Swedish Army Riding and Horse-Driving School ( sv, Arméns rid- och körskola, RS) was a

Swedish Army The Swedish Army ( sv, svenska armén) is the land force of the Swedish Armed Forces. History Svea Life Guards dates back to the year 1521, when the men of Dalarna chose 16 young able men as body guards for the insurgent nobleman Gustav Vas ...

equestrian facility An equestrian facility is created and maintained for the purpose of accommodating, training or competing equids, especially horses. Based on their use, they may be known as a barn, stables, or riding hall and may include commercial operations descr ...

which operated from 1868 to 1970. Its tasks from the 1930s were to train commanders at the infantry and cavalry into instructors and more in horse-driving or

horse riding Equestrianism (from Latin , , , 'horseman', 'horse'), commonly known as horse riding (Commonwealth English) or horseback riding (American English), includes the disciplines of riding, Driving (horse), driving, and Equestrian vaulting, vaulting ...

. Today the school is one of three national facilities operated by the Swedish Equestrian Federation.

History

Strömsholm has since the Era of Great Power (1611-1718) been of great significance for the Swedish horse breed, most of them for

warmblood Warmbloods are a group of middle-weight horse types and breeds primarily originating in Europe and registered with organizations that are characterized by open studbook policy, studbook selection, and the aim of breeding for equestrian sport. ...

s. In 1621 a

stud farm A stud farm or stud in animal husbandry is an establishment for selective breeding of livestock. The word "stud" comes from the Old English ''stod'' meaning "herd of horses, place where horses are kept for breeding". Historically, documentation o ...

was erected to accommodate the royal armies with horses to the constant wars. The riding school at

Strömsholm Palace Strömsholm Palace, sometimes called Strömsholm Castle ( sv, Strömsholms slott), is a Swedish royal palace. The baroque palace is built on the site of a fortress from the 1550s, located on an island in the Kolbäcksån river at the west end of ...

was built in 1868 with the task of providing the cavalry and more with teaching in art of riding, veterinary education,

horse hoof A horse hoof is the lower extremity of each leg of a horse, the part that makes contact with the ground and carries the weight of the animal. It is both hard and flexible. It is a complex structure surrounding the distal phalanx of the 3rd digit ...

fittings, arms and gymnastics. Prior to that, riding schools existed in various cavalry regiments, but otherwise had the training of cavalrymen partly occurred in private. In Europe, there were role models for a uniform military riding school, and eventually it was decided to place the Swedish equivalent to Strömsholm Palace. At the riding school, the cavalry officers would be trained in horseback riding, warfare, arms, veterinary education and more. The first head was Crown Equerry Waloddi Fischerström. The operations covered the entire ''kungsgård'' and had great influence and significance for the area until the closure of 1968. Initially, the stud farm and the riding school had a joint head. During the entire period the operations were located both to the ridge and to the palace area. Military life also influenced the environment through social relations mainly with the mansion owners, but also through the recurring parties and balls at the palace. In 1871, the stud farm was closed down and the operations moved to a stallion depot for about 80

stallion A stallion is a male horse that has not been gelded (castrated). Stallions follow the conformation and phenotype of their breed, but within that standard, the presence of hormones such as testosterone may give stallions a thicker, "cresty" nec ...

s. In 1885, Strömsholm also received a

remount Remount referred to the provision of fresh horses, particularly for military purposes. The word encompasses both the animals themselves and the means by which they were provided. In many cases, remounts were horses provided to replace those killed ...

depot to provide the army with already trained horses. The operation began to decline in 1956 and the same year some stallions moved to

Flyinge Flyinge is a locality situated in Eslöv Municipality, Skåne County, Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenU ...

kungsgård and the stallion depot was closed down. In the early 1930s, the operations were transformed to a riding and horse-driving school for the entire army. In 1957, the ''Ridskolan'' ("Riding School") was renamed ''Arméns rid- och körskola'' ("Army Riding and Horse-Driving School"). The tasks was then to train active duty (''aktiv stat'') commanders at the infantry and cavalry into instructors and more in horse-driving or riding. In 1968-70, the school was militarily discontinued and taken over by the Society for the Promotion of Riding (''Ridfrämjandet'') and the Swedish Equestrian Federation (''Svenska ridsportens centralförbund''). At the closure of Army Riding and Horse-Driving School at Strömsholm in 1968, the decision was made to form a foundation called the ''Stiftelsen Strömsholms Sportförening'' ("Foundation Strömsholms Sports Association") with responsibility for managing the officer corps' belongings. The foundation was reconstructed in 1988 to the current ''Strömsholms Ridsportförening'' ("Strömsholm Equestrian Association"). The riding school at Strömsholm was founded in 1968 and is today one of three national facilities in Sweden. It is owned by the ''Föreningen Ridskolan Strömsholm'' ("Riding School Strömsholm Association"), whose members are the Swedish Equestrian Federation and Aktiebolaget Trav och Galopp (ATG), as well as the Swedish Horse Industry Foundation (''Hästnäringens Nationella Stiftelse'', HNS). HNS is a foundation formed in 1992 by ATG and the Federation of Swedish Farmers, which has a financial and organizational responsibility for all national facilities. The others in addition to Ridskolan Strömsholm are Flyinge and Wången.

Commanding officers

*1868–????: Waloddi Fischerström *1903–1906: Bengt Axel Eugène Ribbing *1906–1908: Philip Rickman von Platen *1908–1912:

Gustaf Adolf Boltenstern Gustaf Adolf Boltenstern (1 April 1861 – 9 October 1935) was a Swedish officer and horse rider. Early life Boltenstern was born on 1 April 1861 in Helsingborg, Sweden, the son of major Gösta Boltenstern and his wife Charlotte von Boltenstern. ...

*1912–1915:

Ernst Linder Ernst Linder (25 April 1868 – 14 September 1943) was a Swedish general of Finnish descent who served in the Swedish Army from 1887 to 1918, after which he participated in the Finnish Civil War as the commander of the Satakunta and Savo ar ...

*1915–1921: Nils Fischerström *1921–1925: Carl Emil Otto Trägårdh *1925–1930: Gustaf Hamilton *1930–1934: Knut Henrik Palmstierna *1934–1940:

Sven Colliander Lieutenant General Sven August Wilhelm Colliander (23 May 1890 – 16 September 1961) was a Swedish Army officer and horse rider who competed in the 1928 and 1936 Summer Olympics. Early life Colliander was born on 23 May 1890 in Halmstad, Swede ...

*1940–1943: Henric Lagercrantz *1943–1953: Harald Strömfelt *1953–1959:

Gustaf Nyblæus Gustaf Nils Arvid Nyblæus (11 December 1907 – 21 February 1988) was a Swedish Army officer, equestrian competitor, coach, judge and official. Career Nyblæus' father was a major general in the Swedish cavalry and the chairman of the Jury of ...

*1959–1964:

Hans von Blixen-Finecke Jr. Baron Nils Gustaf Fredrik Bror "Hans" von Blixen-Finecke Jr. (20 July 1916 – 16 February 2005) was a Swedish Army officer and horse rider. He competed in the three-day eventing at the 1952 and 1956 Summer Olympics and won individual an ...

History

Commanding officers

Names, designations and locations

References

Notes

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