[ti:Interest in Horse Riding Grows in China] [ar:Mario Ritter] [al:Economics Report] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]Across Asia, the increase [00:02.10]in sales of high-priced goods and services [00:05.19]has been partly fueled by the rise of China's middle class. [00:10.02]Among the activities enjoyed by some wealthy Chinese [00:14.07]is the ownership of horses. [00:16.60]The quality of life tied to horses and horse ownership [00:21.34]has become a new sign of success among a small, [00:24.91]but growing group of people in China. [00:28.49]Sports involving horses have not always been permitted in China. [00:34.34]Former Chinese leader Mao Zedong banned horse racing in 1949. [00:41.24]More than 60 years later, race tracks, polo fields [00:46.39]and jockey clubs are opening for business in Chinese cities. [00:51.43]And, there is a rising number of horses imported from overseas. [00:57.08]Maiken Jaeschke is with Equestrian Globe, [01:02.46]a German company that imports horses into China. [01:06.39]It also builds equestrian facilities [01:09.61]and sells riding gear and equipment. [01:12.78]"China has seen a huge increase in the equestrian world [01:17.32]and the equestrian market in general, [01:19.19]and the interest in horses and horse sports [01:22.44]over the last 10 years or five years, intensively." [01:28.92]China now has 25 horse racing tracks [01:33.06]and 300 equestrian clubs. [01:36.02]Land developers are building a $2 billion equestrian center [01:41.30]in the city of Tianjin. [01:43.49]It is called the Tianjin Equine Culture City. [01:48.51]The developers have promised to build 4,000 stables to house horses. [01:55.01]They have also said they will build [01:57.80]a state-of-the-art medical center for the animals, [02:01.71]150 trainer offices and training areas. [02:06.72]The development also will include a racecourse, [02:11.41]clubhouse and an international equestrian college. [02:16.63]Shen Ge lives in Beijing. He buys horses. [02:23.28]His 15-year-old daughter, Shen Qing, [02:26.54]is one of the youngest competitive riders in China. [02:30.59]She competes internationally in show jumping. [02:34.97]Shen Ge says there is a real interest in equestrian sports in China. [02:42.36]But bad dealings between European horse sellers and Chinese buyers [02:48.39]have damaged trust in the international market. [02:52.40]He notes examples of Chinese buyers attempting to negotiate deals for horses, [02:59.97]and then canceling contracts at the last minute. [03:03.92]He says some buyers even disappeared after a horse was sent to China, [03:10.45]and the seller had already spent thousands of dollars on shipping. [03:15.31]Such stories do not concern American David Snodgrass. [03:21.49]He brought the first American quarter horses to China. [03:26.01]He says the Chinese market for quarter horses [03:29.98]has increased in the past few years. [03:33.32]"We work in saddlebreds and standardbreds and with those breeds [03:39.99]we've seen steady growth over the last three or four years." [03:46.55]Horse sellers say the market will only grow as interest in the sport increases. [03:52.96]Shen Ge has built his career in business marketing. [03:57.32]He says his love of horses keeps him in the stables [04:02.12]during most of his free time. [04:04.55]He has passed this interest to his daughter, Shen Qing. [04:09.10]He says she represents the future of the Chinese equestrian market. [04:15.44]This month Qing will travel to Italy [04:19.17]for yet another international jumping competition. [04:23.55]I'm Mario Ritter. [04:25.69]¸ü¶àÌýÁ¦Çë·ÃÎÊ51VOA.COM