It seems as if China wants to attack with all its might in equestrian sports.
In mid-January, the Chinese company Sinogene Biotechnology presented China’s first cloned riding horse. The black foal, which goes by the name Zhuangzhuang, was born in June last year and has now been presented to the public.
But this horse “made in China” also has German roots. The clone horse’s genes come from a horse called “Ursus” imported from Germany. According to the news portal Nexta should it be a warm-blooded animal, which is considered to be particularly well suited for high-performance sport. (NEWS: Everything for riding)
This underscores China’s ambitions in equestrian sport, which originated in 2001. At that time, Beijing received approval for the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. At that time, classic equestrian disciplines such as show jumping, dressage and eventing had no tradition in the host country.
German know-how and Chinese cloning
Therefore, those responsible got help from Ludger Beerbaum and the German Riding Association FN. “Sönke Lauterbach, who is now General Secretary of the FN, and I were asked to help with the Olympics and afterwards,” remembers Sacha Eckjans, then Managing Director of the German Association for Therapeutic Riding (DKTHR) and today Managing Director of Equestrian Globe. at this time. “I was the team manager of the Hong Kong show jumping team at the Olympics and the year after,” he revealed dw.com.
As a result, equestrian sport experienced a boom in the People’s Republic. However, according to their own assessment, the Chinese riders lack good horses in sufficient numbers to really advance to the top of the world. According to pferderevue.at China has therefore imported up to 2,500 horses annually in recent years. But in addition to the purchase prices, the transport and veterinary controls alone drive up the costs.
“I have with (Chinese, editor’s note) Spoken to riders competing in the Olympic Games. All have more than one horse, usually two or three. Each horse costs between 10 and 20 million yuan (1.3 to 2.7 million euros),” Mi Jidong explained at the presentation of Zhuangzhuang.
Therefore, as Managing Director of Sinogene Biotechnology – the company also presented the first cloned arctic wolf in September 2022 – Jidong wants to improve the conditions for equestrian sports in China. “Cloning can help reduce the cost of breeding and raising horses.”
Clone horses allowed in equestrian sports since 2012
However, China is not the first country to want to go down this path. Cloning sport horses has been legal in several countries since the early 2000s. Italy presented the world’s first cloned horse in 2003. Cloning is also permitted in the USA, Great Britain and South Korea, among others.
The International Equestrian Federation FEI took up this development. Since 2012 clone horses and their offspring have been allowed to participate in FEI events.
Therefore, Zhuangzhuang should prove to be an important step for China’s equestrian sporting ambitions. However, cloning alone will not bring ultimate success. Because in addition to genes, riding horses also need good training and care. It remains to be seen whether China already has the necessary know-how.
And here, too, Germany comes into play. Equestrian Globe is now the official representative of the FN in China and offers the German training system in the form of courses, as Eckjans emphasizes. “There are many riders or those interested in riding, young people who would like to have a German certificate or badge hanging on the wall as a kind of distinction.”
One can therefore assume that China will also want to get involved in equestrian sports in the future.
