For the first time, China is fielding riders for the 11-day competitions in the Olympic Equestrian Events which kicked off in Hong Kong on Saturday.

The six riders representing China come from five provinces and autonomous regions, namely Xinjiang, Guangdong, Tibet, Shanghai and Jiangsu.

Among them, Hua Tian, an 18-year-old from Guangdong, receives the most media attention. With Chinese heritage from his father and a horsy background from his British mother, the Eton College student gained his berth of the Olympics at an eventing competition held in Poland at the end of April.

He was the first Chinese rider registered by the International Equestrian Federation (FEI) and to compete in three-day eventing at an international equestrian event, which includes dressage, jumping and cross-country competitions.

Described by many as a "dark horse" at the on-going Olympic Equestrian Events, Hua first got on horseback at the age of four in Beijing before moving to Hong Kong with his family.

"I've had possibly the best start in riding anyone could have. In Hong Kong, the riding school had fun instructors, good ponies and we just had a blast whizzing around, jumping a few fences," he told The Scotsman about his early days on horseback.

When he was ten his family moved to Britain, where he receive coaching from Australians Lucinda and Clayton Fredericks.

His coaches were equally impressed. "He was absolutely fearless and he was charging round on the biggest horses," Lucinda Fredericks told the Times of Britain. He continued to ride with enthusiasm.

It's lucky for the young rider that the Eton College gave him years to leave and fortunately he also found a generous backer, Jiang Fengcan, a business contact of his father's from Guangdong Province, who provided 30 million yuan (about 3.8 million US dollars) to cover all Hua's expenses.

"I was a little bit nervous before he qualified for the Olympics but now I am relieved," the sponsor said in April to the China Daily. "I have known Hua Tian for years and always believed he would make history at the Olympics."

After the Olympics, Huan Tian will go back to England to realize his another dream -- to get into Oxford for advance study.

Another Chinese rider, Liu Lina from Xinjiang gained admission to the Olympic Games equestrian dressage event in March this year.She is a promising young rider in the Xinjiang equestrian team, which has fully backed her bid for the Olympics. She has been trained in Denmark and Germany.

In early May, Guangdong's Li Zhenqiang, Shanghai's Zhang Bin, Tibet's Wang Zuping and Zhao Zhiwen from Jiangzu gained entries to the Olympics with excellent performances in jumping events in Belgium and Germany.

In particular, Li performed remarkably well in a five-star jumping competition by jumping over barriers of 1.6 m high.

"Equestrian" is the name of the sport where an athlete partners with a horse in competition. It is the only sport in the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games in which men and women compete on equal terms in the same event.

The Olympic Equestrian Events comprise three disciplines -- Dressage, Jumping and Eventing -- individual and team competition in each with six gold medals to be won.

Dressage is often called "equestrian ballet". The horse is required to perform set movements, or freestyle to music, demonstrating close partnership with its rider. The scores are evaluated by a panel of judges based on the precision and elegance of the movements.

Jumping requires the horse to jump and clear a series of obstacles, aiming for minimum penalties incurred and completion within a set time.

Eventing comprises Dressage, Cross-Country and Jumping, with the winners decided on minimum total penalties. The Cross-Country test requires the horses to clear a series of natural obstacles on a set course within the optimal time.

Growing interest in Equestrian sport is evident at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games as riders from a record 42 National Olympic Committees compete, three more than at the Athens 2004 Olympic games. China is taking part in the Equestrian Games for the first time and is fielding riders for all three disciplines.

Chinese riders are on the increase. There are about 3,000-4,000 participants in riding clubs across the country. China also has a national-level equestrian organization, the Chinese Equestrian Association (CEA), and a team which regularly participates in the Asian Games.

(Xinhua News Agency August 9, 2008)