Horse traditions in Sweden
Facts and figures
• Sweden has one of the highest numbers of horses per capita in Europe and there is a deeply rooted tradition of horse management and breeding.
• Today equestrian sport is one of the main sport in Sweden, and one of the most popular sport among young people. Equestrian sport is second only to football! Almost 200 000 people are members of the Swedish Equestrian Federation (Sweden's total population is around 9 million).
• One foundation of Swedish equestrian sport are the riding schools. 500 of the riding clubs that are affiliated to the Swedish Equestrian Federation have a riding school open to anyone in the public who wants to take riding lessons. Most of the pupils ride once or twice a week and 12 000 horses and ponies have a riding school as their place of work.
• Harness racing is a very big sport in Sweden. Besides races with standardbred horses there are also races with cold-blooded horses. The today most famous trotter in Sweden is the stallion Järvsöfaks, the fastest cold-blood in the world. He holds several world records, for example 42 straight victories and total 197 victories! Other world famous standardbred trotters are Victory Tilly (world record), Ina Scot and Queen L (Prix d’ Amerique winners), and Opal Viking.
• There are three national equestrian sport centres: Wången, a national centre for education and development in Swedish trotting; Strömsholm where edcucation of riding instructors, coaches, grooms and officials to Swedish Equestrian Events takes place; Flyinge, one of the world's oldest active National studs that is the Swedish centre for breeding modern sport horses – The Swedish Warmblood.
• Sweden has two indigenous horse breeds: the North Swedish Horse (nordsvensk häst) and the Gotland Pony (gotlandsruss). The North Swedish Horse is traditionally associated with rural work but is a nice all-round horse that is well suited for both driving and riding. The Gotland Pony still lives on the forest-covered moors of Gotland as its ancestors have done for thousands of years. Gotland Ponies are both nice riding ponies for children and fast pony-trotters.
• Perhaps the most famous 'Swedish breed' is though the Dalecarlian horse or Dala horse (Dalahäst). It is a traditional wooden statuette of a horse originating in the Swedish province of Dalarna. In the old days the Dala horse was mostly used as a toy for children, in modern times it has become a symbol of Dalarna as well as Sweden in general.
• One of the biggest tourist attractions in the capital city, Stockholm, is the Royal Horseguards. Its presence has an irreplaceable function at state visits and other solemn occasions.
Horse activities and events when you visit Sweden
For the horse interested visitor, Sweden offers a wide variety of different riding opportunities – from western riding or Icelandic horse riding to forest hacks on North Swedish Horses or carriage driving with Swedish Warmbloods (www.visitsweden.com).
You can also visit one of the country’s race courses or the many trotting courses or, if you are here the right time of the year, go to one of the international horse shows: Gothenburg Horse Show in Scandinavium, Stockholm International Horse Show in the Globe Arena and the Falsterbo Horse Show. Or why not visit Stockholm and check out the Royal Horseguards?
Strömsholm offers exclusive summer courses for foreign riders. The courses include high class training in dressage with teacher Lotta Pettersson. Register before 15th of June.