Filippa Norrman is 22 years old and lives in Uppsala. Her mother runs a horse farm in Uppsala, Kattis Ridcenter, where she keeps her horses. Filippa is studying civilingenjör at university, specialising in sustainable energy systems. She enjoys studying and says she finds it a secure way of life, even if she is not quite sure what the future holds - whether she will devote herself fully to her horses or have a job on the side.

She got her first horse when she was 2 years old. A Gotland horse. Filippa giggles and looks at her mother sitting next to her.
She says maybe there wasn't much riding for a 2-year-old on such a big horse.
She started riding school early, at the age of 5, and continued until she was 11.
At the age of 11 she got her first D pony and that's when dressage started to spark, before that it was show jumping, she says. She wasn't a dressage girl from the start.

Horse life is something she was born into and her mother is by her side coaching her, especially at competitions.
I know how to keep Filippa as calm as possible, her mother chips in and Filippa agrees.
She says she makes a daily schedule before competitions. The schedule starts from what time she wakes up in the morning and then follows every step that needs to be done during the day until the start. She needs the schedule to keep her nerves in check and, most importantly, to make sure everything runs smoothly and nothing gets delayed. The schedule is shared with her mother so they both know exactly what needs to be done and when it needs to be done. It gives me more control over the day," says Filippa.

She goes on to say that she is good at taking in what has gone wrong at competitions. She shares that her trick is to immediately write down in a notebook after each competition what she needs to practise more for the next time and focus on these elements until the next competition. 'A lot of times you can forget on the way if you don't write it down straight away,' she says.

But it's not just the horses that she's devoted plenty of time to, she's also been playing sports as a youngster at the same time.

Alpine skiing she was up to competition level and she also played floorball. There was a lot of pressure when she skied alpine, a lot of cheering from the crowd and she got to feel the competitive nerves for real as a little 6-year-old girl. She believes that developed into something positive for her competitive nerves today as a young adult with her horses. She is nervous every time but manages to perform out on the arena.

Filippa is a girl who doesn't seem to give up at first. Her family didn't have the money to spend on top horses that were already fully trained, so she trained the horses herself.
The road has been crooked many times and she has been given the choice to either keep fighting with her horse or to sell. She has chosen the first option - to keep fighting, even though many passes have ended in tears and a sense of failure. But this is a good example of what hard work and the tenacity Filippa has can bring.

She now owns two horses, Hs Indigo and Buskhagas Dasras.
Indigo, born in '09, was 6 years old when the family bought him and together they have made the journey from junior to U-25.
Dasras, born in '14, was purchased at the age of 3. They have ridden to finals at both Breeders and Falsterbo and in 2020 they were selected as 2nd reserve for the Young Horse World Championships after a 4th place finish in the Breeders Throphy final..

She is now focusing on her studies and being an U-25 rider for three years with the goal of competing and climbing in international championships. But her ultimate goal is to be able to compete in the Olympics with a horse that she trained herself, she says.