WHATEVER happens in China affects the whole world, there’s more to come,” was Austin Melia’s intuitive take back in March about a pandemic unfolding around the world. It’s his first-hand knowledge of the Chinese market and culture that makes the Tuam man the go-to person for updates on the situation.

Before he came home for Christmas, Melia oversaw four equestrian clubs around China. His description of conditions at the Wuhan club, near the pandemic’s epicentre, painted a vivid picture of horses bedded on sand and fed on hay, as bedding and feed supplies ran out in early March.

“I’ve a Ukrainian guy in charge, he’s not allowed to leave. He gets three meals a day and tapwater to drink, not even a can of Coke.”

What happened to him since? “He eventually got home, back to the Ukraine. Any of the coaches, they’re all home,” said Austin, who, likewise, is in limbo.

“At the moment, you’re sitting and waiting, whether it’s for six or 12 months. Obviously, I have to make a living in the meantime. I will be buying horses for resale but that will be later on in the year. My plan is buy some and work on them over the winter and I’m hoping, when China gets up and running again, I can send over horses or sell the horses there. So it’s sit and wait.”

Not that he’s done much sitting, although he has let the grass grow under his feet by reseeding meadows, then reclaiming land and fencing. “When the second cut of silage is finished, I want to resurface the indoor. I’ve just been enjoying the basics and the home side of it.”

For years, Marley was the prefix used by Austin and his late namesake father. “Dad passed away [February 14th] just after celebrating his 55th wedding anniversary. He was born and died in the same room at home, how many of us can say that?” his son said five months ago. How is Austin’s mother Nancy? “She’s good, she has her lonely days but we’re looking after her. She has a very good circle of friends too and they always keep in touch, they’re a great support.”

Marley And Me

Was it horse-mad father, pony-mad youngster or both that started the Marley business? “Ah, it would have started with the horse-mad father! He’d always have horses growing up, for work obviously, but he used to ride them out also.

“Producing the good horse, when the horse proves you right, when you bring him up to Grade A or Grand Prix level,” he replied about the best part of those years. He qualified the Young Barnaby full-siblings Kilfane Barny and Oister Bay, both owned by Bray man Kevin Egan, for the five and six-year-old classes at Lanaken when Irish Sport Horses first went to the championships.

“The following year I qualified a six-year-old mare Doonaree Lady for Lanaken. I trained her as a three-year-old and produced her all the way up, she went to Grand Prix level as well,” Austin said about that Hail Station mare owned by Headford chemist Jim Flanagan.

Who were his Grand Prix rivals back then? “Francis Connors, Tom Slattery, Conor Swail, Dermott Lennon, Edward Doyle, all the top lads. They’re still going.”

His best Grand Prix horse Marley Star, bred by Regina Callanan, got a plane ticket too when Melia made the move to America. Why bring over his top horse, by Indian Ruler? “Well, to make a name for myself, I didn’t just want to be another Irish rider there, I wanted to be able to compete at a good level so I brought over three; two younger horses and Marley Star. When the shows came along, I was able to go in at Grand Prix level and once I started to get results, it helped me make a name for myself,” was his fasttrack approach.

“I competed in the Midwest; Chicago, Detroit, Indianapolis, Kentucky Cincinnati, St Louis, Kansas City. St Louis was a very lucky show for me, it was held on the city outskirts and I remember passing by the Gateway Arch,” he said about the iconic archway monument, built on the banks of the Mississipi River in a city known as the historic jumping-off point for wagon trains heading out west.

“That was a very productive day. I’d won the warm-up class, the warm-up Grand Prix on Friday and the actual Grand Prix on Sunday and also won an all-expenses paid trip for two to Hawaii, worth like $5,000.” Did he go? “The airline sponsor gave me a credit for that [amount] and it paid for flights for about two years!”

Another import was the Ginger Dick-Clover Hill cross Carrantryla, sent over to Austin by owner-breeder, the late John Gleeson from Tuam. “I trained him from a three-year-old up to 1.40m, then when I moved to America, John sent him out to me. He competed well over there.”

