FEATURE: Equestrian boom in China

At the 2008 Olympics, Beijing was unable to host the equestrian events on the mainland because of quarantine issues and the absence of suitable facilities.

As Huey Fern Tay reports for Asia Pacific Focus, three years later that has changed with the staging of an international equestrian competition at the famed Bird's Nest.

Last Updated: Mon, 6 Jun 2011 09:54:00 +1000

HUEY FERN TAY, CHINA CORRESPONDENT: The horizon has never looked so good for the owners of this horse riding club on the outskirts of Beijing.

It started out as a modest operation 11 years ago at a time when there were only a handful of such establishments, a time when horse riding was a sport dominated by expats in the country.

MICHELLE WANG, MANAGER, EQUULUS HORSE RIDING CLUB: When we started there were nine horses and about 11 clients I can remember.

HUEY FERN TAY (to Michelle Wang): And right now?

MICHELLE WANG: And now we have more than 100 horses and we have registered clients over maybe 2,000 or 3,000.

HUEY FERN TAY: Michelle's experience highlights the speed in which China's equestrian industry has grown and reflects the growing wealth in the world's second-largest economy.

MICHELLE WANG: Early this spring, in the spring festival while we were in Belgium and Holland to buy horses, these European people they say you know they feel that Chinese people, they are getting more attention because we have, economically we are growing.

HUEY FERN TAY: But in a city that's developing and expanding as quickly as Beijing, having grounds as big as this is a luxury. And that's one reason why horse riding clubs aren't being set up as quickly as before.

In fact out of the 500 clubs in the country only around 12 per cent can be found in the capital.
The growth is happening outside Beijing.

Horse riding remains a very niche past time even among the wealthy. Club operators on the mainland say that's because it requires more effort, patience and dedication. Those who are only in the sport for the perceived glamour and prestige fade quickly.

MICHELLE WANG: You have to be brave. You have to be patient. You have to be able to cooperate with the silent but powerful animal.

And if you are only rich, if you only have spare time, you know it cannot make you a good rider.

HUEY FERN TAY: Few are like Li Houlin who has persisted long and hard enough to be able to compete albeit at an amateur level.

He is a diamond tycoon. He has an enthusiasm for horses and show jumping. But even then the self described influential businessman has had little success spreading the love among his friends.

LI HOULIN, BUSINESSMAN (translated): I really like interacting with horses but you have to master the basics. That means practising very dry things every day like trotting and rising to the beat of the trot.

HUEY FERN TAY: There are signs though that Chinese officials are beginning to nurture this fledgling scene, a development from three years ago when the equestrian segment of the Olympics had to be held in Hong Kong because there weren't any appropriate facilities on the mainland.

This recent competition for example was aimed at promoting the sport at a national level. Organisers brought in some big names and beamed the event on national television.

Two riders attracted the most attention - the world's top ranked show jumper and his teenager protege Shu Meimei.

The ambitious teenager has sacrificed a lot in order to fulfil a long a burning desire to succeed at an international level.

Apart from moving to Germany to train with the best in the business she also gave up her American citizenship in exchange for a Chinese one.

SHU MEIMEI, SHOW JUMPING RIDER: It wasn't so difficult because you know I want to ride so much and the opportunities here were so much better. So it's quite, I think it was quite an easy decision to make.

HUEY FERN TAY: Taking the sport to a world class level will take more than just individual passion. Having the love is a start.

JIM MIDDLETON: China correspondent Huey Fern Tay.

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