The video showed an Arcadian idyll with foals and their mothers galloping across lush meadows and splashing through crystalline streams as a voice-over rhapsodised on the lifestyle of the Irish horse. It was part of a new effort to promote the equestrian industry that saw the Irish Horse Board sign a memorandum of understanding with the Chinese Horse Industry Association at the Irish Embassy in Beijing this week.
Mainland China has a few racecourses, notably in Wuhan and Guangzhou but betting is banned and racing struggles to make money. Even Macau, where gambling is allowed, saw its racecourse close last year although the sport flourishes in neighbouring Hong Kong, which has two courses.
Other forms of equestrian sport have fared better, seeing rapid growth since the Chinese equestrian team made its Olympic debut at the Beijing games in 2008. China has yet to win an Olympic medal in the sport, but its equestrian team won a gold medal at the 2023 Asian Games and Irish Horse Board chairman Tiernan Gill believes Ireland can help the next generation of Chinese riders.
“We want to nurture them the all the way up to be where they want to be,” he said. “They do need education, they do need horses, they do need knowledge. People tried before, but they were at a different level. They tried to get in too much on top, but the people have to get education and grow with it from the ground up.”
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China has almost 2,500 equestrian clubs with about 700,000 members and the number of enthusiasts has grown with the country’s prosperity. The market surrounding horses for leisure and competition was estimated to be worth almost RMB 17 billion (€2.17bn).
Much of the growth has been driven by parents encouraging their children to take riding lessons as an alternative to spending most of their time looking at screens. French, Dutch and German horses have tried to break into this segment of the Chinese market but Gill believes that Ireland has some advantages.
“The other people who maybe have tried to come in here to China, their animals aren’t bred for what they need, the requirements at the moment, whereas the Irish horse has the mentality. It’s docile, it’s easy to ride, and it’s very simple to get with, whereas the other countries did try to come in here and sell them horses, but they’re at a different level. We have the horses that they need at the moment,” he said.
The Irish Horse Board is hoping that this week’s event will see more Chinese buyers coming to Ireland, and they would like the Government to extend the Inward Buyer Programme to include sport horses as well as thoroughbreds. This allows overseas buyers to claim a contribution towards their travel expenses, usually a relatively small sum compared to the price of a horse but apparently enough to make a difference.
The man who made this week’s event in Beijing happen is Jimmy Quinn from Cappa Stud in Corrandulla, Co Galway, who has been visiting China for many years. He is leading an ambitious project to build an equestrian centre in Huzhou, 250km west of Shanghai, that will include a five-star hotel and an Irish cultural village.
“This will showcase the Irish horse industry. I think as a small country we punch way above our weight, and we don’t appreciate the reputation of Irish horsemanship throughout the world,” he said. “I think it’s part of our DNA, it’s part of our culture. From the very small-time single farm breeder to the very top professional, we cover all aspects.”
The holiday resort will feature high-end Irish brands and hospitality but at its heart will be the equestrian centre Quinn hopes will host international competitions but will also offer lessons for beginners. He thinks the market in China for the Irish horse industry is a niche one but that the high-pressure education system is creating an appetite for connecting with the natural world.
“I see a lot of the young people and the pressure on them to do well with education. And with modern technology a lot of young people nowadays, they don’t really reflect back with nature. They don’t live it,” he said.
“You never see kids playing in the ground and the dirt, for instance. Everyone seems to be on their iPhone or their Xbox or whatever it is. I just think with the pressures of education and doing well with exams, it’s therapeutic for people to relate to horses.”
