1912 Olympic Games Official Report Part 2

This sum was not considered large enough, however, and early inMay a new budget was drawn up, amounting to Kr. 45,000 (£ 2,475:$ 12,375), this, too, soon being rejected as insufficient.The work of the Committee during the spring of 1910 was concentratedon an examination of the possibility of, and the conditionsnecessary for, holding the Horse Riding competitions in connectionwith the Olympic Games. It was then thought that the events inquestion ought to be arranged like those in Brussels and London,i. e., with money prizes (“objets d’art”), and in order to obtain sufficientfunds, the Committee then determined to endeavour to obtain guarantee-subscriptionsfrom private persons.The condition had been attached to the guarantee of Kr. 10,000given by the Swedish Olympic Committee, that the said Committeeshould enjoy preferential rights of repayment. As the Horse RidingCommittee felt that it could not accept this condition, it determinedto make another appeal to the Swedish Olympic Committee and, onthe supposition that private persons would give guarantees amountingto Kr. 8,000 (£ 440 : $ 2,200), fresh estimates were made, amountingto Kr. 50,000 (£ 2,750 : $ 13,750), of which Kr. 25,000 (£ 1,375 :$ 6,875) were to be awarded as money prizes, the remainder to beemployed to cover expenses. It was thought that these should berestricted to Kr. 25,000, i. e., the limit covered by the guaranteefund, as the money received by the sale of tickets, etc., could notbe used to cover expenses, but was to be employed for the repaymentof the guarantees.A committee was appointed to draw up estimates for the competitions,the total amount to be awarded in prizes being fixed atKr. 25,000. These estimates were ready about the 1 June.At the meeting of the Swedish Olympic Committee on the 6 June,1910, it was resolved to subscribe Kr. 10,000 towards the HorseRiding Competitions held in connection with the Olympic Games.Immediately after this meeting, which had such important resultsfor the carrying out of the competitions, the International OlympicCommittee met at Luxemburg on the 11 June. At this meeting itwas determined, amongst other things, that, in future, only medals, andno money prizes or prizes of honour, were to be awarded in all thebranches of sport at the Games.This resolution with regard to the award of medals gave a new turnto the question of the arrangement of the Horse Riding competitionsin connection with the Olympic Games, for, from the very beginning,everything had been grounded on the principle that money prizes wouldbe allowed, the estimates being based on this idea and the guaranteesasked for having been given on this supposition. It now becamenecessary to make different economic arrangements for the competitionswhich were to be held under these new conditions, and at firstthe Committee was very doubtful what steps to take, for, rememberingthe large money prizes awarded at horse riding competitions inLondon and on the continent, a doubt was felt whether there wouldbe any large number of entries for these Olympic events, — the first567