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Skriv ut sidan - Swedish Cavalry and Stromsholm Riding Academy
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Titel: Swedish Cavalry and Stromsholm Riding Academy
Skrivet av: Anders Andersson skrivet 2003-10-13, 17:35
I'm afraid I'm not at all versed in the subject of Swedish riding schools, but I'd like to question your conclusion that your grandfather was trained at Strömsholm, as you seem to base this merely on an opinion that he was an excellent horseman. When you say that he participated in performances in front of the King, it sounds as if he might have been personally invited to demonstrate his abilities in some horse show. However, maybe he was simply assigned to take part in a mounted parade in Stockholm, perhaps in connection with the changing of the Royal Guard (Högvakten)?
The task of serving on the Royal Guard is assigned to different Swedish regiments according to a predefined schedule, and each regiment gets to send its own soldiers to Stockholm for a few days at the time. I don't know for how long this has been the routine, but it supposedly worked that way also in the late 1800's. Maybe your grandfather was part of such an assignment?
Today, there are very few mounted cavalry units in Sweden, as compared to 100 years ago. The Mounted Royal Guard (Beridna högvakten) in Stockholm, located at K1, was about to be disbanded in the late 1980's (for financial reasons I think), but individuals opposed to the loss of such a colourful tourist attraction formed a private corporation, Den Beridna Högvakten, which assumed financial responsibility for maintaining the Mounted Royal Guard in cooperation with the army. I'm myself a supporting member of this organization, although I have no actual background in the cavalry (I'm not even fond of horses).