The Emergence of the Swedish Horse-Riding School from the Mid-Twentieth Century

Abstract

Up until the end of the nineteenth century, horse-riding in Sweden was primarily practiced by army men and members of the upper class. Today, horse-riding is one of the most popular sports for children and young people. A majority of riders are girls and women, many of whom learn how to ride at horse-riding schools. An explaining factor behind this development, through which a sport practiced by adults in the army became a grassroot sport for girls, is the public support for the emerging new horse-riding schools for leisure riding from the second half of the twentieth century until today. Public support and its consequences distinguish Swedish equestrian sports and the activities of the riding schools from horse-riding activities in many other countries. Childification and feminization are linked to changes in the status of the horses, who was responsible for the activities, ideas on formal and informal education and learning, and what the activities comprised.