The quality of the Dutch horses is visible in the results, like on the latest Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. Although the Dutch riders did not obtain any medals for the first time since 1988, the Dutch horses were able to do so. In virtually every discipline the Dutch horses played an important role. In dressage Dutch horses even contributed to every color team medal.

FEI figures show that people in China are very much interested in equestrian, with 235 million of the total of 753 million equestrian fans around the world being from China.

"It is an important market with a lot of potential fans," reacted Dutchman Straus, commercial director of the FEI since November 2017. "A real growth market. We are in close cooperation with the Chinese equestrian federation to further develop the sport, to make it more professional and to develop Chinese riders. China now has the FEI World Cup Jumping China League as a qualifier for the FEI World Cup Jumping Final. In this league Chinese athletes do beat European athletes which is helping Chinese fans to get behind their local heroes. But we want to have more events in China."

The global format of the Nations Cup means that more countries and regions can host qualifiers at world-class venues, but China is not one of them just yet. However, according to Straus, it will not take long until China organizes a Nations Cup event.

"Maybe we can organize the Final in China in a few years," he said. "It would give an enormous boost to horse sports in China. There is no better way to promote our sport. People in China have to get the possibility to experience it, to feel it, to get the emotion."

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