Already widely active in the equine trade with China, Quality Sport Horses for Sale (QSHS) joined the 2019 mission to Chengdu and Harbin. Owner Linda de Jong is specialized in training and managing of (young) jumping, dressage and Friesian horses and knew early on that the Chinese equine market is one with a high growth potential. “Having been focused on the regions of Beijing and Shanghai for eight years, we began noticing market saturation. It was time for us to broaden our horizon”, de Jong begins her story.

The stable is specialized in training and managing of (young) jumping, dressage and Friesian horses. Aiming to provide high quality services in horse purchasing and after-sale assistance, QSHS strives to build long term, confidential, trust-based relationships with all of their clients worldwide.

“We started doing business in China in 2011, so we got some experience in the Asian market. However, we were looking to broaden our market potential in China. By joining the Frisian mission to Harbin and Chengdu, we wanted to explore if those regions are attractive for QSHS to perpetrate doing business in.” Since then, the equine breeding and training company has made a lot of steps: even leading towards two new clients. “There have been many contact moments over the last year. So far I can happily say that we were able to send quite a few horses to these new business relations.”

Quality Sport Horses for Sale is pleased with the opportunities that the province created for the them. “People from higher places can open many doors for you. Currently, we are at the start of building trade relations with importers from the regions Harbin, Shenyang and Changchun”, Linda continues. A new visit to these regions is planned in April 2020, during which QSHS will visit their newly gained clients and join an equine competition in Harbin. “We initiated this visit on our own, with some support of the ministries in the Netherlands and China. They were also very helpful in the quest for new potential business contacts.”

“I have to say that the mission to Harbin and Chengdu was very exciting. You never know what to expect, pertaining to the area, meetings with people and of course the quality and demand in the market for horses in that specific region. Harbin really surprised us in a positive way: the area was very interesting and the facilities and hay for the horses was of good quality. Also, the Korean and Russian influences are noticeable. They practice horse sports in a really evolved manner that is similar to those countries. For us, the mission turned out really well: we acquired some clients that we would not have reached otherwise. We wanted to penetrate the market in different regions, and we succeeded at doing that.”

Looking forward, Linda hopes for promising results. “At this point, we are looking at the Chinese national calendar, so we can start planning what relevant events to visit and which people to meet. If the way that business took off when we started eight years ago in Beijing is any prediction, we will have lots of work coming for us over the coming years!”