China's equestrian Olympian: Interview with Alex Hua Tian

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Even though Alex is competing for China in Rio this Summer, he actually shares bonds with a nation with more than a hundred years of equestrian culture -- Alex is half British through his mother, but is a full English gentleman in his demeanour; softly spoken, realistic in his outlook, and very modest for someone who was educated at Eton, the same school that Prince William and Harry attended.

Alex Hua Tian, China’s first ever entrance into equestrian sports at the Olympic Games, receives an interview by a China.org.cn reporter in London on April 26. [Photo by Wang Zhiyong/China.org.cn]

Alex moved to the UK with his English mother and Chinese father when he was eleven, but it is China that has given him the opportunity to compete in equestrian eventing (cross country, show jumping, and dressage), and it is the Chinese emblem that he wore when he met Prime Minister David Cameron over the Chinese New Year.

Alex has both his feet in the two cultures and says that when he is in England he feels Chinese and vice-versa, but it is a good mix. "I am very, very proud to be competing at a very British sport but flying the flag for China."

After eight years since the Beijing Olympics, could Alex finally take gold for China and fly the flag on the podium? Alex heaves a reticent sigh to the question.

"To be honest, it's just [a matter of] getting there," he laughed. He has been training hard and competing a lot, but in equestrian sports anything could go wrong.

It is not only the rider's health that counts. If a horse is injured leading up to the Olympics it is all over. Alex is very lucky, however. While most competitors only have one qualified horse, Alex has two to choose from and a third which will likely qualify before the Olympics.

But there is always the question of which horse could take him to Olympic victory. Alex talks about the matter like one might talk about good friends -- you love them, despite their shortcomings. It is the same with choosing the right horse to compete with.

Harbour Pilot C, his oldest horse, is good at dressage and jumping, but he is slow. With Harbour Pilot C, "you know you're going with the chance of doing really well, but probably not winning."

Don Geniro is a quick horse but he is likely to fell fences, which means a loss of points, even if he does get a winning time in cross country. And the third horse, Diamond Sundance, is weak in dressage and leaves Alex wondering if he can make up for it in the other phases.

It will be a case of instinct when coming to choose the right horse for Rio. Alex will take all three horses to the airport but only put one on the plane.

"By that point," Alex said, "In my experience the obvious choice makes itself clear." Without a definite idea of which horse to take, or even if he will have all three to choose from, it is clear why Alex is not quick to declare that this will be his victory year.

Alex is again China's only hope in the equestrian arena, despite a growing popularity for the sport in the Chinese mainland. So where is the talent, or is there a lack of it?

What's lacking is really the knowledge and the real love for the sport. There are an overwhelming number of stables spread all over China but sadly how many are really contributing to the well being of the sport and horses other than making personal wealth or unrelated agenda???