Wanted: Cowboys in China
Tyrel Hotchkiss has just ridden into town to make a fresh start. The young cowboy from South Carolina is a stranger in these parts, but the territory is no stranger to horsemen and horses.
This is not the hills of Montana or the plains of Wyoming. This is northern China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region, and the town is the booming city of Ordos, with a population of close to 2 million.
Hotchkiss is going to start his career as a full-time horse trainer in China, putting into practice what he has learned over the past 14 years.
Like Hotchkiss, more foreign horse breakers, particularly from the United States and Europe, have been moseying into China in recent years as horse riding becomes increasingly popular among young, well-heeled urban residents.
"I would imagine Chinese people's interest in Western riding probably comes from their interest in watching Western movies, so there is probably some fascination about that," said the 26-year-old cowboy, perhaps unaware of the area's own historic relationship with the horse.
But in truth, the growth of equestrianism in China, is more likely due to people's rising enthusiasm for Western sports, coupled with the nation's growing wealth.
However, its development faces a major obstacle, as China is desperately short of experienced horse trainers.
Li Yanyang, editor-in-chief of the Chinese publication Equestrian Magazine, said the country will need many trainers from overseas in the next five to 10 years to meet demand.
"Although a comprehensive and high-quality equestrian infrastructure is in place, China's emerging professional horse industry has a severe shortage of equestrian professionals, particularly high-level trainers," Li said.
He said although some equestrian clubs have spent millions of yuan to buy good 2- to 3-year-old racehorses from overseas, they still lack access to international horse breeders and trainers, which is crucial for the development of riding clubs and other similar business.
"In the past five years China's equestrian clubs have sourced an average of more than 1,000 horses each year from overseas breeders, of which most are expensive, sturdy horses from Germany, France and the Netherlands," Li said, adding that the number is projected to increase substantially over the coming years.
"But the problem is when those horses have arrived in China after what can be a series of cumbersome procedures, very few experienced Chinese domestic trainers are able to train them.
"We have to face the reality that there is still a huge gap between China and Europe, where they are the most developed in horse training techniques."
Li said China's first equestrian club opened in the 1980s, but the sport became popular in Europe before World War II.
"We are very dependent on these horse trainers introduced from abroad to give professional training to imported horses," Li said. "If we don't do this, the huge cost of buying horses will be a waste of money."
He said in the next five to 10 years China is expected to become the world's largest importer of horses, although at present the country has fewer than 800,000 professional and amateur riders.
At the same time, Li said the financial crisis in Europe has also pushed more horse trainers in Europe and the US to look for job opportunities overseas, especially in emerging markets.
"Many excellent foreign trainers have eyed the promising prospects of China's horse industry and hope to seek opportunities for career development in China," Li said.
"Their professional skills are much needed by Chinese horse farm owners."
For some large-scale equestrian club owners, hiring foreign trainers has already become the trend.
"If China is keen to develop the horse sports industry, the fastest way is to hire talent from overseas to help better manage the business," said Jiang Wenjun, general manager of Bangcheng Equestrian Club in Ordos, one of China's largest clubs.
Since 2007 the club has been buying competition horses from Australia, Ireland, Spain and the United Kingdom. Last month the club spent 20 million yuan ($3.1 million) to buy 68 quarter horses from the US, with the help of the American Quarter Horse Association.
The company also began to introduce horse trainers from overseas in 2008. The club now has 15 foreign trainers, mainly from Italy, Spain, Portugal, the US and Brazil.
But Jiang realized early that relying solely on trainers from overseas cannot solve the problems encountered in the development of his business.
"Our top priority is to foster our own excellent trainers, so as not to place undue reliance on foreign trainers," Jiang said.
So in March, Bangcheng Equestrian Club began to send staff to Europe to learn horse training. Meanwhile, foreign trainers in his club also teach their Chinese colleagues on a regular basis.
Jiang said training a mature trainer, who can tame a horse and make it responsive to the rider's commands, in Europe takes at least three or four years, and the cost ranges between 500,000 yuan and 1 million yuan.
"To train a good horse trainer not only requires a lot of investment, but also needs time and patience," Jiang said.
Bob Hess, regional director of the US National Barrel Horse Association, believes it is worthwhile for China to hire foreign trainers, as well as sending people to learn horse training overseas.
"It will take you 20 to 25 years to get the experience, but if you bring the trainers in, he will tell you how to do things properly without spending that amount of time," Hess said.
"The same thing happened in Italy about 20 years ago. They were in the same situation. Now Italy has its own trainers and its own horses."
Hess said China is ahead of other Asian countries in the development of equestrian sport, and he believes as long as China's economy keeps growing, its horse industry will keep growing.
"You cannot all of a sudden bring hundreds of years of horse training knowledge from the US or Europe to China, but right now China's industry is developing in the right way. It will grow."
liulu@chinadaily.com.cn
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