China is not a traditional powerhouse in equestrian, but some top riders from China are galloping to win respect at international competitions.
Jia Huilin, a top endurance rider in China, is one of the four representing China at the World Equestrian Games in Tryon, a small town in western North Carolina, the US.
All of them are ranked in Top 30 in world rankings.
"This is awesome. Nobody can imagine that the Chinese riders are able to reach this far. The Chinese riders are having great progress as we could not even make Top 100 four years ago," said Jia, who is at his second World Equestrian Games.
In the last edition of the games, there were only two athletes from China competing in endurance race, but this time around in Tryon, the Chinese athletes have gained the full qualification of all four berths.
"There are seven athletes who have what it takes to enter for the Games, but each delegation can only send four athletes so we have to first compete against each other (in the qualification events)," added Jia, who reached world number five in March.
Endurance race during World Equestrian Games on September 11, 2018. /VCG Photo
The World Equestrian Games is the world's biggest equestrian event featuring eight disciplines. It attracts more than 1,000 athletes and around 500,000 spectators over a two-week period.
In order to qualify for the World Equestrian Games, the athletes must have taken part in at least 20 events in the past two years and collected enough ranking points.
"Wherever we go, we know that we are representing China and we have to let them know that Chinese riders can also pull off great performances," said Wang Zhiqiang, another top endurance rider from China.
The Chinese team hoped to make breakthroughs for Chinese equestrianism in the games, but the endurance event was cancelled midway due to impact from Hurricane Florence, which hit North Carolina earlier.
High humidity made endurance race too tough for many horses.
Despite missing the chance to make history this time, Wang Zhiqiang said the welfare of the horses is a top priority.
(Cover Photo: Alex Hua Tian of China rides at 2016 Rio Olympics. /VCG Photo)