Horses, Aesthetics & Art

The married couple Lisen and Peder Fredricson share a common passion for art and horses. Two interests that mutually enrich one another and characterize their home and everyday life at Grevlunda farm.

by THERESE ALHAUG photography LENA SAUGEN & ERIC BROMS

– As children, when we first started with horses, we experienced intense joy. We spent a lot of time with them. It’s all about presence, says Peder, one of Sweden’s most merited show- jumping riders.
In the south-east of Sweden, where the ocean opens up and grassy hills and forest areas rise and fall seemingly endless towards the horizon, lies the farm and the scenery the Swedish showjumping couple Peder and Lisen fell in love with some years ago. This part of Sweden has tempted artists through all times. The Fredricson family is no exception. There, on a hill with a view of the ocean, among rows of fruit trees and grazing horses, lies Grevlunda Farm like a nostalgic and architectonic pearl that has kept its distinctive features to the modern times.

For more than 50 years the property was empty until the buildings finally got its dust blown off. The 200 year-old granite farm came once again out in all its glory where materials like rick, granite and clay bricks live side by side.

For us the dream was not to have a glass chandelier in the stables. Quite the opposite. First of all we like it functional and practical.
Lisen Fredricson

International merits.
Peder (41) and Lisen (37) are
 both highly merited Swedish showjumping riders with long international careers. Peder was the youngest rider in the history of the Olympic Games when he as a 20 year-old represented the Swedish team in eventing. Later he joined the team that won the silver medal in showjumping in the Olympic Games in Athens and in 2010 he participated in the World Championships in Kentucky. Lisen, on her part, has had two wins in the Swedish Championships and has won numerous Grand Prix-events. In 2010 she represented Sweden in the Olympic Games in Sydney and was at the same time appointed the “Athlete Role Model” by the International Olympic Committee. In 2012 she joined the Swedish team in the Olympic Games in London.

But, they share more than the interest in horses. They are both artistically inclined. Peder
 is educated as a graphic designer and Lisen has her background from art school in Stockholm. They met there as well. After several years, they purchased the Grevlunda Farm and established themselves in Sweden. They wanted a place they could mould themselves, and that was practical and aesthetic.

— Well-being in the horse management is important, says Lisen while she shows us the old stables. The young horses
 are stabled here and they enjoy the high ceiling. A traditional framework in dark wood is the only thing that separates the old part from the new one. It’s tidy and functional, though aesthetic. In one of the sidewalls in the saddle room a wide selection of
 bits are mounted against a backdrop of an orange fabric wall. On the end wall is a wooden saddle hanger. In the middle there is an antique wooden table to use for polishing equipment. Something dignified dwells upon Grevlunda Farm. Lisen relates:

— We have both travelled extensively and have seen many different stable solutions. Each time when we noticed something we liked, we took photos of it. One thing is for sure, for us the dream was not to have a glass chandelier in the stables. Quite the opposite. First of all, we like it to be functional and practical.

There are a total of 25 horses in the stables. Both young and promising ones and experienced showjumpers.
– We focus on producing top quality sport horses, says Lisen.

Design
The main house is extraordinary. An old large household kitchen functions as a gathering point. An orginally old bakery oven is still in use. Above the dining table there are two green industrial lamps, originally hung in a pigsty. The furnishings bear obvious evidence of the couple’s interest in art and design – and horses. White burnished brick wall are decorated with exciting and colourful paintings and photographs – some from their own production, some acquired. The house is filled with old and new sculptures of horses. Design furnitures is mixed with antique furnitures and exciting finds from all over the world. Creative- and fresh choices of colours reflects the dynamics of life.

— We are not so preoccupied by everything “matching”. We buy things when we find something we really like – trendy or not.

One of the sidewalls in the office is filled with books. Quite a few 
of the titles speak for themselves: Art, design, and veterinary science…. They’re continuously working with different projects. Peder accepts graphic assignments, reads a lot and produce paintings 
of horses. Lisen is the initiator and part owner of Swedish Select Horse Sales and was in her time the founder for the Riders’ Gala in Sweden. In addition she is a popular horse-blogger.

Horses have an inherent power that we, as riders, have to take care of
Peder Fredricson

Equestrian art.
We get a look at Peder’s paintings. He
 has probably inherited his artistic talent from his father and grandfather, who both painted. Peder doesn’t want to be called an artist, but the results speak for themselves.

— I only paint horses – I think about horses all the time. When I paint I shut out the world, it is nice relaxation even though it takes time and is mentally demanding. The same way riding is.

Both demand presence and focus.
 Peder is known for his “soft” rider’s hands. A natural talent on horseback.

Are there any parallels between the two: Equestrian art and the art of painting, I ask.

Peder considers the question a little.

— The horse has a big register in the wild, something I try 
to reflect in my paintings – and search for when I ride. With watercolors one never really knows the result – that is exciting for me. It gives energy and life to the painting. Perhaps there
 is something there – about letting loose. When I ride I avoid pressuring the horse with too much details – pressure prevents the horse’s energy to flow naturally. Horses have an inherent power that we, as riders have to take care of. Perhaps I’m trying to find a “flow” in both the riding and the paintbrush – attempting to capture the dynamics of the horse in the paintings.

