Equestrian sports come into fashion in China
Mainlanders are joining expats for lessons at riding clubs on the weekends, while premier show jumping events like the Longines Global Champions Tour in Shanghai are evolving into social celebrations
Decked out in elegant dresses and eye-catching hats, the 1,000 or so women could have been easily been mistaken for an audience at a fashion show.
But they were gathered to watch a top-class equestrian competition, the Longines Global Champions Tour, held in a square in front of the China Art Museum in Shanghai last month, the latest addition to the mainland’s broadening sports culture.
The number of Shanghai residents who take part in equestrian activities is estimated to run only in the low thousands. But that did not deter the municipal government from bidding for the rights to host the show, which is recognised by the International Federation for Equestrian Sports as the leading show-jumping series.
Jiang Lan, general manager of the state-owned sport event organiser Shanghai Juss Event Management Company, said 200,000 foreigners work or study in the city and about seven million visited from overseas every year, so the local government should foster a cultural environment that can serve international residents and visitors.
“This is part of the reason to hold equestrian contests, as we do with other international games, the Formula One and ATP World Tour, for example,” he told the South China Morning Post.
Xue Jinfan, deputy director of Shanghai Equestrian Sports Administration Centre, a government body supervising sport development in the city, said equestrian activities were gaining in popularity.