WEBVTT 00:00:01.000 --> 00:00:02.575 I’m Alex Hua Tian. 00:00:02.575 --> 00:00:05.150 I’m a Chinese Olympic event rider. 00:00:05.150 --> 00:00:07.500 I’ve competed at three Olympic Games — 00:00:07.500 --> 00:00:12.000 Beijing, Rio, and just recently, Tokyo, 00:00:12.000 --> 00:00:14.775 as well as two Asian Games medals. 00:00:14.775 --> 00:00:18.025 My father is Chinese but my mother is British. 00:00:18.025 --> 00:00:20.875 So I come from a dual-heritage background. 00:00:20.875 --> 00:00:27.850 My grandfather, my Yeye, was an ace in the Chinese air force. 00:00:27.950 --> 00:00:34.750 And my grandmother was one of the first female doctors in China. 00:00:34.750 --> 00:00:38.400 My father grew up as an only son with four sisters, 00:00:38.400 --> 00:00:43.725 and met my British mother at the Canton Fair. 00:00:43.725 --> 00:00:48.750 My mum did Chinese at university here in the UK. 00:00:48.750 --> 00:00:53.725 And their relationship developed as China opened up. 00:00:53.725 --> 00:00:57.025 I think I could definitely say any ambition 00:00:57.025 --> 00:00:59.600 I have has probably come from my Chinese roots. 00:00:59.600 --> 00:01:04.050 Culturally, Chinese parents always are 00:01:04.050 --> 00:01:05.450 very ambitious for their children. 00:01:05.450 --> 00:01:07.900 And my father certainly is. 00:01:09.800 --> 00:01:15.575 My mum came from a very traditionally British horsing family. 00:01:15.575 --> 00:01:16.800 Growing up in Beijing, 00:01:16.800 --> 00:01:22.925 I spent most afternoons with my mum at stables, 00:01:22.925 --> 00:01:25.175 started to ride when I was four years old. 00:01:25.175 --> 00:01:27.875 So for me it was a very very horsey upbringing, 00:01:27.875 --> 00:01:31.150 just in lots of different parts of the world. 00:01:40.125 --> 00:01:43.375 Choosing to represent China at the Olympics, I guess, 00:01:43.375 --> 00:01:46.300 as an alternative to riding for GB, 00:01:46.300 --> 00:01:49.225 was a very natural decision for me. 00:01:49.225 --> 00:01:54.675 I felt personally that riding for China was the right thing for me, 00:01:54.675 --> 00:01:59.425 and I was excited by the idea of riding for a country 00:01:59.425 --> 00:02:03.100 that never had representation in that sport before. 00:02:04.675 --> 00:02:05.950 It’s very difficult to understand 00:02:05.950 --> 00:02:08.675 how important the Beijing Olympics were, 00:02:08.675 --> 00:02:13.150 to China, but also to Chinese people. 00:02:13.150 --> 00:02:15.775 I think timing-wise it was, 00:02:15.775 --> 00:02:19.525 it was perfect timing in terms of national confidence. 00:02:19.525 --> 00:02:21.925 I’ve never felt that sense going to 00:02:21.925 --> 00:02:23.750 other championships and other Olympics 00:02:23.750 --> 00:02:26.800 where the whole population felt like they 00:02:26.800 --> 00:02:29.275 were invested in the Games themselves, 00:02:29.275 --> 00:02:31.750 and that was a very exciting thing for 00:02:31.750 --> 00:02:34.475 a young 18-year-old boy to be a part of. 00:02:34.475 --> 00:02:39.075 I competed in my sport of eventing as an individual and also 00:02:39.075 --> 00:02:43.325 at the Rio Olympics Games and it was very very exciting to 00:02:43.325 --> 00:02:47.799 be at the Tokyo Games, the recent 2020 Games, 00:02:47.799 --> 00:02:49.350 with our first team. 00:02:58.325 --> 00:03:02.000 There are endless challenges of working with horses. 