Background: In recent years, the traditional age limit for starting to learn horse riding has dropped from seven years to the ages of 4-6 years and, just like other sports, several riding schools offer activities for younger children. Riding school activities for younger children constitute an established practice today. This practice has gained popularity, yet there is a lack of knowledge about teaching younger children in many sports. The primary focus of these activities is safety.

Aim: The aim of this study is to explore, using frame factor theory, the possibilities, and limitations of riding teachers in planning and conducting riding lessons for younger children at riding schools in Sweden and Norway.

Methods: A total of 11 interviews were conducted, 6 in Sweden and 5 in Norway. The interviews lasted between 30 and 60 minutes and were recorded and transcribed. The method was interviews analyzed through content analysis (Graneheim and Lundman 2004). The codes were filtered and categorised under four descriptive headings: Content of the activities, Purpose and goals, Prerequisites for the activities, and Challenges and solutions. The result was analysed using Imsen's (1999) five frame factors.

Results: The findings indicated that younger children require a different form of pedagogy than what is traditionally provided in riding schools. The teachers express that there are several challenges involved in conducting activities with young children. Lessons with the young children can be eventful and require patience, creativity, and flexibility, according to the teachers. The teaching must be fun and playful, which is not really what a traditional riding lesson is based on, and variation is needed to prevent the children from being bored. Although there must always be a plan, teachers underline that it is necessary to adjust lessons based on how the children react. The teachers use their imagination to make riding lessons more interesting. The temperament of the horse is especially important in these activities as young children have difficulties controlling their needs and emotions.

Discussion and conclusions: With the help of frame factors, it became evident that there is a lack of knowledge about and guidelines for how this pedagogy should be carried out. This study demonstrates that riding teachers, within the framework of traditional riding instruction, have transformed exercises into a more playful approach through creativity and imagination. Riding teachers have also adjusted their teaching, making use of outdoor environments and available facilities. To further advance riding school activities for younger children, more knowledge based on adapted pedagogy is needed. The voices of the children themselves should also be given more space to facilitate learning through communication and exploration without compromising safety aspects.

To improve the experiences of children and parents and prepare those who arrange the activities for parental needs the aim of this article is to describe and analyse parental roles in a horse-riding activities for younger children in Sweden and Norway. Horse-riding for younger children is an individual sport but conducted in interplay with others such as parents and horses. To understand these interactions, Goffman’s dramaturgical approach and insights from research on sport and gender have been used. The main result is that during the activity, the child and the parent interact and perform as a team. In addition, the team performance is influenced by gender constructions. The gender construction is, however, different from what former has been shown in research on sport and gender.

Under senare år har ridskolor öppnat sin verksamhet för yngre barn. Aktiviteterna består av ridning, men även sysslor i stallet (Thorell, 2017; Hedenborg et al, 2021). Ridsporten är inte ensam om att erbjuda aktiviteter för denna åldersgrupp. Även andra idrotter har öppnat dörrarna för de yngre barnen (Lindroth, 1991; Hedenborg, et al, 2020). Aktiviteter för denna åldersgrupp erbjuds även av kommersiella aktörer (Karlsson, 2022). Trots att allt fler aktiviteter erbjuds är forskning om vad som pågår i dessa verksamheter och hur de upplevs av både föräldrar och barn mager (Hedenborg & Fransson, 2011; Calero, Beesley & Fraser-Thomas, 2018; Fraiser-Thomas & Safari, 2018; Harlow et.al., 2018). I den här artikeln är syftet att fördjupa förståelsen för ridskoleverksamhet för förskolebarn i Sverige och Norge genom att analysera ridlärarnas och medföljande vuxnas uppfattning om aktiviteterna. För att fördjupa förståelsen för de utmaningar som ridlärare och medföljande vuxna möter i ridskolornas aktiviteter för de yngre barnen ska vi använda tolkningsramen ‘dilemmatic spaces’ (Fransson & Grannäs, 2013). I tidigare studier har ‘dilemmatic spaces’ använts för att öka förståelsen för komplexiteten i lärares arbete. Men tolknigsramen har även använts i andra fält. Barndomsforskaren Magnus Kilgers använder ’dilemmatic spaces’ i en studie som visar hur pappor jonglerar mellan vad som förväntas av faderskapet och tränarskapet inom idrotten (Kilger 2020). Utifrån ett källmaterial som består av 21 semistrukturerade intervjuer med representanter från ridskolor och föräldrar och tio observationer på sex olika ridskolor har vi identifierat följande ’dilemmatic spaces: ’Medföljande vuxna är både ett krav och en utmaning’ samt ’Kunniga mammor är en tillgång, men får inte pusha’.

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’.

In recent years, riding schools have opened their activities for younger children. Previous research has described the learning environment of the stable as strongly inspired by a traditional military discourse (Thorell 2017) and in strong contrast to other socialization arenas. The aim of this article is to increase the understanding of riding school activities for preschool children. Research questions concern why and how activities for young children are organized and handled, norms guiding these activities and how children and others participating are perceived. Sources consist of 452 riding schools’ websites and interviews with nine representatives from riding schools. The analytical framework derives from the sociology of childhood. The study shows that a majority of the Swedish riding schools offer activities for preschool children. The activities are framed by contrasting ideas about the competent child, the child’s biological and vulnerable body, incompetent parents, competent youth leaders, and horses.

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.