Swedish Team Pony Daylight Retired from Sport

Dressage

Sweden

Daylight, a Swedish European Championship team pony and schoolmaster to several riders, has been retired from sport. He is 21 years old.

Daylight is a German Riding Pony by Dijon S out of Arts Tameika (by Till The Champ x Dandy). He is bred by Hermann Arts.

Move to Sweden

Although the Arts pony brood farm usually competes their ponies on the young horse circuit in Sweden, the chestnut Daylight only rose to prominence after her sold to Sweden.

He arrived in Sweden in 2007 and was first the pony for Johanna Dyrberg before selling to Åsa Matz in 2010. She gave the ride to Ella Viebke, who campaigned the gelding at FEI pony level in Sweden. They won team silver at the 2013 Nordic Baltic Championships in category 2 for smaller ponies (national level). They also won silver at the 2013 Swedish Pony Championships.

Viebke moved on with new pony Drink Pink, while Daylight sold to its third Swedish rider, Amanda Barnestam Olsson. She also competed him mainly nationally and represented Sweden in the category 2 division at the 2015 Nordic Baltic Championships, finishing third in the freestyle.

Ellen Olsson

As Barnestam Olsson moved to taller pony Jarno, it was Ellen Olsson's turn and she became most successful with the chestnut pony with flaxen mane and tail.

The pair won triple gold at the Swedish Pony Championships and made the official international FEI level debut in 2017 at the CDI Aalborg.

In 2018 the pair campaigned in Nieuw en St. Joosland, Uggerhalne and Hagen and were nominated on the Swedish team for the 2018 European Pony Championships in Bishop Burton (GBR), where they were 12th in the Kur to Music.

In 2019 Ellen rode in one last international in Uggerhalne, where she finished sixth twice and then retired from the freestyle.

Schoolmaster

After his third gold at the Swedish Pony Championships, Daylight sold to the Skobe Rosen family of Stall Sathala for Juni Skobe Rosen to ride as a schoolmaster. She competed the gelding from 2019 through 2021, concluding their time together with a fourth place at the Swedish Pony Championships.

Juni Skobe Rosen taking over Daylight
from Ellen Olsson in 2019

In October 2021 Daylight, who is also known as "Delle", sold to his final forever home with the Blomqvists. He became a schoolmaster for their daughter Milla Blomqvist, who competed the pony nationally and in category 2 at the 2022 Nordic Baltic Championships, winning team silver. In the summer of 2023 Milla made her international show debut as a children rider on horse Sandro.

Retirement

The Blomqvist family has now announced that Daylight has been retired from sport.

"When you see Delle's show record, you almost have to look twice," Milla's mum Louise Blomqvist told Ridsport. "All these ambitious and talented girls that he carried towards the top, and they just succeeded each other. His success story is probably a perfect combination of a fantastic attitude on his part, good genes and good care from his various families."

The handover by Skobe Rosen to Blomqvist (left) in 2021

Delle now will get to enjoy an easier life, while still getting the attention he craves.

"His best hobby is being loose in the stable and pulling blankets down from the hangers or knocking over a bucket or something," said Louise. "If he doesn't get attention for a little while, he quickly reminds us that he actually deserves some attention, like the king he is."