“ASIA is the home of Genghis Khan and the stirrup was invented here in China,” says Michael Connolly, referring to long-past links to the horse in Chinese culture. Reigniting that affinity is good not only for the Kilkenny man’s Red Mills feed company but also for other Irish firms and individuals looking to gain a foothold in this complex market.

Professor Pat Wall is another with vast experience of the Chinese market. “The Chinese had horses years ago, back in the era of Genghis Khan but there is no tradition now. So we nearly have to reintroduce the horse here again and while there is a market, it’s a slow burn.”

Both were at the China Horse Fair last week which saw the largest ever Irish contingent present in the giant environs of the New Exhibition Centre, located about 18 miles from downtown Beijing. Twenty-first century stirrups featured on saddlery and clothing tradestands, alongside studbook and stud farm representatives seeking orders and even Chinese-manufactured horse trailers were on offer. Interestingly, these products, priced at 10,000 Chinese Yuan Reminbi (CNY) (€1,300), are targeted mainly for the Australasian export market as horse trailers are banned on Chinese expressways in a bid to reduce traffic.

As well as the Irish Pavilion mentioned in last week’s report, Argentinian, French, Dutch and German studbooks had a strong presence. Located beside the German Pavilion was a row of looseboxes with a half-dozen Holsteiners shipped over especially for the Fair, including one handsome Diarado mare who attracted a constant supply of visitors to her door. Three were sold, with the others remaining in Beijing riding centres, partly to maintain the German presence in the local market but also to circumvent the circuitous export and quarantine regulations for horses from the Chinese mainland.

Various horse breeds, ranging from Arabians to Andulasians, were either turned loose in the outdoor arena or led out on parade. Each display over the three-day fair drew curious onlookers just as if a group of panda bears were on display at Dublin Horse Show.

Business appeared brisk at the Bucas stand where Ulf Casselbrant, the managing director of Irish rug company Bucas, watched on as the last of their headcollars was sold to a group of enthusiastic shoppers. One contented visitor even left the tradestand with a large Bucas promotional photo clutched under his arm as a keepsake.

More Irish visitors to the Fair included master farrier Arthur Judge, who has worked throughout Asia since moving to China two years ago and was due to fly out to Korea the following morning to shoe horses. His girlfriend Dandan Huang works as the general manager for Austin Melia’s Global Equine Services and both Judge and Melia’s stories since moving to China, together with Michael Connolly’s trailblazing experience in Asia, will be featured from next week.

Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg’s prowess at speaking Mandarin Chinese during his visit last week to China’s third largest city Beijing, was lauded in the local media. For the non-fluent Irish visitors, UCD Dairy Science student John Yu, who helped out at the Irish Pavilion, together with Enterprise Ireland’s equally obliging duo of Li Bo and Xiaojing Yue, doubled as interpreters.

Dublin-based Yue explained why Enterprise Ireland were present this year: “There’s a few reasons,” she said “Number one it’s the year of the horse and number two, equine is one of the emerging sectors after aviation and e-commerce.” Also hoping to capitalise on this new market was Select Ireland’s CEO Susan Barrett, who was representing Sue and Dan Foley’s Clonshire Equestrian Centre at the fair which she felt proved an ideal launch pad for Clonshire’s entry to the Chinese market.

Michael O’Hagan, who organised a pioneering shipment of Irish sporthorses and ponies to China last spring, also introduced trainers Sue Shortt and Jack Doyle to their Chinese and Mongolian contacts. Another introduction led to Peter Fell being invited over to design a cross-country course and he was one of many Irish in attendance, including Enterprise Ireland’s Terence O’Rourke and Tom MacGuinness.

SLOW BURNER

MacGuinness, whose Horseware company will be in business for 30 years in 2015 and which currently employs 500 people in four factories in both China and Cambodia, was another to advise caution for those thinking that the Chinese export market is an easy option.

“People think they’re going to come here and sell expensive horses. Some of them do but that end of the market is quite slow. It takes years [for the Chinese riders] to learn horsemanship, it takes years to learn to ride those sort of horses, jump and compete. It takes time.”

He also explained about the Chinese system of horse ownership saying: “People don’t have land, so they group together and might have one or two hectares, then have a few stables, a riding arena, a horsewalker and that’s it.”

Enterprise Ireland also organised tours of two Beijing equestrian centres the following day which proved an interesting insight into the Chinese scene. The first stop was Clearwood Stud, originally founded by its owner Mr Yiu as a thoroughbred breeding and training operation. However, as he explained in the stud’s plush clubhouse with a backdrop of trophies displayed on one wall, the Chinese horse racing industry has faltered due to the ban on betting and so the focus at Clearwood has expanded to breeding and producing sporthorses.

Having worked in close partnership with Paul Schockemohle’s PSI operation, the German magnate’s input was evident in the bloodlines on display with horses by Clinton, Heraldik, Kannan and For Pleasure in residence. There was also one sole Irish connection through the mare, Great Gemma, again sourced from Schockemohle’s yard, whose Golden Cliff dam Gemma’s Girl was bred in Co Kildare by Jane Quinn.

The next port of call was Ghoufa Equestrian Club where a well-supported 80cms show jumping competition was in full swing. Again the vast majority of horses were imported warmbloods and even one young rider, taking part in a Trec-style competition in the adjoining indoor arena, rode a German-bred horse.

The others were on board Thelwell-types and seizing a publicity opportunity, Horse Sport Ireland’s Director of Finance & Operations Mark Bolger stepped in to do the prize-giving.

A walk through the stabling area, complete with Loddon-style boxes, again showed the majority were sourced from the Continent. All the horses were bedded on rice bran, which costs about €1 per sack, while feed consisted of local hay and cereals. Housed in one corner of another luxurious reception area was a selection of riders clothing, including a GPA helmet retailing at 3,988 CNY (approximately €517).

The final stop was Tang Polo Club with its immaculate grounds and herd of mainly Australian imported polo ponies, plus some Falabella miniatures. Although the centre’s emphasis is currently on polo, long-term plans include expanding into the sport horse sector.

The tour was a reminder of how horse riding is a hobby for China’s wealthy middle class. Their spending power is now felt across the globe, from property sales in Manhattan to shopping trips to European capitals, with Dublin’s Brown Thomas department store now employing 20 Chinese speaking staff to cater for the new market. In fact, on the outbound flight, no less than 17 Brown Thomas bulging shopping bags were amongst passenger’s carry-on luggage.

It may be years before the Chinese market matches the Middle Eastern market in its development of show jumping, for example. Another salutary note of caution was sounded at the Los Angeles Grand Slam Masters last month where one of the European players in the Chinese market commented: “It’s not quite what people think it’s meant to be. People talk about selling horses to China for big money, but it is mainly riding horses for around €10,000. That type of horse can be sourced and transported much more cheaply from Australia.”

As a nation of sellers, Irish horse owners rely on the next sale or market and so many would still form an orderly queue for both that price and the cachet of selling a horse to China. Time will tell what sales the Chinese market provides but the Irish delegation at this year’s Horse Fair had quite an impact.