Chinanews, Beijing, Nov. 9 - On Tuesday, a credit test for horse riders and trainers (abbreviated as CHS test) was held at the Equuleus International Riding Club in Beijing. A British woman was coordinating on the test site always wearing a smile on her face. Her name is Sarah Hua, a senior equestrian sports consultant at the China Equestrian Association. Her elder son Hua Tian represented China to attend the World Equestrian Game. He is also expected to become the first Chinese athlete to attend the equestrian competition in the 2008 Olympic Games, the Legal Evening News reported.
Speaking fluent Chinese, Sarah Hua told our reporter that although she was born in Britain, her husband was a Chinese and her son also has Chinese nationality. Her heart belongs to China.
Hua Tian was just turning 17. He is the first Chinese horse rider that has been registered by the International Equestrian Federation (FEI), also the first Chinese rider ever to attend the international equestrian competition in hurdle race, dressage, and three-day event. So far, there are only three riders in Asia who have rankings and scored in the game, one four-star jockey from Japan, a three-star jockey from India, and Hua Tian from China (two-star), the youngest jockey among three.
Hua Tian’s mother Sarah Hua was born in an upper-class family in Britain. She was a gifted equestrienne herself. Hua Tian’s father Hua Shan works in the aerospace industry. His grandfather Hua Longyi was one of the earliest pilots in New China. To Hua Shan, airplane and horse are very similar.
"Airplane and horse are basically the same. Their only difference is that one flies in the sky and the other runs on the grassland," he said.
Influenced by his family, Hua Tian started to ride horses as early as the age of 4. Last month, he attended the one-day horse racing event held in Britain for two-star riders and won the bronze medal in the race, outperforming Queen Elizabeth’s granddaughter.