Kristin Kringstad

"Our riding school is for everyone"

- People come to our riding school from all over Malmö. A large proportion come from our immediate area, Rosengård, but we have children from all over the city. They make friends from different backgrounds and, as a bonus, parents from all the different parts of Malmö also meet one another. It’s a natural way to meet and interact.

- It is very important that we are a riding school for everyone. It’s about everyone's equal value and giving everyone a chance. This is something that all of us that are part of the organisation have taken to heart. Everyone should be allowed to be as they are and we want to try to help.

- I started as the Managing Director for the riding school around the year 2000 and that was also when we started working more actively with social issues. We opened up for drop-in and first-time riders and started collaborations with, among others, the schools Ögårdsskolan and Lilla skolan in Möllevången for children with special needs. The children and young adults started coming to us, up to 120 visitors per week, to take care of the horses or participate in various activities. Our motto was that the riding school should be for everyone, and that is what it has really become.

- It feels good that more people can be in the presence of horses. It’s a unique experience and gives them so much joy and peace. We clearly see that horses can improve someone's mood. Imagine being able to give that joy to more people, it feels great!

- There are also challenges, of course. Many children are not used to being part of sport associations and sometimes it can take some time for them to adapt. You can’t do as you want in the stable. You have to obey the instructors, otherwise it can be dangerous. In that way, it is also like school and students learn to respect each other and to respect the horses.

- We have received a lot of attention. In 2019, we won the Lövsta Future Challenge award for Sustainability and last year I myself was named “Enthusiast of the Year” (“Årets Eldsjäl”) in sports by the City of Malmö. When any of the children says that they like being with us or how they have discovered how fantastic horses are, then I feel warm all over. Such moments are priceless. They’re the ones that keep you going.