Alex Hua Tian | China's First Olympic Rider

On Saturday evening 16th January, Alex's retired schoolmaster, WP In Limbo, suffered severe colic and was put down by a vet in his field. More info. Photos of Limbo

Alex is 2010 cover star in China's "Channel 5" magazine

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China's popular sport and lifestyle monthly magazine, "Channel 5", has chosen Chinese eventer Alex Hua Tian as their cover star for January. Alex is featured with Betty Sun Li Chinese singer, TV and movie star.

Alex appears on the cover of Manual of Horsemanship in China

The Manual of Horsemanship, which has been the basic teaching material for generations of British riders, was published in China for the first time late 2009. It is the first foreign manual on horsecare to be translated for the the growing market of enthusiasts and professionals in China. Britain's leading equestrian publication Horse and Hound reported on its website:

"Published by China Agricultural University, the cover photograph features Horse & Hound blogger Alex Hua Tian competing at Blenheim Palace International Horse Trials earlier this year, where he was placed 7th and 12th, and awarded the "Best U21" prize."I was thrilled to be invited to appear on the cover," said Alex, who trains in the UK. "The Manual of Horsemanship really is the bible of horsemanship — my mother still has hers which was published in the 1960s!" This year, Alex became the first Chinese rider to qualify for the 2010 World Equestrian Games. His success has created huge excitement in his home country, and is fostering a growing Chinese fan base for equestrianism."

Alex Hua Tian documentary on China Central Television

China Central TV broadcast a 30 minute documentary, showing the background for Alex's battle to get to the Olympics in 2008. Starting with the BBC's coverage of Alex's Olympic cross-country, it then follows the ups and downs of Alex's progress to the games, including the tragic loss of Adam - the talented New Zealand thoroughbred -Alex expected to take to the Games, his dramatic fall in Portugal, the thrill of qualifying three horses in Poland and then the preparation for the Games themselves.The documentary was shown on CCTV5's "People in Sport" China's flagship sport documentary programme which has a viewership of around 15 million.

Alex Hua Tian becomes the Ambassador for the Asian Games 2010

Alex Hua Tian has been invited to be the Ambassador for the Asian Games to be held in November 2010 in his home city of Guangzhou in Southern China. The Executive Mayor of Guangzhou held a press conference to announce the appointment. Only four ambassadors have been appointed: iconic Chinese actor, Jackie Chan, Alex Hua Tian, his brother Jamie, a cricketer and Yi Jianlian, Chinese NBA player.

The Asian Games is the largest sporting event in the world with 43 countries, 42 sports, over 13,000 athletes, with an avid viewership of around 4 billion. Following the successful holding of the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, the Asian Games is a big news in China.

Mr. Xu Ruisheng, Executive Mayor of Guangzhou said：“We have chosen Alex as our ambassador because he represents a new generation of sporting star. He has not only made a major impact in his own sport internationally at such a young age, but is also a trend setter among his millions of Chinese fans. He really is 'one in a billion'". See Alex's page on the Asian Games website.

Alex Hua Tian wins the HSBC Rising Star Award at the FEI Congress in Copenhagen

FEI Press Release, Copenhagen, Denmark, 19 November 2009 (Video)

One of equestrianism’s brightest hopes for the future, Alex Hua Tian, was tonight awarded the first ever HSBC Rising Star accolade at the prestigious FEI Awards.

Photo: Alex Hua Tian receives HSBC Rising Star Award from Princess Haya, President of the FEI and Kate Fuller, HSBC's Sponsorship Manager

Last year Alex became the first Chinese event rider to compete at the Olympics — at the tender age of 18. He bore the enormous pressure of huge media interest around the world — he was described in the Chinese press as “one in 1.3billion” — extremely well, and rode with flair and maturity in Beijing.

Now 20, Alex has finished his studies at Eton and is continuing to event, consistently achieving better and better international results.

Alex’s plan for 2010 is to compete at the FEI Alltech World Equestrian Games in Kentucky, USA, and he will be the first Chinese rider to do so. He qualified for the Games with one of his best international results to date — seventh at The Blenheim International Horse Trials in Oxfordshire, one of Great Britain’s most prestigious horse trials.

