zone for horses.

More than 200 horses and their trainers and riders are expected to descend on the two new Olympic equestrian venues at Shatin (jumping and dressage) and the Beas River (cross-country eventing).

He has been shuttling between Singapore and Hong Kong over the last few months, to prepare the venues ahead of the competitors' arrival at the end of July.

The real test begins once the 13-day event kicks off on Aug 9.

'It's a 24-hour job,' said Ho, who will be assisted by three other chief stewards from Belgium, Brazil and Germany.

'We have to be on the alert for any breaches of the rules, especially when it comes to the horses' welfare.'

His team will supervise the warm-up and training areas before the events. They need to make sure that there is no rough or unfair riding, like riders overusing their whip or use of unauthorised drugs on the horses.

EFS president Melanie Chew was delighted by her colleague's achievement, saying: 'It's like having a Singapore rider qualifying for the Olympics.'

SPORTING FEAT

'It's like having a Singapore rider qualifying for the Olympics.'

MELANIE CHEW, Equestrian Federation Of Singapore president, on Ho Nai Yue's appointment as overall chief steward for the Olympic equestrian events in Hong Kong