Alex Hua Tian at Asia Horse Week 2019 Photo courtesy Isaac Lawrence/Mazarine/EEM
Asia Horse Week 2019, held at the AsiaWorld-Expo in Hong Kong, is underway, providing a forum for the global equestrian industry to share their valuable views, experiences and insights
The brainchild of EEM’s Christophe Ameeuw presents a line-up of speakers including the FEI President Ingmar De Vos, the Chairman of the Hong Kong Jockey Club Anthony W K Chow SBS JP, Chairman, The Hong Kong Jockey Club, the Secretary General of the German Equestrian Federation Soenke Lauterbach, Chief Executive of the British Horse Society Lynn Petersen and the Chief Executive of World Horse Welfare Roly Owers.
Key topics include ‘Horse Welfare and Clean Sport. One Goal’, ‘Chinese Milestones in Equestrian Sport’, ‘Sport Development in Asia’ and ‘The Sports to Breeding Connection’.
The first day of Asia Horse Week saw Sabrina Ibanez, the Secretary General of the FEI, open the two-day talk fest by emphasising where the current major focus of her organisation lies.
The welfare of the horse is clearly at the core of the FEI’s strategy and they are mindful of the impact welfare has on the public perception of the sport that is growing at a rapid rate, particularly in Asia where equestrianism is booming. 17 major events are now staged each year throughout the region and in Hong Kong alone there has been a 134 % increase in the number of FEI registered horses.
“There’s clearly a buzz here in Asia and we are here to ensure it is well managed and enhanced,” said Ibanez.
As this huge growth continues in Asia, Roly Owers, the CEO of World Horse Welfare, stated in his address today that there is no greater responsibility than ever that horses are looked after to the “best of our abilities”.
World Horse Welfare is a highly respected campaign organisation for proper equine use that has been operating for more than 90 years.
“The biggest reason for abuse and negligence is ignorance. In developing nations such as Asia, it is so important that education is at the heart of that” said Owers.
“More and more new people are coming to the sport and it’s important to put education at the heart. The key issues for agitating change are to make sure the rules are updated and properly endorsed and that there are sanctions for abuse of equine welfare.”
The HKJC Head of Equestrian Affairs, Amanda Bond, continued the strong horse welfare theme. A graduate of the BHS system, Amanda also addressed today’s session and highlighted the importance of a strong welfare focus in the Thoroughbred racing space and the need to continue rehoming suitable ex-racehorses in Equestrian sport in Hong Kong and beyond. She highlighted several case studies of horses that have gone on to live very happy and healthy lives in Equestrian sport.
“Welfare is a vital component of keeping equestrian sport and racing successful. We cannot ignore it and we cannot get it wrong,” said Bond.
Asia Horse Week facilitator Alex Hua Tian, the founder of the Horsemanship development programme in China and an Olympic level eventing rider, applauded the way today’s keynote presentations faced into key issues that could potentially compromise continued growth.
“The numbers coming out of this region are phenomenal and we especially need to make sure we answer the welfare questions,” said Hua Tian.
The CEO of the British Horse Society, Lynn Petersen, discussed the positive influence that her organisation has had so far and will continue to have on the development of Equestrian in Asia through the education programmes it has implemented for trainers and coaches.
On Friday, the FEI Clean Sport Seminar takes place. And, in what is a first for the Asian region, French racehorse auction house ARQANA will present for sale a unique collection of embryos that combine some of the best jumping bloodlines in the world.
Watch the Asia Horse Week livestream and replays here
