Xia hopes the sport will be a magnet in a business culture where spectacular rises and falls are the rule.

Ideal for vigorous types looking for a spirited pastime between boardroom killings, he explained in a salesman patter, the game is also a novel way to meet "many successful figures and potentially beneficial connections."

Some influential figures also ride at Sunny Time, Xia said, but had not registered as members bcause "they did not want people to think they had leisure time".

Such shrinking violets, however, are less and less common among China's affluent. With a spreading perception that business success is as much forged in the clubhouse as in the boardroom, private clubs have exploded in China's major cities.

POLO POWERHOUSE

But even in Xia's posh clubhouse, the lure of patriotic glory -- powerful in the country preparing to host the 2008 Olympics -- exerts its pull. Xia dreams of turning China into a polo powerhouse to rival Argentina and the United States.

"Golf, tennis and snooker have reached a very fast phase of development in China. Polo will be the same," he said.

In September, Sunny Time hosted China's first international polo meeting of sorts, inviting clubs from Australia and Singapore. Several hundred people watched the Chinese side beat Singapore's team, before going down to the Australians.

"Although they didn't have a clue what was going on, they were enjoying the day out," Ian Brown, an Australian consultant hired by Sunny Time, said of the crowd.

Sunny Time can provide Arabian horses, equipment and an hour of polo training for as little as 500 yuan ($64).

Brown, head of a polo club in Queensland and a former Australian national player, said he was impressed with the Chinese players' progress and the chances of the Asian country giving the sport a fresh, less snobbish face.

"Sure it costs a few bob, but polo could certainly have a bit more of a rock and roll image," he said.

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