She and her team finally chose six horses and had them shipped to China.

The efforts paid off. Her club won fifth place in the championship.

Now, Wang's club focuses on arranging professional matches for horse lovers.

To date, there are 485 professional riders registered with the General Administration of Sports in China, according to the equestrian association.

In Europe and the United States, where equestrian sports are well established, there are about 100,000 to 800,000 skilled riders who participate in various competitions, Wang says.

She hopes more Chinese will get involved in the sport and China's horse riders can win good scores in the international arena in the near future.

In addition to hosting horsemanship contests, Wang's club also meets the UK standards for horsemanship education and testing.

The club has about 200 members who can receive systematic horsemanship training, from horse riding to stable management, horse brushing and habits.

Costs at the club range from 400 to 800 yuan ($63-$125) for each session. The price varies with different coaches and the number of training sessions.

The club is the first in the Chinese mainland to be approved by the British Horse Society.

Last year, it was accredited as a BHS Approved Training and Examination Center, which allows Chinese horsemanship education practitioners to receive an international certificate for preliminary and intermediate teaching tests without traveling abroad for the qualification.

Although equestrian sports remain underdeveloped, Wang believes things are moving toward a promising future.

"We've seen positive changes in people's thinking of the sport, increasing horse imports, continually upgraded technology and more and more high-level equestrian events in China."

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