Jan-Olof Wannius: "People need something to look forward to. That's not possible if all shows are cancelled"

Jan-Olof Wannius: "People need something to look forward to. That's not possible if all shows are cancelled"

Sweden uses a rather 'experimental approach' when it comes to beating the Corona crisis. Restaurants, bars and schools are still open and the Swedish government relies on the 'common sense' of its residents to maintain the measures of social distancing. Jan-Olof Wannius, organizer of the Falsterbö Horse Show, therefore sees no reason to cancel his event for 2020.

"Our competition is still on the schedule for the time being. This year, FHS will be celebrating its 100th anniversary and I am not going to drop that just yet," said Wannius. "What strikes me most is that not every country in Europe has the same rules. Because of that, several competitions were forced to cancel their 2020 edition. I am not saying that measures are not necessary, but they should be more focused on protecting vulnerable populations instead of locking everyone up," the man who turns 77 this year continues.

"I have only recently spoken to various organizers in Sweden and we all share the same opinion: People need something to look forward to, that cannot happen if all shows are canceled. As a result, riders, trainers and owners no longer see the light at the end of the tunnel since they don't have a goal to work towards at the moment, so I'm not going to make any hasty decisions about our competition.  Big events are banned in Sweden for now, so I'll wait and see how the situation will be in June before making a decision ".