Michelle Wang
Founder & CEO, Equuleus International Riding Club
Beijing Turf & Equestrian Association Vice President
As Equestrian Supervisor at BOCOG of the 29 Olympiad

Q: As owner and manager of one of China's most established and respected riding venues, what have been the biggest changes you have seen in the market over recent years? How are you making sure Equuleus it adapts to the changing market needs and demands? 

A: This year is the 20th anniversary of Equuleus. I think the biggest change is that the speed of development of our industry is far beyond our imagination. More and more people are joining and participating in the equestrian industry. We are having more and more high-quality equestrian institutions and young riders, which is a good thing. We started with 9 horses and 11 guests 20 years ago , and now we have nearly 200 horses and thousands of members, which was unimaginable twenty years ago.

Lifelong learning and continuous thinking are very important. In the past 20 years, under the leadership and guidance of the FEI, CEA, CHIA and BTEA, Equuleus has successfully run 9 international jumping shows, 17 national and 162 regional equestrian events, including Equuleus Open, Jumping Equuleus, Indoor Equuleus, Super Club Leagues, FEI ChIC Final 2017 presented by Equuleus, National Championships and National Elite Competitions, etc. and is involved in many high profile competitions at home and abroad.

Equuleus is the leading centre in the Chinese Equestrian market and an influential operator of equestrian events at home and abroad. As the top professional equestrian competition center in China, Equuleus has won the attention of the mainstream media at home and abroad and wide praise from the industry.

Q: How are standards in the industry changing and what does this

mean for suppliers?

A: The international standard of the equestrian industry is to ensure the welfare of horses. At present, the standard is improving year by year. With the development of the domestic equestrian industry, a lot of things have "developed from nothing" at the beginning to "good or improving" and this is as a result of both this development and the increasing market choice and competition. Take Equuleus as an example: We have nearly 30 shows, more than 60 competition days, thousands of entrants take part in the competitions each year. At the same time, in terms of teaching, the training series derived from the BHS (British Horse Society) system, our coaches have all achieved BHS Stage 2 Teaching and have ongoing vocational training. Between 2014 and 2019, 583 people from Britain, the Netherlands, Russia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan and 20 provinces, municipalities, autonomous regions and municipalities, 76 equestrian clubs, 7 institutions of higher learning and organizations took the BHS examination at Equuleus. 225 people obtained corresponding qualifications, 101 from 28 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions. 1,379 people from 26 companies, 16 universities and 6 organizations have participated in BHS training schemes. According to the Horsemanship magazine, there are 126 clubs in China using the BHS system.

PONY CLUB of Equuleus is the only legitimate representative organization in China of the International PONY CLUB. We also offer basic equestrian courses for adult and young riders, we have dressage and jumping courses, stable management theory and practice courses, horse-riding classes for children aged 4-6 and Pony classes for children aged 5-12.

We use imported feed, medications used by resident veterinarians and foreign veterinarians, we use Olympic-level arena footing materials, we have nearly 100 business and cultural events every year.... these are great opportunities and markets for suppliers, we select high-quality, cost-effective products to meet our needs. We have a horse management committee which is  ultimately aimed at ensuring the welfare of horses, so suppliers must have a deeper understanding of equestrian and horse welfare in order to accurately target the needs of customers.

Q: Do you see participation levels in all equine sports and leisure activities continuing to grow in the years ahead and why? How will this impact on investments in facilities, training and bloodstock?

A:  At present, more and more suppliers are paying attention to the equestrian marke and we are very happy to see more categories, different industry brands and sponsors participating. The State Council (central government) issued the No. 46 document and the National Fitness Program to define equestrian as: “A fashion leisure sports project with consumer-led characteristics, and actively cultivated. In Equuleus, there are more than 1.8 million live broadcast viewers on a day of competition. Therefore, with the support of the country and popular awareness, equestrian, as a fashion leisure sports, its participation has been increasing.”

At present, investment in the equestrian sector is increasing and sponsors from different industries are beginning to pay attention to equestrian sports. Now we have more than 30 commercial activities every year and more than 20 (and growing year by year) cultural activities, including dozens of international luxury brands, car companies, private banking, financial organizations, jewelry, clothing, real estate and other categories.

Q: Many international companies are interested by the new opportunities now opening up in the Chinese equine market, what would your advice be to them?

A:  Chinese equestrian market is growing really fast, especially for the past few years. The increasing numbers of our membership, the number of participants in our competitions each year, and the audience for each of our shows are growing dramatically every year, 30%-40% or even more.

We have 26 international, national, and regional shows per year, and about 60 competition days. For each show, we have 150-400 entries. More and more suppliers are trying to get into the Chinese equine market, but China’s equestrian community are becoming more aware of the importance of quality, reputation and consistence of supply, whilst comparing prices, quality and services.

My advice is try to find a good channel for marketing and be consistent in building a good reputation with partners and keeping your quality, prices, reputation and services at a good level.  Try to avoid low-end competition where only prices are compared and ensure good marketing and branding.

Q: The co-location of CHF(China Horse Fair) 2019 with the Equuleus competition has generated a lot of excitement in the market, what do you think will be the major benefits from such a cooperation?

A:  To combine the well-known international Equuleus Open with the CHF is a great decision. Since the Equuleus Open is strategically located it will have a great influence on affluent families and professional equestrian business people e.g. there is a cluster of tack shops very close to the Equuleus club. These great events should attract the right people like riders, trainers, management staff from different riding facilities and clubs, also investors and audiences who are interested in equestrian culture and sport. It’s highly efficient, international, national and  influential.