China’s first Olympic equestrian star Alex Hua Tian forever grateful to Hong Kong upbringing

A walk around the Beas River Country Club brings a flood of memories back for Alex Hua Tian.

It was here as a young boy that Hua discovered his passion in life, as well as the competitive spirit that would drive him on to become China’s first Olympic equestrian.

“It’s all come back,” says the 26-year-old. “I left Hong Kong when I was 11 and I’ve only been back twice. I can’t tell you how much time I spent here between the ages of six and 11. I learnt to ride, swim, ride a bike. This is where it all began.”

It was on those two previous trips to Hong Kong that Hua cemented his place in Chinese sporting folklore. The first was in 2007 at an Olympic test event and then the moment of truth came in 2008 when the city hosted the equestrian events for the Beijing Games.

When Hua took to the course for the eventing at Sha Tin, he became at 18 the youngest rider to compete in the Olympics’ equestrian competition and also the first Chinese athlete to ever do so. Almost eight years later and it seems he’s still coming to grips with the scale of the achievement.

“It was very much a matter of being the right nationality at the right place at the right time, with the right funding,” he says. “It was a cocktail of many things happening at the same time that got me there so I don’t think that will happen again to an 18-year-old.