Take a selection of ex-racehorses trained to run as fast as possible on a flat surface, add a couple of warm blood sport horses from cold climates, mix a group of young riders and produce a team who are jumping fences of up to 1.6 metres and making a serious mark at regional equestrian competitions. Impossible? Not if you are Stuart Mitchell, equestrian manager at the Hong Kong Jockey Club.
Since arriving in Hong Kong in 2003, Australian-born Mitchell has applied knowledge earned as a professional showjumper and bloodstock breeder and laid the foundations for Hong Kong to become a centre for equestrian sports.
In Hong Kong, most riders start with ex-racehorses straight off the track. The qualities and training needed for a top race horse and those needed for a sport horse are very different, so how do you identify which horse from the track is going to be able to make the transition?
Mitchell says with a good dose of the humour that is typical of his laid-back style: 'Of course, age is a factor. In the stable and when they are walking out, the first thing I look at is the head. They need a pretty, intelligent head, like a model. Showjumping is an intensive sport, so they need a good athletic body. The walk should be like Jennifer Lopez, with a good swing at the rear.'
On a more serious note, he adds the horses need to be 'willing to move forward without a lot of encouragement. Some horses have that built-in desire to compete. If they don't have the will, no matter what you do they, will never make the grade.'
As Hong Kong does not have a deeply ingrained equestrian sport tradition, Mitchell trains both riders and horses. Taking inexperienced riders and getting them to the next level is a talent. 'You need to know not to push them too far. It is a bit of a sixth sense. You have to be able to find the natural limit and know when to say 'that's enough'.' He added: 'That could mean enough for that minute, hour or season for that horse.'