Equine transportation and quarantine in the Asia Pacific area is of vital importance so, when some of the top show jumping horses in the world were flown in to Hong Kong to participate in the Longines Masters during Asia Horse Week, it was the perfect opportunity to show how their transportation was handled
During Asia Horse Week, the Head of Hong Kong Jockey Club's Quarantine Department, Dr. Brian Stewart, also gave an enlightening talk on the logistical procedures behind horse transportation with a review of his club's new Conghua Training Centre in Guangzhou
As part of China's Belt & Road Initiative, the Hong Kong SAR and Chinese Mainland authorities signed four memoranda in December 2017 to create a special bio-security zone in the Conghua District, which is the only internationally-recognised Equine Disease-Free Zone in the Chinese Mainland.
"We needed to create systems, build liaisons with government authorities, and make something that was not possible before, happen," Dr. Brian Stewart commented. Defining it as a quarantined training ground, he raised the importance of education and bio-security. He added that although there is not a wide awareness of the importance of bio-security in China, they should be able to develop this. "Where there is a will, there is a way," he summarised.
The FEI has already identified China as a booming equestrian market and President Ingmar De Vos later expanded on this, revealing that China has been identified equestrian sport as one of the ten core sports which the government wants to invest in.
Photo courtesy Longines Masters Hong Kong/Jessica Rodrigues
