Team performance and gendered parenthood in horse-riding activities for young children

Abstract

To improve the experiences of children and parents and prepare those who arrange the activities for parental needs the aim of this article is to describe and analyse parental roles in a horse-riding activities for younger children in Sweden and Norway. Horse-riding for younger children is an individual sport but conducted in interplay with others such as parents and horses. To understand these interactions, Goffman’s dramaturgical approach and insights from research on sport and gender have been used. The main result is that during the activity, the child and the parent interact and perform as a team. In addition, the team performance is influenced by gender constructions. The gender construction is, however, different from what former has been shown in research on sport and gender.