A little boy. A big horse. That was all it took. The story of André Brandt is like a fairy tale and shows that anyone can succeed at anything, as long as they've got the will to fight hard.
"Neither of my parents were interested in horses when I started," says Uhip's team rider.
That was almost 20 years ago. Ronneby arranges a Children's Day, a classic event that does just what it says on the tin. There are wheels of fortune, carousels and lots of activities to try for little ones. In the midst of the hustle and bustle, a small five-year-old boy points to a large animal carrying a small child on its back in a loop around a tree. The little boy has caught sight of pony riding, an activity that's just as classic as Children's Day.
"I want to do that!" he says.
Little André sits on the pony's back, enjoying every second and when he gets back to his Mum Therese, he already knows what he wants.
"Mum, I want to go to riding school!
And that's what happens. André Brandt learns to ride with his twin brother Kevin. Like lots of other children, the brothers are also interested in other sports. Football. Hockey. When André is eight he stops riding. He's got too many activities and the parents want the twins to learn how to do something. They had to learn to swim.
"We had to do swimming so I stopped riding. My brother had already stopped and I was the only boy. That's why I stopped too," André tells us.
Now he's 24 years old, sitting comfortably in an armchair in the kitchen at Magic Park Stables in Tyringe, Skåne. When André is not competing nationally or internationally, this is where he can be found, as a rider and trainer of 15 horses every day. He can look back at the magical events of the past months: the flawless 155 debut in Scandinavium with El Classico TT, with "Elvis" – the star horse with whom he also won the team competition in Paris weeks later with Selma Hammarström.
Life and the horse-life are good for André Brandt. And I think we all realise – he didn't stop riding for good when he gave it up at the age of eight to learn how to swim.
"I didn't have any friends who rode so it was easiest to drop riding. Riding was the most fun, but even though I didn't dare to go for it, I started again. I was riding and playing hockey until the TV puck tournament started when I was fifteen. Then it became impossible to compete in the morning, go to hockey practice and then back to the stable to ride," says André Brandt.
Since he started investing himself fully in equestrian sports, he has shown that money isn't everything, even in one of the world's most money-hungry sports. You don't need millions in the bank to reach your peak as a rider. The combination of talent and ability, marinated in a bit of luck, has become a recipe for success for André Brandt.
Even as a 16-year-old, he came second in the Swedish Championship with the family's own pony, which was then sold. That led him to more chances, which he grabbed with both hands. André's skills and willingness to train made him a name to watch out for among horse owners and he rode his first big horse, Miss Hope, at 16. It all started with a one metre and ended with 1.40 and a Swedish Championship Junior bronze medal.
During his last year of school, André Brandt was an intern at Hästak, outside of Tingsryd. When he finished school, he was offered a position as second rider behind Linn Hörnvall. This is where luck came into the equation. The skill of being in the right place at the right time. After just two months at Hästak, André was offered the position of first rider, when Linn Hörvall resigned.
He took it. He enjoyed great success as a rider and was also lucky enough to ride seven-year-old Thelma Hästak. In the summer of 2020, he amazed Equestrian Sweden by winning the young rider Swedish Championship in Falsterbo with flair, despite tough competition.
"It was absolutely fantastic. My first Swedish Championship gold medal. Thelma was inexperienced, I was inexperienced and we had only ridden two 1.50s before the Swedish Championship. She tackled the task very well and was faultless throughout the Swedish Championship. Winning gave me high status because the Swedish Championship was held in Falsterbo and maybe there were people who noticed me because I was on form," says André.
In the spring of 2021, André Brandt chose to leave Hästak after learning a lot and going a long way. He wanted to try something different and started training a few new horses for Royne Zetterman, who wants André to take on more. One month after André left Hästak he rang Zetterman to say he could take on more horses after leaving Hästak.
"Royne offered me the job over the phone. I was a bit shocked and almost didn't believe him. I went down there, we talked for two hours and then the deal was done. I promised Hästak one last assignment and that was the Cesar Hästak and York Hästak's stallion show. Cesar won his stallion performance test and York passed and it felt good to finish on top. The day after that I started working for Royne," André tells us.
The rest is a story that doesn't take long to tell. André and the new star Elvis (El Classico TT) look back on a successful winter and spring. They qualified for the Gothenburg Horse Show via Lövsta Future U25 and after a good warm-up of 1.45, federation captain Henrik Ankarcrona took André and Elvis to the upcoming 1.50 jumping in the classic hockey arena.
"We jumped faultlessly and were placed. Amazing, so much fun! When I asked Henrik if I could ride the 1.55 grand prix he said: 'Absolutely!'."
André had another chance. Now against the world elite. And he took it. He suffered a setback, admittedly, but it was enough for André to place in a starting field with world-class riders. Henrik Ankarcrona liked what he saw and chose André Brandt for the U25 competition in Paris.
And what did André do?
He took the chance, of course.
He was victorious in the 1.40, defeated in the 1.45 and then André won the team competition for Sweden with Selma Hammarström.
"I hope I'll get the chance to ride in more big competitions", says André Brandt.
The boy who pointed to a pony at Children's Day became one of Sweden's brightest up and coming stars. It's a fairy tale. André Brandt has become a role model for many and has some advice for those who want to follow in his footsteps:
"The most important thing is that you're interested and like horses. You need to fight without giving up and take every opportunity to ride. You don't need the best competition horse but you need to be in the saddle. That's how you learn. That's where you'll learn to recognise all the horse's signals. You have to become one with your horse and a big advantage for me is that I have ridden so many different horses, both here at Magic Park Stables and at Hästak. It's all about taking every opportunity to ride all sorts of different horses. If you don't have your own horse: Sit and listen during a training session if a coach comes to your club. There's always something you can learn."