A hedonic analysis of the price for horse riding lessons in Sweden

Abstract

Abstract Riding school businesses have evolved as popular providers of recreational services in many rural and peri-urban regions of northern and western Europe. We conducted a country-wide survey of riding schools in Sweden to analyse determinants of the price of riding lessons for adults and children. We found that riding schools depend heavily on the willingness of customers to commute, with a positive relationship between the price of a riding lesson and average household income, as well as population density in the municipality. Older schools charged on average higher prices than newly established schools and the presence of an indoor arena proved to be the single most important physical price determinant. Existing financial support to riding schools does not seem to affect the price per lesson directly. Education of riding school managers can be distinguished between various generic skills that allow riding lessons to be provided at a lower price, and specific riding instruction skills for which a premium can be charged. Management implications • A hedonic price analysis was performed on data from a national survey of riding schools in Sweden. The findings indicate that the price of riding lessons decreases with increasing distance from urban areas, increases with rising average household income, and with increasing population density in the nearest municipality. • Many riding schools have not only invested in horses for their customers, but also in specific infrastructure and facilities for guests and children. The majority of the schools surveyed had an indoor arena and provided access to showers, lockers, changing rooms, a cafe and other related leisure facilities. • Riding school managers are typically female, middle-aged and have vocational or university education. However, specific, formal horse-related education yields a direct price premium per riding lesson only in the case of certified riding instructors for children and teenagers. • Riding schools within our sample also actively incorporate non-monetary contributions of their customers into their pricing schemes.