Hurricane hits World Equestrian Games while Chinese rider Hua finishes cross country before rain

TRYON - Hurricane Florence hit the World Equestrian Games 2018 on Saturday, but Chinese rider Alex Hua Tian and his Boris finished the cross country phase of the eventing competition before heavy rain poured down at the Tryon International Equestrian Center located in western North Carolina.

Florence made landfall in the US state of North Carolina early Friday and killed at least five people so far. The hurricane was downgraded Friday afternoon to a tropical storm but will affect North Carolina for the next few days.

Tryon, a small western North Carolina town, is famous for its rich equestrian history. The Tryon International Equestrian Center is the main venue for the ongoing World Equestrian Games.

Hua, the sole rider from China competing in eventing, had a stable performance in the cross country run and finished with a time of 10 minutes 24 seconds.

The Chinese rider was at bottom of the standings after the first phase of dressage and now improved to 51st overall.

"I'm quite happy with the result. Boris looked inexperienced in the beginning and a little bit tired at the end, but he kept fighting and that's the reason I like it. The course in Tryon is tough enough and there are many jumps out there. But it's just like I expected," Hua said.

Games organizers have already decided to move Sunday's jumping phase to Monday after more rain is expected in Tryon, and Hua said his team have to do more prep work for the nine-year-old Boris.

"It's unusual. We always push the horse's limits after the cross country run. Now we have one more day to go and it's nice for the horse because we want to make sure the horse is not tired. But Boris can also become stiffer after two days' rest, so we must make it feel comfortable and happy, and hopefully Boris can be fresh into the jumping event," Hua said.