The horse whisperers: Young riders take aim at Olympic success

Gu Zhanzhao from Team Shanghai chose a particularly triumphalist piece of music from the movie The Hunger Games for his freestyle routine with his horse Qumulus-Quintus Ah in the equestrian dressage individual final at the 15th National Games in Guangdong province on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, his teammate Xu Mofei chose the song We Will Rock You by Queen for her routine, because, she noted, her horse Hao Hao, with whom she has partnered since June 2023, always enters the arena with a bang.

The duo did indeed rock the Shenzhen Guangming International Equestrian Center on Wednesday, snatching silver in the individual event with 69.520 points.

As well as making a statement with their unconventional choice of music, the 17-year-old Gu said that the nation's young riders have also laid down a marker at the equestrian center, underlined by the likes of Xu who made it onto the podium, adding: "Furthermore, the new generation of Chinese riders are ready to wow the world."

On Monday, the four riders of Team Shanghai, with an average age of just 20, had already taken the team event by storm, winning gold with a total score of 202.470 points, while the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region and Guangdong teams took the silver and bronze medals, respectively.

Gu, 17-year-old Xu and Wu Yue, 20, also made it to the individual final.

All three riders have been receiving quality systematic training in Europe, which has given them the opportunity to learn the latest techniques from the best in equestrian field from an early age, said Gu, who has been training and competing in dressage in Germany and the United States for three years.

"Equestrian sports, including dressage and show jumping, have become increasingly popular in China in recent years, and many young people have taken up equestrian events and started to train overseas. The results are now starting to show," Gu said.

Influenced by his father — a longtime dressage enthusiast — Gu fell in love with the event when he was just a child. Supported by his family, he now has five horses in Europe and six in Shanghai he trains with, and his passion and determination to excel in the sport has continued to grow. "When I train and compete in Europe, I often find people don't take young riders from China seriously, so I want to work hard and change their perception," Gu said.

"The older generation of riders look to control the horses, but we have learned to communicate with them," explained Xu. "I know Hao Hao is tired when he rubs my shoulders with his nose."

"We also want to contribute to the development of China's promising equestrian industry by bringing back new concepts and training techniques from Europe, especially in emphasizing the attention to detail and the training of young horses," Xu, who has been training in the Netherlands and Belgium, added.

Wu, who trains in the United Kingdom and is currently studying at a university there, said young Chinese riders have already started to shine on the international stage.

"By receiving systematic training overseas, or with foreign coaches, young riders can progress quickly. More importantly, they can ensure that we are on the right track from the very beginning," he said.

Individual gold medalist and two-time team silver medalist, Liu Tao, said he's glad to see the young riders perform well in Shenzhen and become strong competitors.

"Unlike a lot of us older riders, who had to keep adjusting our training techniques and correcting mistakes made when we were young, they have had the opportunity to work with top coaches and horses in Europe from the start," said the 37-year-old Team Xinjiang veteran, who won his first individual National Games title at the 12th edition, held in Liaoning province, in 2013.

"Their full potential is yet to be unleashed," he promised.

Liu said he, too, will keep competing, saying he would like to continue for another 20 to 30 years.

Gu welcomed the move: "I really admire the veterans for their courage to keep going. This kind of spirit is truly rare and valuable."

Gu added that, like Liu, the younger generation of riders all share the same goal: "We are all training hard to see the Chinese national flag being raised at international equestrian competitions, including the Olympics."