In all equestrian sports except for individual voltige, men and women compete on equal terms, which otherwise is very rare in sports. This study examines from a gender perspective how female and male riders are reffered to by expert commentators in competitions. The aim is to see if there are differences in how the riders are depicted and mentioned based on gender. The material consists of comments about eight rides, four performed by female riders and four by male riders, from two large international world cup competitions in dressage, broadcasted on SVT in 2012 and 2013. The material has been transcribed and then analyzed using content analytic method with a quantitative and a qualitative part.

SUMMARYThere was no previous study in what high level dressage riders had for ideas of how to best prepare for their training sessions with an instructor. Neither any study of how high level dressage riders seemed to be more or less susceptible to the instructions from their instructor during their training sessions. If the sport had more knowledge about this, it might result in more riders on a higher level. The purpose of this study was to find out how high level dressage riders are preparing themselves for the best result for an instructor led training session and how they could bring as much as possible instructions from the coach. The two questions of the study were: How are high level dressage riders preparing themselves for a training session with an instructor, practically and mentally, and how can they affect their susceptibility to instructions?The study was carried out both by reviewing existing literature and studies in general education and pedagogy in the riding education, and by a qualitative interview study of six dressage riders who rode on a difficult level at the competitions, during the year of 2009.

The aim of this study was to determine the basic movements of the riders? pelvis and upper body when riding in trot seated. The study was preformed at a treadmill with seven high level dressage horses and their riders. The movements of the horse and rider were captured with a motion analysis system (ProReflex®) and also recorded on video. The horses were ridden in collected trot, 3.0 m/s.

Blakeslee och Goff (2007) föreslår att dressyrryttares visualiseringsfärdigheter bör skilja sig från andra sporter som inte involverar ett djur. Enligt Murphy, Nordin och Cumming, (2008) finns det ett behov av ett instrument som tar hänsyn till visualiseringstyp, funktion och dess utgång. The survey of imagery experiences in sport (SIES; Weibull & Wallsbeck, 2009; Wallsbeck & Weibull, 2009) är ett relativt nytt instrument som mäter dessa variabler. Syftena i denna studie var därför att: (1) studera elitdressyrryttares visualiseringsupplevelser, (2) studera elitdressyrryttares förståelse och (3) upplevelse av instrumentet SIES. En kombination av kvalitativ och kvantitativ metod användes i studien.

The interest in horses and equestrian sport is constantly increasing, and so is the will in both riders and trainers to learn more about the effect the rider and its equipment have on the horse. The last twenty years, more and more studies have been performed were the horse and its kinematics have been in focus. The access to more advanced technology has made it possible to study areas, which earlier have been hard to reach. The knowledge about kinematics in the horse, and how riders and their equipment interact with the horse?s movement, is also of great interest to veterinarians in equine practice.

Eventing is often called as the formula 1 in equestrian sports and comprises three disciplines: dressage, show jumping and cross-country. The sport provides excitement, challenge and joy and is the ultimate sport for intelligent riders and horses. Many are fascinated by the challenges the sport offers while other consider it foolhardy to ride a cross-country. Eventing is not a risk-free sport and has even been given the label of being one of the world´s most dangerous sports. What do those risks mean to the horse? And particularly, is it associated with good animal ethics to use the horse for eventing? Finding answers to these questions is not easy as it probably is not a clear and simple answer.

As the quality of internationally competing horses is increasing, a debate concerning the breeding goal of the Swedish Warmblood horse has arisen. Some people claim that the breeding goal should be divided into two separate goals in the future; one for show jumping horses and another one for dressage horses. At the same time others claim that since the largest group of people using the Swedish Warmblood horse today is amateur riders, the needs of these riders should be taken into a larger consideration in the breeding program. The largest emphasis in this matter is on the horses? temperament. The objective of the study was to investigate what the majority of the Swedish horse people think about a variety of questions concerning today?s breeding goal of the Swedish Warmblood horse.

SUMMARYThe first and most basic skill a rider needs to learn is how to sit correctly in the saddle. This decides whether or not the rider will be able to follow the horse?s movements and use her riding aids in an efficient way. This correct seat is based on a straight line between the axis of the hip and heel. The seat must rest against the saddle with equal weight on both buttocks and the inside of the thighs.

