WENJIANG - The 2011 China Equestrian Festival concluded on Sunday in the Wenjiang district of Chengdu, Sichuan province, with the holding of the final competitions of the barrel racing and jumping challenge.

Sixteen-year-old Tian Yu from the Jingcheng Horse Club in Beijing was the youngest athlete competing in the jumping challenge of the 2011 China Equestrian Festival. [Photo/chinadaily.com.cn]

Chen Jun and Ma Ruoxiao, both from the Suzhou Cavalry Club in Jiangsu province, became the male and female champions for the barrel racing individual finals with 16.70 seconds and 17.08 seconds respectively.

Xu Pengyi from the Qingdao Lake Equestrian Club won the individual open championship final of the barrel racing with 16.1 seconds.

In the subsequent jumping challenge competition, Subuhal Zuka'er from the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region became the champion with four rounds of zero penalty.

With the approval of the State General Administration of Sports (SGAS) and China Equestrian Federation (CEF), the China Equestrian Festival will be permanently held in the Jinma Racecourse in Wenjiang, says Qin Wenlin, chief of the Chengdu Sports Bureau.

Sponsored by the SGAS and CEF, the four-day 2011 China Equestrian Festival was the first national equestrian event ever held in a city in the central and western part of China, according to CEF vice-chairman Wang Xuanqing.

It was also the highest-ranking and largest equestrian event in China, he said.

Some 100 athletes from different parts of the country and their horses partaked in five professional competitions ranging from Western equestrian sports such as barrel racing and jumping challenge to Chinese-style speed horse riding and horse basketball competition in the Jinma Racecourse in the Wenjiang district of Chengdu.