Helping hand

“The one thing I will say is the ones who helped me out the most when I went there were Darragh and Sarah Kerins and Kevin Babington. Darragh worked for Margie Engle at the time, so he was on the same circuit I was and Sarah worked for Donald Cheska. Darragh introduced me to a lot of people. The first time I went to Florida, Darragh was at the gate to meet me.

“It was such a vast complex but he showed me around; ‘this is the stewards office, this is the entries office’, where you got shavings and where your stables were. Then he introduced me to Frank Cunniffe, who is a gentleman. He had his own private yard there at the time and let me use the turnouts and arenas to get ready for shows. They were very welcoming to me.

“After Palm Beach, I went to Ocala. Kevin was there and he done the exact same thing; introduced me to people and showed me the ropes. It’s very nice helping your fellow countrymen out and that’s why then I always tried to fly the Irish flag when I was in China. If I could help anybody out, I would do it.”

The move to China happened when he landed a job at the Beijing International Equestrian Club, which he first heard about from Ian O’Grady, already doing business there.

“I saw it as a challenge. I’d seen the website and it excited me, trying to be the market leader over there. I upgraded the quality of the shows and it was also to show the Chinese; ‘This is how the horses should be looked after and how to train them.’

“The first two places I worked in China were geared to competition, so we ran FEI shows. We invited over top riders to compete and there was such an Irish involvement. Ronan Tynan was singing, Red Mills sponsored the class, Tipperary Crystal sponsored the glass, Horseware sponsored the blankets. I had Ned O’Flynn over as the FEI vet, Arthur Judge was the farrier on-site and to cap it all, with the Irish flag being raised and national anthem being played...that was a proud moment.”

Was that the highlight? “It was. It was three years of hard work and preparation. It all came down to one day and Cian [O’Connor, who won the class] is a great man on the day to get results, so it was a real joint effort.”

Reality check

Paying back and forwards the help he himself received in America, Melia paved the way for Irish products and people in China.

“I was getting Red Mills when I was in Ireland, I knew it was a quality product so I’d no problem recommending Red Mills in China. As it turned out, Red Mills were the most advanced in getting licences so it was just that little push over the line, but they were already ahead of the pack. Red Mills was the first foreign [horse feed] company to get a licence to import into China. I was happy to do that because I knew it was a good product.

“The same with Arthur coming over. I knew he was a master farrier, which would show a high level of skill and professionalism, so I’d no problem at all recommending him for the job.”

Austin Melia (left) with Arthur Judge and his partner Dandan \ Susan Finnerty

Austin, Arthur and Connolly’s Red Mills director Michael Connolly were all in Beijing in 2014, the Year of the Horse, when Michael made this telling statement at the China Horse Fair: “I’ve often found that if you want someone with drive and fire in their belly, you have to go west of the Shannon.”

Breaking into the Chinese market, with its cultural intricacies and not without a trace of nepotism, is certainly not for the faint-hearted or impatient.

“The number one rule for business in China is to build up that business relationship. The downside then of that is the boss will always hire relations of his for the business first and the trouble with that is they’re not actually qualified. They’re a friend of the boss or, mostly, they’re a relation. They then hold that job but don’t necessarily have the qualifications. There’s a saying in China, ‘When one person gets a good job, then all the family gets good jobs!’

“What they had was a lot of people from different countries trying to sell horses to China, playing one off against the other to see who had the strongest relationship. That was the way it was. It has changed a bit since. Like, every top trainer, riders from Europe would go over to China and they probably found it wasn’t worth their business,” he said on how the Oriental market didn’t quite pan out for most.

“A lot of people thought China would do what Qatar has done and pump millions into the sport to qualify for the Olympics and world championships. They expected China to do the same at the start. They haven’t done that. Most horse clubs that have opened up in China sell horses within. If anyone has an interest in buying a horse, they’d bring them to Europe to buy.”

“China qualified for the Olympics in show jumping and three-day-eventing but the riders that qualified, they’re all based in Europe.”

Will the Olympics go ahead in 2021? “I think they’ll be held but it could be behind closed doors. I think they’ll lose too much face to cancel it a second time,”

Self-sufficiency has seen a growing number of ‘Made In China’ sport horses. “What some horse clubs are doing now is buying in stallions to breed European warmbloods in China, so they’re trying to cater for their own market. You can’t import semen for A.I, it has to be A.I within China or a live covering,” added Austin, who also works as a consultant to several breeding farms. “On one farm, they produced up to 25 embryo transfer foals, using big, working-class Chinese recipient mares.”

