in sales of high-priced goods and serviceshas been partly fueled by the rise of China's middle class.Among the activities enjoyed by some wealthy Chineseis the ownership of horses.The quality of life tied to horses and horse ownershiphas become a new sign of success among a small,but growing group of people in China.Sports involving horses have not always been permitted in China.Former Chinese leader Mao Zedong banned horse racing in 1949.More than 60 years later, race tracks, polo fieldsand jockey clubs are opening for business in Chinese cities.And, there is a rising number of horses imported from overseas.Maiken Jaeschke is with Equestrian Globe,a German company that imports horses into China.It also builds equestrian facilitiesand sells riding gear and equipment."China has seen a huge increase in the equestrian worldand the equestrian market in general,and the interest in horses and horse sportsover the last 10 years or five years, intensively."China now has 25 horse racing tracksand 300 equestrian clubs. Land developers are building a $2 billion equestrian centerin the city of Tianjin.It is called the Tianjin Equine Culture City.The developers have promised to build 4,000 stables to house horses.They have also said they will builda state-of-the-art medical center for the animals,150 trainer offices and training areas.The development also will include a racecourse,clubhouse and an international equestrian college.Shen Ge lives in Beijing. He buys horses.His 15-year-old daughter, Shen Qing,is one of the youngest competitive riders in China.She competes internationally in show jumping.Shen Ge says there is a real interest in equestrian sports in China.But bad dealings between European horse sellers and Chinese buyershave damaged trust in the international market.He notes examples of Chinese buyers attempting to negotiate deals for horses,and then canceling contracts at the last minute.He says some buyers even disappeared after a horse was sent to China,and the seller had already spent thousands of dollars on shipping.Such stories do not concern American David Snodgrass.He brought the first American quarter horses to China. He says the Chinese market for quarter horseshas increased in the past few years."We work in saddlebreds and standardbreds and with those breedswe've seen steady growth over the last three or four years."Horse sellers say the market will only grow as interest in the sport increases.Shen Ge has built his career in business marketing.He says his love of horses keeps him in the stablesduring most of his free time.He has passed this interest to his daughter, Shen Qing.He says she represents the future of the Chinese equestrian market.This month Qing will travel to Italyfor yet another international jumping competition.