With support of Hof Kasselmann in Hagen, Germany, China's first female Olympic dressage rider Liu Lina has founded a dressage riding and training academy at the Equuleus International Riding Club in Beijing, China. The grand opening was celebrated in a special ceremony on 12 January 2017. Liu is trailblazer in China as the first female equestrian athlete to compete at the Olympics. She represented her country on home turf at the 2008 Olympic Games in Hong Kong.
Liu has now taken a new step in career as a dressage professional by opening the Equestrian Performance Center with her business partners Equuleus and Hof Kasselmann. The center is a riding academy in the truest sense of the word: it is open to anyone interested in dressage, with or without experience. It offers riding lessons based on the German classical training system as well as livery services for horse owners. Students can learn dressage on horses bred and owned by Equuleus.
Established in 1999, Equuleus is the only horse-riding club in mainland China approved by the British Horse Society (BHS). The members of the club come from more than forty countries. The Club prides itself for hosting several international competitions with the support and the recognition of the Chinese Equestrian Association (CEA) as well as the International Equestrian Federation (FEI) .
"Dressage is fundamental in equestrian sport, and all riding disciplines can benefit from the use of dressage principles and training techniques. So it's important to offer professional dressage training from the very beginning," Liu, told China Daily. She started training at Hof Kasselmann in 2005 to prepare for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Lina Liu is the first Chinese dressage rider who has completed the German trainer exam "Trainer C" for the German Equestrian Federation (FN) in 2015.
"The perception of Chinese equestrian fans to dressage as a sport is relatively weak compared to more high-profile events like jumping. I hope my academy could help grow the awareness of Chinese to this sport and train more advanced local riders," said Liu, a native of Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region.
Stephan Plum, sales manager at Hof Kasselmann, said the German center will offer full support to Liu's academy in Beijing.
"We have worked with Liu for a long time. She started as a student at Hof Kasselmann and now she is a family member," said Plum, who attended the academy's opening ceremony at Equuleus on Thursday 12 January 2017.
"In the future, we will have good cooperation with Liu. She is not only a good rider but a good dressage trainer. She can bring dressage with her experience to a new level in China. What we can do is to send her some horses and our expertise so we can start to bring it up here."
According to Beijing Turf & Equestrian Association, a five-leg dressage tour competition was launched in 2016, attracting more than 200 riders and their horses to compete and enjoy the elegant sport.
"With the support from Equuleus and the advanced program from Germany, we believe that Liu's dream of grooming local dressage riders will come true," said Chen Che, secretary general of the association.
Source: China Daily - Photos © Teng Jun
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