FOUNDER

Ingvar Fredricson

“Life has taught me that the basis of all success is knowledge”‍

Knowledge grounded in proven experience and, scientific research must be cultivated and shared. It’s critical that “important information is passed on to riders, coaches, breeders, farriers, and veterinarians in an easy-to-understand manner. It is a prerequisite for producing healthy, happy, well-performing durable horses - happy athletes” and a priority of this foundation.

Quote from Ingvar’s memoir: Hippolog av Födsel och Ohejdad vana (Hippologist by Birth and Unrestrained Habit)

The Professor Ingvar Fredricson Foundation honors the extraordinary impact that Professor and Doctor of Veterinary Medicine Ingvar “Fredric” Fredricson has had on the development of the horse and modern equestrian sport. For more than eight decades, he has remained unwavering in his passion, continually seeking ways to advance equine health, soundness, longevity, and performance, and to move the sport forward. He inspires through his character, horsemanship, and lifelong dedication to horses and equestrian excellence.

His seminal research on equine biomechanics has had global influence, leading to the development of ergonomic racetracks that improved performance while reducing strain on horses. Ingvar’s most recent initiative, the Brösarp Project, examined how raising young horses in large fields with varied terrain affects their long‑term durability—yielding highly encouraging results.

Ingvar is a visionary with an endless supply of ideas. He imagines a center for equine athletes comparable to those available to human athletes, bringing together experts from across the equestrian world—veterinarians, farriers, grooms, osteopaths, trainers, and others—working collectively to support the well‑being and performance of horses.

The foundation will enable Ingvar to continue driving progress by raising awareness, sharing knowledge, and supporting individuals and initiatives that, like him, contribute meaningfully to the welfare of horses and the advancement of equestrian sport.

Ingvar Fredricson
Curriculum Vitae

05/28/2024

1937
Born in Malmö

1957
Graduated from Lund's Private Elementary School (Spyken) in Lund

1957–1958
Platoon leadership training as a mounted ranger at Norrland's Dragoon Regiment (K4) in Umeå

1960
Enrolled as veterinary student at Royal Veterinary University (KVH) in Stockholm

1962
Obtained a bachelor's degree in veterinary medicine from KVH

1963–1972
Periodically trained in high-speed photography, photogrammetry, and biomechanics at KTH, the Swedish National Defense Research Institute (FOA), and Saab's Aviation Division in Linköping

1965
Employed as an assistant at the Department of Anatomy and Histology at KVH

1966
Authored anatomical compendiums – Thoracic Viscera and Abdominal Viscera

1967
Graduated as a veterinary surgeon and became a registered veterinarian. Appointed lecturer at KVH's Department of Anatomy and Histology

1968
Initiated the course Veterinary Horse Knowledge for Trotting Trainers at Jägersro

1969
Edited the Compendium of Horse Knowledge (Kompendium i hästkännedom), published by the Central Association of Swedish Trotting Sports

1970
Preprint on quantitative analysis of hoof motion patterns using high-speed photography. Lectured at the 3rd International Congress on High-Speed Photography in Denver, USA

1971
Published A New Method of Investigating Equine Locomotion (with Stig Drevemo) in Equine Veterinary Journal. Lectured on ergonomic kinesiology applied to competition horses at the British Veterinary Association's Congress in Edinburgh

1972
Successfully defended doctoral thesis: Equine Joint Kinematics and Coordination at KVH, with the highest grade. Published the book Horses & Jumping. Established Mälardalens Varmblodsklubb (MVK) with Jan Philipsson. Elected as a member of the Swedish Jockey Club

1973
Appointed senior university lecturer in anatomy and histology with special focus on biomechanics by His Majesty the King. Graduated as Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from KVH. Together with road construction experts at KTH, developed the calculation basis for optimal geometry for ergonomic trotting racetracks. Lectured at the 3rd International Trotting Conference in Toronto and Montreal, Canada

1974
New clinical center with a locomotion laboratory built at SLU in Ultuna, Uppsala. Lectured for the United States and Canadian Trotting Associations in Halifax, Canada. Lectured at the Harness Horsemen Association's annual meeting in Fort Lauderdale, USA. Lectured at the Harness Tracks of America Association's meeting in Mexico City, Mexico. Awarded a five-year research grant from US and Canadian trotting associations. Skovbo racetrack, built according to his drawings, inaugurated in Aarhus, Denmark

1975
Published several papers on ergonomic racetrack design. Lectured at the American Association of Equine Practitioners conventions in Dallas and Boston. Lectured at the Tierärztliche Hochschule in West Berlin