00:03:02.000 --> 00:03:06.450 You’re working with, ah, big, powerful, 00:03:06.450 --> 00:03:08.975 emotional animals that are, 00:03:08.975 --> 00:03:13.050 that have over millions of years evolved to run away from you. 00:03:13.050 --> 00:03:17.475 And somehow you have to work with them day in day out, 00:03:17.475 --> 00:03:20.450 trust one another, to a point 00:03:20.450 --> 00:03:24.625 where you’re able to challenge yourselves as a partnership. 00:03:25.425 --> 00:03:26.600 Come on. 00:03:29.525 --> 00:03:30.800 Come on. 00:03:30.850 --> 00:03:34.425 You’re looking for that perfect moment of partnership. 00:03:34.425 --> 00:03:36.400 That’s, that sense of feeling of 00:03:36.400 --> 00:03:38.825 having this big powerful animal working 00:03:38.825 --> 00:03:46.175 with you to achieve your joint goals is incredible. 00:03:47.300 --> 00:03:51.275 The promotion of equestrian sport in China is something that, that, 00:03:51.275 --> 00:03:54.825 not only do I have a sense of responsibility for, 00:03:54.825 --> 00:03:56.950 but I’m very very passionate about. 00:03:56.950 --> 00:04:00.630 China has a huge history and connection 00:04:00.630 --> 00:04:02.550 with the horse that we’ve lost, 00:04:02.550 --> 00:04:04.900 that we have an opportunity to regain. 00:04:04.900 --> 00:04:11.250 But also for modern Chinese society 00:04:11.250 --> 00:04:14.075 and for myself growing up with horses as a child, 00:04:14.075 --> 00:04:17.150 I understand what it’s given me in terms of character education, 00:04:17.150 --> 00:04:18.625 in terms of opportunities. 00:04:18.625 --> 00:04:22.600 We have the horsemanship program, 00:04:22.600 --> 00:04:25.675 which gives children from all backgrounds 00:04:25.675 --> 00:04:27.825 an opportunity to meet horses 00:04:27.825 --> 00:04:30.000 and to understand what the values of 00:04:30.000 --> 00:04:32.800 equestrian sport and equestrianism (are). 00:04:32.800 --> 00:04:35.475 It’s about the respect, responsibility and compassion 00:04:35.475 --> 00:04:37.425 that you need to build that trust and partnership. 00:04:37.425 --> 00:04:39.825 Equestrian sport is very beautifully placed 00:04:39.825 --> 00:04:43.425 within China to be able to grow. 00:04:43.425 --> 00:04:46.400 And I think it’s very important to make sure 00:04:46.400 --> 00:04:48.675 that it’s sustainable healthy growth. 00:04:48.675 --> 00:04:51.950 People and families and children understand what the sport is about. 00:04:55.675 --> 00:05:03.075 China is a huge diverse, very complex, very old culture. 00:05:03.075 --> 00:05:05.225 China is developing very quickly. 00:05:05.225 --> 00:05:06.925 It is a difficult place to understand. 00:05:06.925 --> 00:05:09.325 I’m half-Chinese, and I don’t understand it sometimes. 00:05:09.325 --> 00:05:11.525 Respect, responsibility and compassion, 00:05:11.525 --> 00:05:16.985 it’s quite clear that those values are not just the values 00:05:16.985 --> 00:05:20.125 you need to develop a relationship with a horse. 00:05:20.125 --> 00:05:22.775 They’re also the values behind humanity. 00:05:22.775 --> 00:05:29.275 And I think if we as a society can learn to deal 00:05:29.275 --> 00:05:33.825 with difficult issues and different cultures and people 00:05:33.825 --> 00:05:35.950 with different backgrounds in the same manner, 00:05:35.950 --> 00:05:38.525 with the respect, responsibility and compassion 00:05:38.525 --> 00:05:39.375 that you need for horsemanship, 00:05:39.375 --> 00:05:43.300 I think relationships between different cultures, 00:05:43.300 --> 00:05:46.500 different peoples, different nations will be in 00:05:46.500 --> 00:05:49.850 a very different place to where it is nowadays.