“I’ve had an incredible two years — the Olympics was an experience I will never forget,” says Alex. “I’m very grateful for all the support I’ve received, and look forward to achieving more of my goals next year. My ambition is to bring this thrilling sport to more people in China and throughout Asia.”

Alex was born in London to a Chinese father and an English mother, and started riding at the age of four in Beijing and later Hong Kong. His family moved to Wiltshire in England when he was 11, and he started training with Australian Olympic event riders Lucinda and Clayton Fredericks. Alex and his family now live in Wiltshire. He has a brother, Jamie.

Alex is also an ambassador for the Red Cross in China.

Young people from a wide variety of disciplines and from all over the globe were nominated for this prize, one of the most coveted in the equine world. The judging panel, which was chaired by FEI President HRH Princess Haya — who herself show jumped at Olympic level — chose Alex from among 300 nominees from all over the world.

"Alex’s tremendous achievement in becoming the first Chinese event rider at the Olympics symbolises the FEI’s commitment to advancing the growth of equestrian sport worldwide,” said HRH Princess Haya. “He possesses great talent, and reinforces this with sympathetic riding, good horsemanship and a mature, balanced attitude to his success.”

These new awards have been designed to reward the fair play, team spirit, inspiration and prowess that equine competition espouses, as well as celebrating the outstanding achievements of our often-underrated athletes. The awards were presented at a glittering ceremony hosted by the BBC’s Clare Balding during the FEI’s General Assembly in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Chinese reports:

CCTV News Report

Chinese rider wins the inaugural Rising Star Award

Hua Tian: Mr Equestrian Sport

Hua Tian recieves World Equestrian's Rising Star Award from Princess Haya

Hua Tian wins FEI rising Star Award

Chinese rider Hua Tian wins the FEI inaugural Rising Star Award

Chinese rider wins World Equestrian's inaugural Rising Star Award

Tv News

Alex Hua Tian's latest interview is up on Horse Hero

Horse Hero is a state-of-the-art video website which shows how top riders across a wide range of equestrian disciplines look after their horses at home and during competition. It offers a rare glimpse into the lives of leading professionals and their horses.To view please follow this link

Alex Hua Tian - super-blogger

Alex Hua Tian has just been invited by QQ (also known as Tencent) to provide a regular celebrity blog in Chinese. QQ/Tencent is hardly known outside of China but is currently the 5th largest website in the world capturing a massive 10+% of all ‘webtime’ in China (which equates to a 3% of all time spent on the web around the world*!!). It has an active membership of just under 500 million people.

Alex conducted a mid-week afternoon video interview for half and hour to launch his blog which was watched by 173,633 people. “I really enjoy working with QQ,"he said. They are very dynamic and full of new ideas. I just wish my father has remembered to tell me we were going out live!”

The invitation from QQ was sent via his father earlier in the year, but Alex has been so busy competing in England that he has only just been able to link up with them this month. QQ’s blog management said: “ People all over China are terribly proud of Alex Hua Tian. We are thrilled that he has agreed to put his Chinese blog on QQ. We hope that through QQ, Alex will be able to bring the spirit and passion of equestrian sport to our 400 million plus active users, and we hope that our friends all over the world will enjoy sharing Alex’s thrilling experiences. Alex is an outstanding young man, and we look forward to Alex becoming an inspiration to a new generation of Chinese youth’.

Alex is an experienced blogger. His blog on the famous Horse and Hound website, the must-read publication for anyone in the horse industry, has been very well received in the UK. Alex said: “Many of my followers in China contacted me to say that they loved my blog in Horse and Hound, but were struggling not just with the English but also the fact that it is very ‘horse specific’. I think it was the mention of a ‘pony club kick’ that caused the most confusion! I will be starting my blog with Horse and Hound again next year but will also be writing a version for QQ more suited to Chinese readers.
*Reference: Comscore press release 6th November 2009

Follow Alex Hua Tian's plans for 2010

Alex's schedule for 2010 is up. Come and see him compete in UK, Europe, USA and Asia. It is hard to imagine a sport that can offer such thrilling and varied action in such stunning venues!