China's equestrian team will field six top riders from different parts of the country in the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games equestrian events, the Chinese Equestrian Association said in a meeting with the press yesterday.

The events will be held in Hong Kong from August 9 to 21.

The fact that China has taken up the entire quota of six places it was entitled to as the host country symbolizes the rapid development of equestrian sports on the mainland and the good results it has achieved under the leadership of national sports authorities, the association said.

The six qualified riders include dressage rider Liu Lina, and eventing rider Hua Tian. The other riders are Li Zhenqiang, Huang Zuping, Zhang Bin and Zhao Zhiwen, who will all take part in jumping events.

The six riders come from Xinjiang, Guangdong, Tibet, Shanghai and Jiangsu.

Liu Lina, who comes from Xinjiang, gained admission to the Olympic Games equestrian dressage event in March this year. Hua Tian, who comes from Guangdong, gained his through an eventing competition held in Poland at the end of April.

In early May, Li Zhenqiang (also from Guangdong), Zhang Bin (Shanghai), Wang Zuping (Tibet) and Zhao Zhiwen (Jiangzu) gained entries to the Olympics with excellent performances in jumping events held in Belgium and Germany.

In particular, Li performed remarkably well in a five-star jumping competition by jumping over barriers of 1.6 m high.

At present, the qualified riders are still training in Germany, England, Belgium and France and will take part in a few international competitions in the run-up to the Olympic Games.

The team will arrive in Hong Kong on July 26.

Li Zhenqiang met with the media yesterday.

Li has come a long way from being a farmer to being a jockey. Born in 1968 in a village in the city of Dongguan, Li started off being a farmer. In the wake of economic development in the village, he joined the engineering industry as a merchant.

He came across riding purely by chance as he only discovered the joy of riding when he rode with his business friends when he was almost 30 in 1994.

It was then he found a connection with horses. Two years later, he made a bold decision to form a riding club that provided training in jumping events. He was eager to become a professional rider.

Equestrian training is very tough and often leaves the rider injured.

For Li, he has also to endure the hardship of being alone.

Over the years, China has not had any representatives in a five-star jumping event.

Li never thought he could make it. But in the end, he passed through 13 qualifying competitions in Belgium that bring him to the summit of his riding career and a place in the national team for the Olympics equestrian events in Hong Kong.

(HK Edition 06/04/2008 page1)