It’s not just the likes of Ed Clancy and the Brownlee brothers providing local interest in the Olympics.

A horse bred by Mirfield woman Pam Dews carries the hopes of Chinese rider Alex Hua Tian in Rio.

Riding instructor Pam, who runs Croft House Stables at Crossley Lane, has travelled to the equestrian centre at the Deodoro Olympic Park to support 26-year-old Alex and nine-year-old mount Don Geniro as they compete in the individual eventing category.

The back-up team out in Rio also includes Pam’s partner, Halifax vet Peter Schofield, who flew out with the horse and is in charge of the animal’s welfare in temperatures touching 30deg C.

Alex and Don Geniro finished a commendable 12th in the dressage competition on Sunday – just five points behind the leader, Britain’s high-experienced William Fox-Pitt.

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And they were hoping to improve on that in today's testing cross country course.

This morning they will compete in the third and final discipline, the showjumping. The individual qualifer starts at 2pm with the individual jumping final starting at 6pm.

Don Geniro, a British warm blood standing 16.5hh high, is the younger of Alex’s two horses – the other being Harbour Pilot C – and was judged to be the better prospect for Rio.

Alex qualified for the Olympics last year at competitions in France and Ireland as well as the Blenheim Horse Trials. His last competition before heading for Rio was the Bramham Horse Trials, where Alex won his event, the Junior Masters.

Eton-educated Alex, who has been riding since he was five, became the youngest eventer ever to compete at an Olympics – and the first from China – when he took part in the Beijing Games at the age of 18.

Tian Alex Hua of China riding Don Geniro competes in the Eventing Individual Dressage event during equestrian on Day 2 of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games at the Olympic Equestrian Centre on August 7, 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Tian Alex Hua of China riding Don Geniro competes in the Eventing Individual Dressage event during equestrian on Day 2 of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games at the Olympic Equestrian Centre on August 7, 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

He competed in the World Equestrian Games two years ago and won a silver medal for China at the 2014 Asian Games. Alex was ranked fifth in the world in the Federation Equestre Internationale Olympic Horse-Rider Combination Rankings in August, 2015.

Pam, who owned Don Geniro’s mother and grandmother, said: “Don Geniro is a very good jumper. He did a good dressage test, although he made a couple of mistakes that put him in 12th place. He’s very strong in cross country, but it’s a very demanding course.

“If all goes well, we will be back home on Friday. It’s the first time Don Geniro has flown. When we took him to Europe, he’s travelled by horsebox on the ferry. We’ve already been asked to take him to compete in America.”