New Equestrian Centre in South Korea: Balios Equestrian Club

By: Arthur Inglis

Tim Court has been telling me for a few months about a magnificent new privately owned equestrian facility near Seoul in Korea that has been utilising his architectural advice. Tim has been advising William Inglis for 30 years and along with many international equine facilities, has helped design three Olympic equine venues and several racecourses, so he knows a nice horse place when he sees it.  

Tim and his lovely wife Jenny have long operated a commercial riding school and competition venue at Sutton Forest in the Southern Highlands NSW, well actually Jenny does most( if not all ) of that work. The tipping point for me came when Tim and Jenny returned from a wedding at the Balios Equine Centre shortly before a business trip I had programmed for Korea.

Changwhan Bae, the owner and visionary creator of Balios hosted Tim and Jenny at his son’s wedding, together with another 1000 guests. So with this insight into the scale of the operation, the reference from Tim and the photos he showed me I enthusiastically accepted the invitation Tim arranged for me.

Just over an hour from the highly populated city of Seoul, Mr Bae has created heaven for the golf and/or horse enthusiast. His first project was a 27 hole floodlit golf course with a huge clubhouse set in expansive view corridors over rolling fairways. More recently Mr Bae took to feeding his long held passion for horse competition, which follows many years as a Korean champion showjumping and dressage rider.

Conceived and created on a grand scale and to the highest standards Balios is a pleasure to visit!

With an entrance through a huge foyer, similar to a large hotel, the clubhouse has three levels. It is part of the main building which houses a fully enclosed arena 72m by 36m similar in size to the Sydney International Equestrian Centre indoor, but with an additional indoor 60m by 20m, which can also act as a warm up for dressage or showjumping in the main arena. The two indoors are in the same building but separated by the judges’ box and media rooms.

The upper level of the clubhouse has a huge lounge room with viewing over the arena. This level also has a fully equipped bar and commercial kitchen. This would serve sponsors and competitors who could also view from a wide apron either side of the main arena. The centre or entrance level of the clubhouse has an amazing shop stocked with high end saddlery and apparel, plus a club bar with fireplace and karaoke. The lower level houses luxurious locker rooms, a gym, rider coaching/meeting room and even a child minding facility.

Adjacent to the main building on one side is the outdoor showjumping arena with seating for 2000 people. On the other side are 108 stables arranged in a square surrounding another arena, all landscaped with meticulously laid out garden beds in geometric patterns.

Perhaps most impressive was the use of technologies. Each stable is served with a vacuum system for waste removal. The outdoor arena has an ‘ebb and flow’ underground watering system, which basically enables lifting a water table to any subsurface level desired. Tim Court tells me you can even raise the water to above surface level to create an ice rink in winter!

All this was created in just 12 months, which by Australian standards is almost impossible to contemplate. What lies ahead for Balios? Memberships will be sold, horse numbers increased, competitions will be hosted and eventually the ultimate goal is to see international competitors. No doubt they will be very impressed, as would any visitor. With the energy Mr Bae and his team have applied to the creation of Balios such an outcome may not be too far away.

VISIT THE BALIOS EQUESTRIAN CLUB WEBSITE

Horse Riding in Korea

By: Inglis Korea Representative - Jeffrey Yoon

Horse riding in Korea is something that many people have an experience of, but not a regular activity that people enjoy. The general public’s perception of horse riding is something that rich people enjoy as a hobby. Most people have experience of riding a horse during their youth, as an extra-curricular activity promoted in elementary / middle school.

Interest in horse riding is rising fast, with numerous media coverages. The social atmosphere seems to find horse riding as the “next popular social hobby,” but it has not happened just yet.

Facts and Figures:

• Number of riding venue: 366 (25% increase in 3 years)
• Number of horse riders : 45,000 (80% increase in 3 years)
• Number of horses for riding : 35,000 horses
• Number of farms for breeding horse for riding : 18
• Horse industry size : 3 billion AUD:

                      Racing : 2.4 billion AUD

                      Riding : 56 million AUD

Government’s newly pronounced goal by 2017:

• Number of riding venue: 500
• Number of horse riders : 100,000
• Number of horses for riding : 50,000

Relevant News:

Government officially pronounced promoting the horse industry, specifically horse riding. It is projected that the government will fund 2 billion AUD into the horse riding market.

Competitions:

• 11 official competitions a year, including youth-only and amateur competitions.
• First ever “Horse Riding Festival” is held by Daemyoung Group (a group that has ski resorts and golf courses) in May 23 and 24th. This is due to the government’s promotion.