The purpose of this paper is to view Karlstad Municipality and their financial support to non-profit organizations within equestrian sports. Despite the varying representatives of various equestrian sports in Karlstad, there seems to be a single beneficiary within the sport when it comes to financial support from the municipality. The policies and plans concerning cultural development are directly compared to the Karlstad Municipality and its contribution to these organizations within equestrian sports. Through interviews and reports I have studied the process of financial support from the Karlstad municipality using an intersectionality theory based on Nina Lykkes guide on gender studies and feminist theory. Pierre Bourdieu?s theories on field, habitus and capital are also used as a method to enhance the understanding of equestrian sports and its role in modern Swedish society. The conclusion is that the Karlstad Municipality is, for a several of reasons, promoting non-profit organizations within equestrian sports, which are operating as riding schools.

Dressage schooling is not a subject that rests on science, it is a matter of dependable experience. So far there hasn?t been so much research about it, but more and more is done. Especially the interaction between rider and horse is a nearly uninvestigated field. Riding skills is much about having the right position, and having the horses head and neck in different positions, but there are no research done that support or deny that this old ?knowledge? is for the best for the horse. This study was performed to evaluate if the head and neck position of the horse, and the velocity, has any influence on the position of the rider.

The purpose of this paper is to view Karlstad Municipality and their financial support to non-profit organizations within equestrian sports. Despite the varying representatives of various equestrian sports in Karlstad, there seems to be a single beneficiary within the sport when it comes to financial support from the municipality. The policies and plans concerning cultural development are directly compared to the Karlstad Municipality and its contribution to these organizations within equestrian sports. Through interviews and reports I have studied the process of financial support from the Karlstad municipality using an intersectionality theory based on Nina Lykkes guide on gender studies and feminist theory. Pierre Bourdieu?s theories on field, habitus and capital are also used as a method to enhance the understanding of equestrian sports and its role in modern Swedish society. The conclusion is that the Karlstad Municipality is, for a several of reasons, promoting non-profit organizations within equestrian sports, which are operating as riding schools.

Elite sport is becoming more professional, and elite athletes have to be more committed to spend several hours in training to achieve elite level and this means that the time to pursue a university academic career to the side of elite sport is minimized. Still only few elite athletes will be able to make a living of their sport. The objective of this study is to gain a better understanding of the opportunities and difficulties for a student who combines academic study with elite sport. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews with eight students studying at the University of Umeå, combining elite sport with academic studies. Results show that there are high demands on elite students to structure and plan for the combination of studies and elite sport.

Retiring from elite sport can be a difficult and disruptive process for an elite athlete. To improve the quality of the transition after retirement, elite athletes are recommended to have dual careers which mean they combine their sport with education to be prepared for a new career when they retire from elite sport. To help elite student-athletes with this combination, universities and sport organizations provide different kind of support. This study was conducted and aimed to investigate elite athletes? perceptions of support offered by a university in Sweden and the elite athletes? perceptions of combining top level sport and academic studies.

Horses respond individually to challenges, and the possibility to use these reactions to evaluate equine temperament with an objective instrument would have several advantages. Horse welfare could be improved by making it possible to find individuals best suited for a specific use, and understanding of the development of abnormal behaviours, such as stereotypies, could be increased. Management routines and training could be adjusted tosuit each individual horse and it could facilitate the selection of individuals appropriate for breeding. There are also economic implications, as horse buyers consider temperament important and after evaluating temperament, money can be spent solely on specific horses with all the right qualities. During the last decade, many attempts have been made to measure different aspects of temperament in horses, and the first aim of this project was to look at these studies and see which methods were used and which temperamental characteristics they measured.

Phenylbutazone has been discussed in the world of the equestrian sport several times and different countries have diverse opinions on its use in competitions. The progressive list that permits phenylbutazone with plasma levels up to 8 µg/ml was presented at the FEI General Assembly in November 2009. The list was voted to be accepted, but later several countries realized the consequences and after protests the list was rejected and is going to be discussed again at the FEI General Assembly 2010. In this literature study I have studied the relationship between the concentrations of phenylbutazone in plasma and the effects on lameness. The purpose was to establish whether the limit of 8 µg/ml phenylbutazone in plasma affects the equestrian sport.