1975–1982
Served as chairman of ATG's track committee, leading the planning of ergonomic reconstruction of trotting racetracks nationally and internationally

1976
SLU's locomotion laboratory inaugurated with an ergometer allowing recording of horses at speeds up to 50 km/hr

1977
Lectured at the American Association of Equine Practitioners Congress in Dallas on optimal geometric track design. Vice chairman of the Cooperation Committee for Risk Assessment (SKR)

1978–1982
Served as chairman of the Swedish Veterinary Association's committee for horse issues

1980
Published four papers on equine locomotion (with Drevemo, Dalin, Hjertén). Lectured on movement analysis with the CRACK system at the Equine Veterinary Associations Congress in London. Served as chairman of SLU's Cooperation Committee for horse issues. Presented at the Tierärztliche Hochschule in Munich

1980–1983
Took a leave of absence from SLU to lead ATG's longitudinal research project – Durability and Performance in Horses (The Young Horse Project) – and work as clinic veterinarian at ATG's clinic at Visby racetrack

1982
Appointed assistant professor in anatomy and histology with special focus on biomechanics by His Majesty the King. Board member of the Swedish Veterinary Society (SVS). First board president of the SVS Horse Section. Lectured on Swedish biomechanical horse research in Tokyo, Hong Kong, and Vienna. Published several papers at the Nordic Forssell Symposium in Stockholm

1983
Initiated SVS Horse Section's conference at Grand Hotel in Saltsjöbaden on ethics, doping and treatment standards. Completed academic period as teacher and researcher at KVH and SLU. Became Director and Chief Stud Veterinarian of the Flyinge Foundation

1984
Initiated a two-year post-secondary Stable Manager Training course at Flyinge

1986
Guest judge at the German Warmblood Horse Awards in Aachen, West Germany

1987
Guest judge in Pompadour, France for the French Warmblood Horse Awards. Arranged the Horse in the Center Conference at Flyinge

1988
Appointed member of the FEI's newly formed breeding committee

1990–1992
Vice chairman of the Swedish Veterinary Medical Society. Chairman of the Skånska Veterinarian Association

1991
Elected to the Royal Academy of Forestry and Agriculture (KSLA)

1992
Appointed CEO of the newly formed Flyinge company

1994
A two-year hippological university program at Flyinge was adopted by the Swedish parliament. Part of the international working group that formed the World Breeding Federation for Sport Horses (WBFSH)

1997
Chairman of the newly formed working group for the Nordic Warmblood Breeding Association

1998
Retired after fifteen years as Director of the Flyinge Foundation. Moved with family to Tärnö Säteri, Vrena, in Sörmland. Awarded the A.W. Bergsten's Prize by the Royal Academy of Forestry

1999–2002
Foreign Judge for the Canadian Warmblood Horse Association's breeding project

2001
Formed an interest group for Sweden's show jumping horse breeders. Elected to the board of the Swedish Animal Health Foundation

2002
Initiated the formation of Hopphästklubben (HK) at the Aros Congress Center in Västerås. Received a grant from Våg21 and Leader+ for the Natural Jumping Horse Breeding project in Sörmland

2004
Quality-Certified Horse Production nominated as the best Leader+ project, awarded a prize during Almedal Week in Visby

2005
Invited by EU Member of Parliament Erik Olsson to present the project in Brussels to Deputy Director General Dirk Ahner

2008–2015
Editor of Hästen i Skåne's member magazine, Show Jumping

2013
Elected vice president of Hästen i Skåne (HiS)

2014
Published the historical work FLYINGE: Hippologi från medeltid till nutid, with book releases at the Army Museum in Stockholm and Grevlunda Nygård in Österlen

2015
HK changed its name to Club Showjumping Scandinavia

2016
HK declared suspended due to financial difficulties

2019
Awarded the Swedish Equestrian Federation's Gold Merit Medal. Memoirs Hippolog av födsel och ohejdad vana printed, together with a new edition of FLYINGE: Hippologi Från Medeltid till Nutid. Book releases at Falsterbo Horse Show and Rögle Säteri

2019–2022
Led Hästen i Skånes development project, Natural jumping horse breeding, in Brösarps and Kumlan nature reserves

2023
Promoted to Jubilee Doctor of Veterinary Medicine. Presented a summary of Swedish biomechanical horse research on behalf of the 2023 Jubilee Doctors

2024
Awarded ATG's newly established honorary prize during ATG's 50th anniversary. The Professor Ingvar Fredricson Foundation established. Foundation arranged a reception and seminar on May 28. The Foundation's first annual scholarship of 50,000 SEK awarded to Professor Eva Skiöldebrand, SLU

Ingvar Fredricson