Equestrianism gains currency in China

Lin Yan practices her horsemanship at an equestrian club in suburban Beijing in April. After two months of lessons, she is still just a beginner. [Photo/VCG]

Most horse club members buy their own hats, breeches and boots, which cost around 2,000 yuan, more enthusiastic fans will additionally buy saddles and armor for their horses, and an increasing number of well-loaded Chinese families also start to buy their own horses an average cost of 300,000 yuan.

Given most of the imported horses are from Europe, some Chinese fans will go overseas to pick their horses based upon the breeds, heritage and competition skills, and then wait for 90 days for the chosen horses to go through a series of procedures such as quarantine, transportation and then quarantine before they can ride their own horses in China.