Epsilon Archive for Student Projects

Abstract

In Sweden, equestrian is the second largest sport for young girls in the age of 13-20 years, compared to the number of practitioners. For the last twenty years, more and more riders are interested in taking part in competitions. For children the most common is to start competing with a pony.
During the last ten years, some big changes have been introduced in the Swedish pony sport, particularly in show jumping. It all began in 2005 when a Swedish newspaper reported that children, competing in equestrian, had the possibility to win money. This fact was not accorded with the Swedish Sports Confederations guidelines for children and sports. As a result the Swedish Equestrian Federation decided to no longer approve for prize money in pony sports. In 2011 the rules for the Swedish Championship, in showjumping, changed to style judging for category B (the smallest ponies, ridden by the youngest children). And the allowed age for pony riders changed in 2015, from 18 to 20, splitting the riders in two groups based on age, up to 16 years and 17-20 years.
All these changes lead to a lot of discussions, often made public in media and most of the times held by the rider’s parents. The fact that parents, and other adults, are committed and involved in their children’s sports is important and a prerequisite. Without parents there would be no shows for the young riders. But sometimes the parent’s vision does not comply with the young rider’s vision. The aim of this study was to find out how young riders experience actions from parents and other adults involved in the pony sport.
Eight riders, in the age 15-20, all girls, with experience from show jumping, were interviewed. The interviews were based on focus groups, with four riders in each focus group. The interviews were held in familiar places for the riders, and the members of each focus group known each other before the interview.
The interests in horses are often an interest for the whole family. The riders appreciate that their parents are so involved in their sport, and that the common interest makes it possible for them to spend a lot of time together. But it can also be difficult to have their parents present during a show, for example when the parent gives feedback in the warm up or right after a bad performance. And sometimes the riders find it difficult to live up to their parents expectations. They can all tell one or two stories from different shows, where they have watched parents putting too much pressure on their children.
This is one of the first studies on parental involvement in equestrian. The result tells that it is not uncommon that young riders feel pressure from their parents. Even though more research on the subject is necessary to get a full picture on young riders experience on parental pressure.