Taiwanese rider Yeh Hsiu-hua (葉繡華) is to launch the nation’s first equestrian sports training center in Kaohsiung’s Dashe District (大社) next month, with plans to admit eight trainees and organize the first international equestrian event to be hosted by Taiwan, she said on Thursday.
Yeh, 42, said that Kaohsiung, her hometown, is appropriate for raising horses and training riders due to its weather.
Riders would be trained free of charge and would represent the nation at international events, Yeh said.
Photo: Chang Chung-yi, Taipei Times
Horseback riding has long been regarded as an upper-class pastime, and is the only sport at the Olympic Games to still use animals, she said.
She first rode a horse when she was in elementary school, but did not devote herself to competitive equestrianism until she was in college, Yeh said.
She left for Germany to learn about horse training when she was 22, Yeh said, adding that by the age of 25, she had begun making a name for herself in competitions in Taiwan and abroad.
Yeh won bronze at the 2014 Asia Games in Incheon, South Korea, and won gold at Taiwan’s National Sports Games in 2015.
Since then, she has been running horse ranches in Taoyuan and Tainan, as well as training students, most of whom have also fared well in foreign and domestic competitions.
She did not come from a rich family and has accomplished her goals through hard work and practice, Yeh added.
Most of the horses used competitively in Taiwan are imported from Europe, so they need blood tests to ensure they meet disease control and prevention standards, Yeh said.
All horses are placed under observation for three months, even after the blood tests have been concluded and the horses have passed customs, she added.
The construction of the training center is nearing its final stages, Yeh said, adding that the sand for the pens and training boxes has been imported to ensure that the horses remain unharmed during training.
The first global hotel Keys Selection by the Michelin Guide includes four hotels in Taiwan, Michelin announced yesterday. All four received the “Michelin One Key,” indicating guests are to experience a “very special stay” at any of the locations as the establishments are “a true gem with personality. Service always goes the extra mile, and the hotel provides much more than others in its price range.” Of the four hotels, three are located in Taipei and one in Taichung. In Taipei, the One Key accolades were awarded to the Capella Taipei, Kimpton Da An Taipei and Mandarin Oriental Taipei. Capella Taipei was described by
The Taichung District Court yesterday confirmed its final ruling that the marriage between teenage heir Lai (賴) and a man surnamed Hsia (夏) was legally invalid, preventing Hsia from inheriting Lai’s NT$500 million (US$16.37 million) estate. The court confirmed that Hsia chose not to appeal the civil judgement after the court handed down its ruling in June, making the decision final. In the June ruling, the court said that Lai, 18, and Hsia, 26, showed “no mutual admiration before the marriage” and that their interactions were “distant and unfamiliar.” The judge concluded that the couple lacked the “true intention of
EVA Airways today confirmed the death of a flight attendant on Saturday upon their return to Taiwan and said an internal investigation has been launched, as criticism mounted over a social media post accusing the airline of failing to offer sufficient employee protections. According to the post, the flight attendant complained of feeling sick on board a flight, but was unable to take sick leave or access medical care. The crew member allegedly did not receive assistance from the chief purser, who failed to heed their requests for medical attention or call an ambulance once the flight landed, the post said. As sick
INDUSTRY: Beijing’s latest export measures go beyond targeting the US and would likely affect any country that uses Chinese rare earths or related tech, an academic said Taiwanese industries could face significant disruption from China’s newly tightened export controls on rare earth elements, as much of Taiwan’s supply indirectly depends on Chinese materials processed in Japan, a local expert said yesterday. Kristy Hsu (徐遵慈), director of the Taiwan ASEAN Studies Center at the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research, said that China’s latest export measures go far beyond targeting the US and would likely affect any country that uses Chinese rare earths or related technologies. With Japan and Southeast Asian countries among those expected to be hit, Taiwan could feel the impact through its reliance on Japanese-made semi-finished products and
RSS