As children we loved horses. We rode in the forest, played with the horse, galloped outdoors and spent hours in the stable. If we loose this on the way, I believe we will be in danger of building a mental distance to the horse
Peder Fredricson

Communicating with horses.
Peder talks much about mental presence. And lack of time.

— If we are to communicate with horses we have to spend time with them. Many of the competitors today have staff to saddle up for them – therefore they loose valuable time with the horse. 95 % of the times this will work out, with the routines and experience we have gained. But then one meets that special one horse, one of the 5 % of those horses that often are characterized as problem horses. That is the one that is impossible to handle “by the book” and that perhaps needs other means to reach the goals.

Peder is talking out of his own experience. He relates about the horse “H&M Cash Inn” – one of the stable’s better competition horses.

– “H&M Cash Inn” forced me to think new. The ordinary
 tools did not work with him. I had two choices: Alternative 1: Use more time. Alternative 2: Give him up. I chose the first one. I was forced to spend more time to get to know him all over again. I
 had to find another tool. Almost every problem one meets during training is caused by the rider and his or her lack of understanding. To understand this horse better, I thereby immerged myself in horsemanship, which basically is mostly about time and presence.

Peder ponders some more.

-You know – as children we loved horses. We rode in the forest, played with the horse, galloped outdoors and spent hours in the stable. We were together with the horses. If we loose this on the way, I believe we will be in danger of building a mental distance to the horse. “H&M Cash Inn” simply drove me back to find the joy of horses I had as a child.

Peder believes we are about to find a change in our way of thinking about the training of horses and horse management.

— Mental knowledge is getting more important. The best horses and riders have an interaction that works. This we experience time and time again. Some may have thought: It’s either or… sport or horsemanship. These attitudes are disappearing now.

I try to capture the dynamics of the horses in my paintings
Peder Fredricson

Peder brings up the French merited rider, Michel Robert, as an example.

— Look at Michel Robert. I remember the first time he presented horsemanship-principles during the warm-up at Olympia Horse Show. Many snorted at him. Wondered what he was doing. Today many of us do the same. We are witnesses to a change where riders dare to go new ways. That’s good.

To acquire knowledge.
Peders father, the veterinary professor Ingvar Fredricson, was engaged as the head chief at Flyinge when Peder was ten years old. Young Fredricson sat daily and studied the best riders in Sweden.
– I don’t think I realized how lucky I was. Wherever I turned 
I saw someone riding well, he tells us.

Peder and his brother Jens, who is also a merited rider, grew up
 at Flyinge during a time where the equestrian sport in Sweden experienced an enormous growth. Sweden prospered after the war and horse riding became very popular. Flyinge was a vast centre of knowledge that connected the disciplines together. As many others from his generation Peder begun his riding career as an eventing rider.

– We learned to manoeuvre the horse in the crosscountry and in the arena. That is something I don’t want to be without. This range of use of the horse is healthy knowledge and ought to be basic understanding in all riders. I rode a thoroughbred that was both sensitive and hot, but intelligent. A good schoolmaster that very likely helped me to develop an equestrian feeling.

Lisen and Peder are open to sharing their expertise and believe 
in variation in training. Nowadays they employ a dressage coach at the stables.

– The dressage training has given me a better understanding of the importance of riding the horse correctly. I have learned to focuse more on my own seat. The sharing of knowledge is important, says Peder, who phones his brother, the showjumping rider Jens Fredricson daily, about horses and riding.

Lisen for her part relates her first trip to the Gothenburg Horse Show.

— I watched the riders ride really well – perhaps for the first time. I will never forget that. Inspiration is often about watching and learning of those better than yourself.

Excited about the sport.
While Peder immerses himself in the riding, Lisen engages in several aspects of the sport.

— I’m excited about making new projets, as I enjoy the business part of it. I’m just a bit too pleased about arranging things. I have a general interest in the sport. Perhaps too much at times, which mirror the fact that I easily take on too much.
Nowadays Lisen is writing a children’s book. It’s about a small horse in a big stable together with other big horses. And a mouse.

But, a lot of what I do originate in my ‘drive’ to want to make a difference out there. For example the horse management has improved a lot the latest years
Lisen Fredricson

A story her father read to her when she was little. Lisen smiles. — But, a lot of what I do originate in me trying to make a difference. For example the horse management has improved much in the past years. The riding has as well.

– I also have a blog. The purpose is the same – to be able to influence somehow.

Lisen has had a long and impressive showjumping career. Now she has chosen to reduce gradually on her own riding for the benefit of other projects. Teaching for instance.

— I’m enthusiastic to convey the equestrian feeling.
 I myself was not equipped with such a natural feeling, so I have experienced the work necessary to find it. To teach riders to find the right balance and the “feeling” with the horse is one of my obsessions. To work in balance with the horse. Many riders scarcely dare to ride their horses out in the fields. Perhaps we ought to ask ourselves the question why we started riding initially. And find back to that feeling, she concludes.

Translations Ann Karin Bye

Therese Stub Alhaug

Editor

Therese is the editor of Equilife, and is truly dedicated to equestrian sports and horses. She started riding as a little girl, and enjoys her free time with her two horses back home. Portrait interview is her favorite topic, as it has the gift to inspire others through peoples stories, knowledge, training and general life-philosophy, and certainly, their lives with horses.