China is not a traditional powerhouse in equestrian, but some top riders from China are galloping to win respect at international competitions.
Jia Huilin, one of the top endurance riders in China, is now competing at the World Equestrian Games held in Tryon, a small western North Carolina town, from Sept. 11-23.
He is one of the four riders representing China in this event and all of them are ranked in Top 30 in world rankings.
"This is awesome. Nobody can imagine that the Chinese riders are able to reach this far. The Chinese riders are having great progress as we could not even make Top 100 four years ago," said Jia, who is at his second World Equestrian Games.
In the last edition of the Games, there were only two athletes from China competing in endurance race, but now in Tryon, the Chinese athletes have gained the full qualification of all four berths.
"There are seven athletes who have what it takes to enter for the Games, but each delegation can only send four athletes to this event so we have to first compete against each other (in the qualification events)," added Jia, who reached world number five in March.
The ongoing World Equestrian Games is the biggest equestrian event of the world featuring eight disciplines, attracting more than 1,000 athletes and around 500,000 spectators over the two-week period.
"It's a world stage and the Chinese riders need to come to spotlight as much as possible," said Wang Zhiqiang, another top endurance rider from China.
In order to qualify for the World Equestrian Games, the athletes must take part in at least 20 events in the past two years and collect enough ranking points.
"Wherever we go, we know that we are representing China and we have to let them know that Chinese riders can also pull off great performances," said Wang.
The Chinese team came to Tryon hoping to make breakthrough for Chinese equestrian, eyeing for top 10 finish in team event and top 20 finish in individual competition.
However, the endurance event was cancelled midway in the competition due to bad weather and uncomfortable conditions of the horses when Wang and Sui Bo were among the leading group with their horses under healthy conditions.
The impacts from Hurricane Florence, which hit North Carolina recently, remained severe. And the high humidity caused by the Florence's moisture made the enurance race too tough for many horses.
Despite missing chances of making history for Chinese equestrian, the Chinese riders said they understood the organisers' decision. "We have great chance of landing good results, so it's a pity that we are unable to finish the event, but we support International Equestrian Federation (FEI). The welfare of the horses is of top priority," said Wang.
Sui, who is considered the leader of the new generation in China's endurance race, said the Chinese riders need to get the eposure at world stage.
"The World Equestrian Games might not be so well-known in China, but for the Chinese riders it is so important for us to get the exposure. It's not just for us, it's also good for the horses. We are able to give the horses flight, the experience and the exposure so they learned a lot. We also have so many things to improve on," said Sui.
