After being postponed for a year, the world is finally gearing up for the Tokyo Olympic Games. And it will not only, hopefully, mark another step on the return to normal life, but also the latest chapter in one man's equestrian career that happens to bookmark China's Olympic involvement in the sport.

Alex Hua Tian is a 31-year-old equestrian who was born in London, but lived in China until he was 11 years old, when he moved back to the UK. And he has two Olympic milestones under his belt - he was the youngest Olympic Eventer at 18, and he was China's first-ever Olympic event rider when he competed in Beijing.

After those initial games, he then went on to represent China again in the 2016 Rio Olympics and is now preparing to saddle up for the Tokyo games, which will also mark the first time China is sending a team of riders to the Olympics. 

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"I think it'll be very exciting," Hua Tian said.

"Normally I'm in the Olympic Village as part of the Chinese delegation, but doing my own thing because with horses, you're traveling at strange times. No team, just me. And this time it will be very nice to be together."

Hua Tian has spent a lot of time trying to encourage the growth of equestrian sports in China. In 2017 he co-founded Horsemanship Movement to introduce competitive horseback riding to communities throughout China.

The organization has since introduced 600 children in Shanghai to the sport.

"We are an extremely inexperienced team in comparison to the strong equestrian nations," Hua Tian said.

"So, it is a big challenge and I think we should be very clear that this Olympic Games is about building a platform for the future."

There is also another hurdle the team will have to jump, the COVID-19 precautions during the actual games - and the near-empty stadiums that they will be competing in. 

This is because Japan has banned overseas spectators from attending the games as a COVID-19 precaution. 

"Part of the process of training a horse for competition is preparing them for the large atmospheres," Hua Tian said.

"And actually, if the stadiums are empty, in some ways, that takes away a huge element of, and huge challenge from, what we're trying to do.

"And that will help some riders whose horses are more worried about the atmosphere, and it will not help riders whose horses are very secure."