Sport of kings a lure for nouveau riche(3)

Yao Congbin, chief technical officer for Connolly's Red Mills, says China's horse veterinary infrastructure is now improving as the country's horse veterinary equipment and medicines are increasingly advanced.

However, its horse veterinary standards are still lacking compared with those elsewhere because traditionally veterinary schools and degrees have not focused on horses, Yao says.

It is only in recent years that horses have attracted more attention in veterinary courses, but there is still a shortage of skilled and experienced teachers. Consequently, China has a dearth of good equine vets.

Yao says he is optimistic about the future of China's equestrian and horseracing industries because horses are an important element of Chinese culture, and equestrian is seen as an emerging fashionable sport.

"In places like Inner Mongolia or Xinjiang Uygur autonomous regions, people learn to ride horses when they are young, so they have a special affinity for them. With the improvement of financial situations, these people would like to go to horse events and ride for leisure, even participating in horse racing.

"At the same time, many young people in big cities are increasingly adopting horse riding as a hobby, which is another important part of the market."