Tove prepares for her first YR-SM: ”It’s always a bit nerve-wracking with championships”
This weekend it’s time for the Swedish Championships, and we see several riders in the starting field who are also affiliated with our competitions. We have spoken with one of them – Tove Slåtteby!
Tove is a 19-year-old rider from Lidingö who is going to start Bento D, nicknamed ”Bennie” in the YR-SM. Tove took over the reins of ”Bennie” as a junior after seeing him and his former rider riding home the win in our competition. StudioS19 Young Rider Trophy. Together, the team managed to make the national team within less than a year, take fourth place overall at the Swedish Championships, and contribute to a Team bronze medal at the Nordic Championships in Drammen last year. Now they are back as YR with a SM to ride in the days ahead!
Tove says that it’s always a bit nerve-wracking at championships, even though she has had several great successes from her junior and pony days:
”I had been riding at a riding school until I was 14 years old. Before that, I had tried various sports, but nothing was as fun as riding. Together with ”Gullan”, we slowly climbed up the ranks and rode our first Swedish Championships at Grevagården, the same competition venue where we will be riding the Championships now!”
Tove continued her career there, where she, together with her team from Djursholms Riding Club, rode to a Team SM gold in the autumn of 2021. A year later, she also won an individual bronze medal. Tove chose to ride an ”extra” year on a pony at the age of 17 to get the most out of these wonderful pony years, but today she is fully focused on the future as a Young Rider.
At home in the stables, ”Bennie” is currently the top racehorse. He is an 18-year-old gelding with many opinions and ideas about how everyday life should be:
”He is a fantastic individual that you are happy to meet every day. He is a real teacher who can recite all the programs by heart, which is both good and bad... But with age comes extremely much experience, Bennie is very easy to take with you to new places and loves to show off at competitions”, Tove tells us.
The future promise of Tove is called Ebony EE, an 8-year-old filly that has been trained by the founder of DressagePowers, Peter Härnstam. The hope is that Ebony will become a horse for the future:
”I hope he can become my GP horse! But before that, he needs to get a little more world-class experience and racing experience. Ebony is still young so we have no rush, he is a star!”
Ahead of the Swedish Championships, Tove and ”Bennie” have been training according to a meticulous plan with the support and help of their coach Pytt Hamberg. They recently competed internationally in Holland and the hope now is to be able to present three stable programs of good quality.
Tove is also affiliated with our competition StudioS19 Young Rider Trophy, The competition for aspiring riders up to the age of 21. We asked her why she chose to sign up:
”I’ve heard great things about the DressagePowers competitions and therefore decided to sign up. It would be fun to ride on such a spectacular course, but also to be able to hang out with all my friends who have also signed up. It seems like an incredible atmosphere that no other competition in Sweden can replicate”.
She also receives the DressagePowers scholarship, which is awarded annually to riders around Sweden:
”After all, dressage is an expensive sport, and as an athlete you are very grateful when you are treated with generosity!”, ," Tove tells us.
Finally, we were curious about what motivates her and helps her move forward, even when it feels a bit daunting.
”When things feel heavy, I know that I can always turn to my amazing parents and my incredible coach Pytt. They support me through thick and thin and I am incredibly grateful for that. In addition to that, I usually say ”if you want to, you can, and if you can, you should!” It’s a quote that I heard for the first time from my clubmate Ellen Stymne, who also rode DressagePower last year! It’s a quote that I find quite fitting for me!”
We wish Tove and the other teams all the best in the SM! If you’re curious about our competitions, please sign up on our website before your start to be able to count your results!