The Equestrian competitions held at Scandinavium every year in April has been a Göteborg attraction since 1977. The four days competitions features jumping, dressage, mounted games and four-in-hand indoor driving. It is one of the largest horse shows in Europe and the event have captivated over two million visitors. This year competition was no exception. Over 90.000 people filled up the little red chairs at Scandinavium, ate popcorn and cheered their favorite horses to victory.

Monthly went to the Göteborg horse show on Saturday with no expectation nor preferences on how this event should be experienced. When entering the arena the big crowds of people elbowed each other and hurried through the entrance gates. Ticket clerks shouted and little girls grabbed on to their mothers sleeves. Once inside we were taken away by the atmosphere. Journalists from all over the world, hammered their laptops at high speed. Photographers walked around with huge lenses and flickering eyes while other journalist just looked exhausted after the last two days of constant reports. It was a 24 hour, minute by minute coverage in the making. Equestrian sports is one of the biggest sports in Sweden, second after football, hence the high tempo coverage shouldn't be that surprising, but still. The sharp media attention could be explained with the fact that the Göteborg horse show hosts The Rolex world cup final. The cup is said being one of the most prestigious events among international riders. It has been ranked the third most important venue after the Olympics and The world Equestrian games.


Our day started with the young rider cup in jumping. All girls in their early teens competing for the first time in a big arena. We could feel the tension and nerves kicking in as we sat just next to the stage. The girls looked almost like clones with their combed hair, white jodhpurs and shiny smiles. Mothers and trainers gave last minute advise, friends cheered and ponies stomped backstage. The contest was exiting but didn't give to much of an adrenalin kick and we were ready to move to the next stop on the agenda - Dogs agility. Fun we thought but after all we were here for the horses.

After the dog agility it was time for the mounted game and this turned out to be the high peek of the day. Mounted games is hardboiled action and excitement. It is a sort of relay race where the riders go crazy, jumping on and off their horses, hitting balloons and doing other wild stunts. The riders compete in teams and apart from the Swedish team, the Irish, Scottish and the British fought for victory. Great fun and the crowd was fantastic, everyone were standing up screaming and cheering. It felt like an intense football game. We where almost sure to catch some madman jumping down on the arena floor, but we didn't. The Swedish team won and when they played the national hymn we almost got a bit teary.


Next off was the pro's time to shine in the International jumping 1.40 accumulator. This is when all the big names within high jumping competition appeared. Like Malin Bayard, probably the most famous rider in Sweden, by the cheering of the crowd which was absolutely ear piercing. Another favorite was Ludger Berbaum from Germany who finished the round very elegantly.


The horse show turned out to be quit an experience even though the whole event felt a bit homogeneous. 99 percent of the audience were female and 80 percent of the riders white, European male. But the horse show is a very welcomed break from the otherwise so football and hockey dominated city of ours.

By: Johanna Kempenaar
Photos: Gregg Bucken-Knapp