London 2012 Olympics: Greenwich Park equestrian venue footing approved following 'pudding' complaints There has been speculation that the cross-country track would have suffered after weeks of rain but Ingmar de Vos, secretary general of the FEI said: "We were happy to see that the footing is in very good shape and ready for the competition, and that the recent adverse weather conditions have had no negative effects." FEI experts also signed off the stadium sand/fibre mix surface, which has been subject to a new recipe and FEI intervention after last July's test event when specialist show jumpers described it as "like pudding." On Wednesday, two unidentified top level horses were ridden and jumped on the stadium surface. Debbie Jevans, Locog director of sport, who was present, commented: "With support from the FEI, the contractors and our own team have done a great job to get the make-up of the surface right, and we now believe this will be a world class surface for the equestrian athletes in a stunning Olympic venue." The horse racing industry set a technical standard for similar sand-based surfaces over 10 years ago. Now equestrian will have its own after the development work on the Greenwich surface, combined with long-term studies by Lars Roepstorff, professor in equine functional anatomy at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences. "This will be part of the long-term legacy as it helps us to determine the parameters that can be used in the future to establish scientifically approved criteria for optimal footing," said de Vos.