Women In the weighing room: gender discrimination on the thoroughbred racetrack

Women jockeys are a small minority on the thoroughbred racetrack and securesignificantly fewer racing mounts than their male counterparts. This suggests female jockeys are facing discriminatory barriers, in one of the only major professional sportswhere men and women compete against each other on equal terms. This exploratorystudy considers discriminatory barriers that exist and the effects they have on women’scomparative profile and participation in the flat racing industry. Six participants wererecruited for the study from different areas within the industry, and with at least threeyears experience. Information was derived from semi structured individual interviews. The data was analysed using discourse analysis techniques. Five main themes wereevident: a culture of sexism, including the sense that women are more nurturing;opportunities, including for women to become trainers; body shape and strength; riskand danger; industry fashion and trends. The results from this study suggest women face discrimination in horseracing onaccount of a number of factors, the three main perceived reasons are due to theirphysical strength, body shape and the tradition and history embedded within theindustry. Whilst there is a shift starting to occur where more women are coming throughin flat racing, this is slow. Participants consider that women may find these barriers andperceptions held by others difficult to overcome, which may result in their inability toachieve equality in this sport. Given the exploratory character of the study, conclusionsare tentative and we propose a number of areas for further research

Carruthers, Pamela Isabel Jameson

Carruthers [née Torrie], Pamela Isabel Jameson (1916–2009), showjumping course designer, was born on 11 August 1916 at 19 Atholl Crescent, Edinburgh, the only child of Thomas George Jameson Torrie (1880–1916), a lieutenant-colonel in the Life Guards, and his wife, Esmé Muriel, née Crabbe (1895–1984). Her parents had married in Killin, Perthshire, on 6 September 1915, and her father was killed in action on the western front in November 1916. In 1920 her mother married Basil Eddis, a merchant in India, where Pamela spent part of her childhood. After the breakdown of this marriage Pamela and her mother moved back to Britain, where her mother was married for a third time, to Ralph Hope Vere. In her late teens Pamela and her family lived in Dumfriesshire. She was educated at Westonbirt School, near Tetbury, and at the Ozanne finishing school, Paris. She embarked on her riding career at an early age and while in France she attended a course at Saumur, the French cavalry school, as part of her education. On returning to Scotland she opened her own riding school in Dumfriesshire and commenced her career as a showjumper and a hunter exhibitor. On 8 November 1939 she married, in All Saints (Episcopal) Church, Lockerbie, Hew Douglas Carruthers (b. 1914), RAF officer, son of Lieutenant-Colonel Francis John Carruthers, army officer. Eventually the couple bought a farm in Malmesbury, Wiltshire. They had two sons: Christopher Hew, born in Hoddom, Dumfriesshire, in 1940, and John Anthony, born in Chippenham, Wiltshire, in 1941

Folkhemshästen : från fältgrått till långa flätor

Sammanfattning av muntlig presentation.Det skånska landskapet är öppet och i många hagar går det hästar. Så var det inte för 40 år sedan. Hästarna var få och var man, som jag, ”hästtjej” fick man cykla långt för att få klappa och i bästa fall rida någons häst. Idag är situationen en annan och intresset för hästen och hästsporten är stort i dagens Sverige. Sektorns förändring handlar inte bara om antalet hästar utan även om hästarnas användningsområde. Traditionellt var hästen i första hand ett dragdjur med koppling till jordbruk och skogsbruk. Idag är hästen en del av fritidssektorn och en majoritet av hästarna är ridhästar. I jordbrukssamhället hörde ridning överklassen till, men nu är ridning inte nödvändigtvis en överklassport. Även om det är dyrare att rida än att ägna sig åt många andra fritidssysslor är ridsporten utbredd. En tredje viktig förändring av sektorn är att den under de senaste 50 åren gått från att vara dominerad av män och genuskodad som manlig till att bli dominerad av kvinnor och bli kvinnligt genuskodad.Syftet med denna föreläsning är att kartlägga och diskutera hur hästsektorn förändrats under 1900-talet. Resultaten är tentativa, eftersom en större empirisk genomgång ännu inte är genomförd. Studien är en del av ett större forskningsprojekt kallat ”Folkhemshästen – från arbetskamrat till fritisnöje” och i tidigare delstudier har jag visat på hur statens agerande påverkat sektorn , hur den ideella sektorn påverkat hästsporten genom hästsektorns organisationers historia samt hur det ideella arbetet som utförs i många stall fungerar

Changes and variations in patterns of gender relations in equestrian sports during the second half of the twentieth century

In order to explain changes and variations in patterns of gender relations over time and space, the article analyses women's and men's participation rates in equestrian sports focusing on equestrianism in the Olympic Games 1952–2000 with an emphasis on Britain and Sweden. More men than women compete in Olympic equestrianism, although the number of female riders has increased over time and gender patterns vary within equestrianism. A majority of competitive dressage riders are women. Also, British women were involved in equestrian sports earlier than Swedish women. A comparison between Britain and Sweden provides insight into how national politics and cultural context shape gender relations. The destabilization of the societal gender order brought about by the First World War and the Second World War may have disrupted the gender order in equestrianism, creating opportunities for some female riders. Furthermore, governmental support or lack thereof is likely to have influenced female and male participation patterns

