Research articles

Dilemmatic spaces and parents’ participation in the activities of riding schools for the younger children

May 10, 2023

Susanna Hedenborg¹, Gabriella Thorell Palmqvist^2,3, Annika Rosén¹
& Oskar Solenes⁴¹ Malmö University; ²Swedish National Equestrian Centre at Strömsholm;
³ Karlstad University; ⁴ Molde University College.

In recent years, riding schools have opened their activities for younger children. The activities consist of riding, but also chores in the stable (Thorell, 2017; Hedenborg et al, 2021). Equestrian sport is not alone in offering activities for this age group. Other sports have also opened the doors for the younger children (Lindroth, 1991; Hedenborg, et al, 2020). Activities for this age group are also offered by commercial actors (Karlsson, 2022). Although more and more activities are offered, research on what goes on in these activities and how they are experienced by both parents and children is scarce (Hedenborg & Fransson, 2011; Calero, Beesley & Fraser-Thomas, 2018; & Safari, 2018; Harlow et al., 2018). In this article, the aim is to deepen the understanding of riding school activities for preschool children in Sweden and Norway by analyzing riding instructors’ and accompanying adults’ the perceptions of the activities. To deepen the understanding of the challenges that riding instructors and accompanying adults face in riding school activities for the younger children, we use the interpretive framework ‘dilemmatic spaces’ (Fransson & Grannäs, 2013). In previous research, ‘dilemmatic spaces’ have been used to increase understanding of the complexity of teachers’ work. But the interpretive framework has also been used in other fields. Childhood researcher Magnus Kilgers uses ‘dilemmatic spaces’ in a study that shows how fathers juggle between what is expected of fatherhood and coaching in sports (Kilger 2020). Based on a source material consisting of 21 semi-structured interviews with representatives from riding schools and parents, and ten observations from six different riding schools, we have identified the following ‘dilemmatic spaces’: ‘Accompanying adults are both a requirement and a challenge’ and ‘Knowledgeable mothers are an asset but mustn’t be pushy’.

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SUSANNA HEDENBORG is a professor in Sport Science, Malmö University. Hedenborg has an academic background in social and economic history. In her sport research she has focused on childhood and youth studies, gender, and equestrian sports. She is the author of numerous articles and text books in sport science. Hedenborg is affiliated to the Norwegian School of Sport Sciences and president of the Swedish Research Council for Sport Science.

GABRIELLA THORELL PALMQUIST has a PhD in Sport Science and works as a lecturer at Karlstad University and as head teacher in pedagogy at the Swedish National Equestrian Centre at Strömsholm, where she mainly teaches at the Equine Science Program. She also works with projects commissioned by the Swedish Equestrian Federation

ANNIKA ROSÉN is a Senior Lecturer at Malmö University as senior lecture, a lawyer at Legal Office and a previous as Head of Department. She has a PhD in Social Work, Bachelor degree in Social Work and a Master’s degree in Law. She is born in 1966. Research areas and ongoing projects are within equestrian sports, sport and preschool pedagogy, sociology, and research ethics.

OSKAR SOLENES is an Associate Professor in Sport Management at the Faculty of Business Administration and Social Sciences at Molde University College, Norway. He holds a PhD in sport history, having studied the development of organized sports for children during the 20th century. His research interest are especially connected to the social and cultural values of sport in general, as well as voluntarism and the organizing of children’s and youth sport in particular.