China saddles up with exclusive riding clubs, horse towns

SHANGHAI: Leather riding boots are neatly lined up on a carpet, a picture shows blood-thirsty hounds on a fox hunt and a fountain spews water from the mouths of stone horses. It may have the trappings of upper-class Britain, but this is in fact suburban Shanghai and the County Down Club, the self-styled first exclusive membership club in China for horsemanship and fox-hunting. The club, which takes its name from a county in Northern Ireland, was founded three years ago and owner Steven Sun says equestrian sport "has developed rapidly in China during the past five to 10 years". "I think it’s a change in awareness," said the 32-year-old, whose interest in horses was triggered while studying in Britain. Rising numbers of Chinese are taking up sports such as horse riding as the country’s growing economy -- now the second biggest after the United States -- gives people more disposable income to pursue leisure activities. County Down has a dozen horses and Sun wants it to be at the forefront of promoting equestrian sports in China.