What’s the standard of the new wave Chinese sport horses? “Normal. What they’re interested in is numbers; foals on the ground, horses for sale.”

Visa issues

It typically costs €11,000 to ship a horse to China, plus a mandatory two-month quarantine. For expats hoping to return to work there, they face similar screening. If they can get a visa.

“It’s very hard to get visas at the moment. They’re only giving select visas and the Chinese decide who gets into their country by accepting an application or not.

“A coach or horse trainer or rider isn’t going to be very high up on their list, compared to someone in the medical field. Even when you do get a visa, you’d be tested straightaway for the coronavirus and put in 14 days quarantine.”

Is his plan to return full-time to China, commute back and forth or stay home? “Somewhere in the middle. I’d have to show my face again to keep up business relations. I’ve nine years invested in it so I can’t just walk away. I have been very patient and stuck it out there, whereas a lot of people left.

“It’s challenging times, very challenging times. I haven’t bought any horses yet, I’m waiting to get a picture of what’s going to happen. I know I can go back to China, back to a salary again, when things go back to ‘normal’, but then again you don’t know what kind of reception you’ll receive either, because there’s been so much negative press about China and this virus.

“They’re very patriotic people, so they will be like, ‘You’re foreign, why are you in my country?’

“It’s hard to predict how long this is going to go on for. They’re hoping schools will open in September, they had them open for a while but they’re shut down again.

“I keep in contact with all my Chinese staff. My translator went home for the Chinese New Year and she’s still home. She’s trying to get back to Beijing but flights were cancelled and since then there’s been an outbreak in her city and they’re all under lockdown. With their lockdown, you’re put into your apartment, the police come and seal the door. You order groceries and security will bring it to you but you’re not allowed outside the door.

“Only for the virus, I would be in China but I’m sort of getting used to being back home again. I’d normally be home twice a year anyhow, in August and at Christmas. In August, I’d organise a summer camp in a different country every year for a dozen children, from seven to 13. I’d come over with the teachers and children and fly to Ireland from there. They’ve gone to Germany, Holland and Ireland, to Dan and Sue Foley’s Clonshire Equestrian Centre.”

Full circle

Where is home now, Tuam, China, America? “All of them. You went to America for the experience. Same for China, a different country, a different culture and I spent longer in China than I did in America.”

What type horses would he buy once China reopens; youngsters, ones with mileage on the clock?

“Youngsters and do the training myself because the Chinese market is for horses at 1m, 1.10m. I don’t want to buy somebody else’s problem or an older horse if there’s veterinary issues. Whatever problem you have with a horse in Europe, it will magnify in China.

“If there was a horse that needed special shoeing, even if he was a very nice horse, I’d cancel, because you wouldn’t have that level of expertise in China.”

What about the changes in the Irish Sport Horse since he first left for America?

“I think there’s no really longer an Irish horse, it’s much the same breeding as you get in Germany or Holland, just it’s born in Ireland. The true bred Irish horse is few and far between.

“Well, we’ve lost our identity,” he continued. “This has been going on for a long time. The riders I’ve talked to have been taking embryos off the very good mares so if she turns out to be very good and is sold, at least they have the bloodline, whereas that wouldn’t happen before. Once you sold the mare, you lost the bloodline.

“The problem is, if you go back a few generations when Ireland had the best sport horses in the world...for the majority of good ones, people came and bought the mother, the sister and you’d lose the whole line.

“In my time here, if you had a mare and she wasn’t that great as a show jumper or performance horse, you’d put her in foal. You’re getting an animal but you’d have to question the pedigree and the future of the horse. At the end of the day, people have to make a living so I can understand how people would go about buying young horses or using foreign stallions.”

He promises to source a photo of Marley Star and himself after their St. Louis Grand Prix win. And another photo? “Use the one of Arthur, Dandan and myself in the hotel. Dandan did the translating when I started in China, then she met Arthur. The fact that, since then in 2014, they’ve got married, had a child [William], that photo is full circle. Back to where it started.”

As is Austin. For now.