Olympic rider back in the saddle three months after operation – and aiming for Badminton

Chinese Olympian Alex Hua Tian is back riding after three months off for a shoulder operation, just over three months before Badminton.

The Cheshire-based rider underwent the surgery straight after Pau Horse Trials last year; he told H&H he dislocated his shoulder “many years ago”, and it had since become unstable.

“Once last year I sneezed and it popped out!” he said. “The past six months I’d been waking up with it popping out too. I should have had the operation a long time ago, but always swerved it because I didn’t want to bother with the rehab. Then this year, post the Olympics and coming into the next Olympic cycle and as unstable as it was, I felt like there was no choice.”

Alex said he was in theatre on the Tuesday morning after Pau, being operated on by Professor Funk at the Wilmslow Hospital, and has since been working with physio Sarah O’Neill.

“I have been off riding since – for 12 and a half weeks – and because I couldn’t ride or drive or work on the yard, I’ve been back in China doing some business most of that time, so I have to thank my business partner Sarah Higgins and the team at our yard at Pinfold for all their hard work and keeping the horses in work, while been I’ve away and off,” he said.

Alex Hua Tian said his shoulder now “feels really good” and yesterday (30 January) was his first day back riding.

“I was fairly useless on my first and last horses, but not too bad on the three in the middle! I wanted to ride as many as could, but not for more than 15 or 20 minutes each,” he said.

Alex is a rider who prioritises the Olympics above everything, because of its importance for his Chinese federation, owners and supporters, but he has two rides to aim at Badminton Horse Trials this year, which will be his first time competing there since 2016, when he rode Harbour Pilot C. He hopes to start this year on his Paris Olympic ride Jilsonne Van Bareelhof and Chicko, who was fourth at Pau last year.

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