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Photos: Exclusive riding clubs, horse towns as China saddles up

It is all a far cry from 40 years ago, when China's ruling Communist Party launched wide-ranging reforms that lifted hundreds of millions of people out of poverty. But rising numbers of Chinese are taking up sports such as horse riding as the country's growing economy gives people more disposable income to pursue leisure activities. According to the respected Horsemanship magazine's annual report, there were 1,802 equestrian clubs in China to July 2018, double the number in 2016. With the Chinese government stating in 2014 that equestrian sports were to be "strongly supported", the trend looks set to continue.

Updated on: Dec 31, 2018 12:18 PM IST

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Riders and horses perform in the show hall of the equestrian-themed “Pegasus Water Town” in Jiangyin, China. Leather riding boots neatly lined up, a picture of hounds on a fox hunt and a fountain spewing water from the mouths of stone horses. It may have the trappings of upper-class Britain, but is in fact the County Down Club, the self-styled first exclusive membership club in China for horsemanship and fox-hunting. (Johannes Eisele / AFP)

Updated on Dec 31, 2018 12:18 PM

Riders and horses perform in the show hall of the equestrian-themed “Pegasus Water Town” in Jiangyin, China. Leather riding boots neatly lined up, a picture of hounds on a fox hunt and a fountain spewing water from the mouths of stone horses. It may have the trappings of upper-class Britain, but is in fact the County Down Club, the self-styled first exclusive membership club in China for horsemanship and fox-hunting. (Johannes Eisele / AFP)

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The club, which takes its name from a county in Northern Ireland, was founded three years ago and owner Steven Sun says equestrian sport “has developed rapidly in China during the past five to 10 years. I think it’s a change in awareness,” said the 32-year-old, whose interest was triggered while studying in Britain. County Down has a dozen horses and Sun wants it to be at the forefront of equestrian sports in China. (Johannes Eisele / AFP)

Updated on Dec 31, 2018 12:18 PM

The club, which takes its name from a county in Northern Ireland, was founded three years ago and owner Steven Sun says equestrian sport “has developed rapidly in China during the past five to 10 years. I think it’s a change in awareness,” said the 32-year-old, whose interest was triggered while studying in Britain. County Down has a dozen horses and Sun wants it to be at the forefront of equestrian sports in China. (Johannes Eisele / AFP)

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A rider prepares backstage. The club is just as much about networking as it is horse riding, Sun says. County Down has about 80 members and annual membership is 58,000 yuan ($8,400). “We hope our members have good qualities and manners or are highly educated elites,” said Sun. “That can ensure communication between our members will be at the same level. (Johannes Eisele / AFP)

Updated on Dec 31, 2018 12:18 PM

A rider prepares backstage. The club is just as much about networking as it is horse riding, Sun says. County Down has about 80 members and annual membership is 58,000 yuan ($8,400). “We hope our members have good qualities and manners or are highly educated elites,” said Sun. “That can ensure communication between our members will be at the same level. (Johannes Eisele / AFP)

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The industry is “booming” for two main reasons, said Shanghai-based Zoe Quin. “Chinese parents consider horse riding an elite education to make their kids more outstanding in this highly competitive Chinese society,” said Quin. “As for adults, they can extend their participation in equestrian sports beyond riding into broader aspects such as ownership, investment, travel, leisure and social activities. (Johannes Eisele / AFP)

Updated on Dec 31, 2018 12:18 PM

The industry is “booming” for two main reasons, said Shanghai-based Zoe Quin. “Chinese parents consider horse riding an elite education to make their kids more outstanding in this highly competitive Chinese society,” said Quin. “As for adults, they can extend their participation in equestrian sports beyond riding into broader aspects such as ownership, investment, travel, leisure and social activities. (Johannes Eisele / AFP)

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An employee standing in the lobby of a horse-themed hotel. A two-hour drive from Shanghai, Pegasus Water Town is complete with hotels, art gallery, a mall with Venice-style gondolas, an equestrian club and Horse Culture Museum. There are more than 400 horses of dozens of breeds imported from around the world and visitors form long queues for horse-drawn carriage tours of the resort in Jiangsu. (Johannes Eisele / AFP)

Updated on Dec 31, 2018 12:18 PM

An employee standing in the lobby of a horse-themed hotel. A two-hour drive from Shanghai, Pegasus Water Town is complete with hotels, art gallery, a mall with Venice-style gondolas, an equestrian club and Horse Culture Museum. There are more than 400 horses of dozens of breeds imported from around the world and visitors form long queues for horse-drawn carriage tours of the resort in Jiangsu. (Johannes Eisele / AFP)

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Once a week, pristine horses are paraded and perform crowd-pleasing tricks in an opulent arena designed in what the official website calls “Austro-Hungarian Empire style”. A giant portrait of Napoleon on horseback overlooks the performance. At one point in the show, women riders in white gowns and sparkling tiaras convey white carriages that would not look out of place at a British royal wedding. (Johannes Eisele / AFP)

Updated on Dec 31, 2018 12:18 PM

Once a week, pristine horses are paraded and perform crowd-pleasing tricks in an opulent arena designed in what the official website calls “Austro-Hungarian Empire style”. A giant portrait of Napoleon on horseback overlooks the performance. At one point in the show, women riders in white gowns and sparkling tiaras convey white carriages that would not look out of place at a British royal wedding. (Johannes Eisele / AFP)

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Visitors at the Horse Culture Museum. The governmental Chinese Equestrian Association declined to give numbers, but according to the respected Horsemanship magazine’s annual report, there were 1,802 equestrian clubs in China to July 2018. That is double the number in 2016, with the majority in northern and eastern China, notably Beijing and Shanghai, according to the magazine’s findings. (Johannes Eisele / AFP)

Updated on Dec 31, 2018 12:18 PM

Visitors at the Horse Culture Museum. The governmental Chinese Equestrian Association declined to give numbers, but according to the respected Horsemanship magazine’s annual report, there were 1,802 equestrian clubs in China to July 2018. That is double the number in 2016, with the majority in northern and eastern China, notably Beijing and Shanghai, according to the magazine’s findings. (Johannes Eisele / AFP)

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It is all a far cry from 40 years ago, when China’s Communist Party launched reforms that lifted hundreds of millions of people out of poverty. “Forty years ago China was very poor, there was no possibility to do such a high-end sport,” said Shen Houfeng, general manager of Heilan International Equestrian Club, one of the jewels of the resort. (Johannes Eisele / AFP)

Updated on Dec 31, 2018 12:18 PM

It is all a far cry from 40 years ago, when China’s Communist Party launched reforms that lifted hundreds of millions of people out of poverty. “Forty years ago China was very poor, there was no possibility to do such a high-end sport,” said Shen Houfeng, general manager of Heilan International Equestrian Club, one of the jewels of the resort. (Johannes Eisele / AFP)

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The Chinese government stated in 2014 that equestrian sports were to be “strongly supported”. In January 2018, French President Emanuel Macron arrived in China bearing the gift of a French Republican Guard horse for Xi Jinping. However, Horsemanship identified areas of concern, primarily the lack of media coverage and a shortage of experts such as trainers and veterinarians. (Johannes Eisele / AFP)

Updated on Dec 31, 2018 12:18 PM

The Chinese government stated in 2014 that equestrian sports were to be “strongly supported”. In January 2018, French President Emanuel Macron arrived in China bearing the gift of a French Republican Guard horse for Xi Jinping. However, Horsemanship identified areas of concern, primarily the lack of media coverage and a shortage of experts such as trainers and veterinarians. (Johannes Eisele / AFP)

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