Changing constructions of childhood challenging the Swedish sport model : ‘Football was for fun – I exercise for my health’

In Sweden, as in the other Nordic countries, a great many children and young people are members of a sports association (77% in the age group 6–12 years and 41% in the age group 13–25 years). Physical activity levels are high compared to other European countries (CIF, 2018a; European Commission, 2010; 2014). However, participation in sports associations has decreased in recent years, and the decline is more prominent among older youth and girls (CIF, 2018b). Furthermore, there is a strong polarization between groups who are very active and others who are inactive. How can this development be understood? Sports associations are not alone in losing members. Over 20 years ago, in 1995, Robert D. Putnam described a reduction in all forms of in-person social interaction in the US, and an analogous development can be seen in Sweden (Putnam, 1995; Trägårdh, 2007). Yet while participation in sports associations decreases, an increasing number of young people claim to be interested in physical exercise, stating that they exercise several times a week. Clearly, association sports activities are challenged by commercial enterprises (CIF, 2014a; 2014b). It has been argued that the activities offered by the sports associations are the reason for this development. A narrow focus on results and performance may alienate some children and young people, who become uninterested in sport and physical activity (Redelius, 2011; 2013; Norberg and Redelius, 2012; Thedin Jakobsson, 2013). In addition, sports activities may be socially, psychologically, and physiologically harmful for children and young people (Fasting, Brackenridge, and Kjølberg, 2013). Here I want to challenge this understanding of why children leave organized sport using insights from the sociology of childhood. Instead of focusing on polarized expectations – democratic fostering and sport for all in contrast to the fostering of elite athletes – this study will propose an alternate explanation focusing on the changing understanding of childhood in the Nordic, and more specifically Swedish context

A vehicle in the army,or a friend in the family

A vehicle in the army, or a friend in the famil

The horse as an "enabler" in horsback riding : the history of therapeutic horsemanship

The horse as an “enabler” in horseback riding – the history of therapeutic horsemanship The purpose of this paper is to explore and analyse the history of therapeutic horsemanship in Sweden. Sports used as therapy have a long history. This paper however, will focus on therapeutic horse riding since WW2 up until today. Therapeutic riding started in Sweden in the late 1950’s, influenced by the Olympic rider Liz Hartel (Hedenborg 2009). Today therapeutic riding is the largest sport for disabled people. Despite this, the development and discourses of therapeutic riding has not been analysed from a Swedish perspective. When farming, forestry and transport were mechanised during the mid-1900s the number of horses declined. The number has, however, grown significantly in recent years (Hedenborg 2011). The growth can be connected to the fact that horses are important in new ways related to the unique partnership forged between horses and humans. Therefore a paper on the development of therapeutic horsemanship can give insights on how this relationship has actually changed the history of the horse. In this paper exploring questions like when were the organisation for therapeutic riding established; how many people have been and are members of the organisations, who - sex, age and social class - is a member; and what kind of activities are offered in the organisations will be posed and the results will analysed from a gender perspective as well as a perspective in relation to disability research (comp Apelmo 2012). An interesting situation is that therapeutic riding is one of very few sports for disabled that is not organised within the sport organisation for disabled people. Instead it is organised within the Swedish equestrian federation. A likely explanation for this, which will be discussed in the paper, is that the horse is seen as an important social actor, an “enabler”, in therapeutic horsemanship as well as horseback riding at large

Vad är idrottsvetenskap?

I kapitlet presenteras ämnet idrottsvetenskap

Challenges to ancient authorities and the rise of new groups 1720–1866

Det svenska samhället förändras i många avseenden under 1700- och 1800-talen. Under 1700-talet försvagas kungens makt och perioden brukar kallas Frihetstiden eftersom ett slags partipolitiskt system utvecklas. Under slutet av århundradet stärks kungens makt åter genom Gustav III- Jordbruksreformer gör att fördelningen av land förändras under perioden och produktionen ökar. Vidare bidrar upplysningen och sekularisering till utvecklingen under dessa århundraden.The strictly hierarchical society where people were born into different estates was challenged in the 18th and 19th centuries, and the middle class – low aristocratic officials and townspeople – enhanced their economic and political influence. The power of the king declined in the 18th century and a kind of party politics developed. The period is called the Age of Liberty. Toward the end of the period the king Gustav III strengthened the power of the king again, but new groups had already grown mor politically powerful. Agriculture – the basis for most people's livelyhoods – was transformed, and the land was distributed in a different way at the end of the period compared with the beginning. Production was rendered more efficient. The conditions for commerce, consumption, and communication changed. Furthermore, Enlightment and secularization characterize the period, influencing developments not least through the questioning of ancient regimes

Omvårdnad och hårt arbete. Barns arbete och fostran inom ridsporten

Vad lär sig barn och ungdomar av att idrotta? De flesta idrotter innehåller element av såväl tävlingsfostran som demokratifostran. Inom ridsporten framträder dessutom omvårdnadsfostran, i form av slitsamt, skadligt och tungt arbete med hästarnas skötsel och den omvårdnad som utförs av de många flickor som idag dominerar sporten