Sustainability stories in Swedish riding schools: an ecolinguistic analysis of policy documents and interviews

The equine sector provides employment opportunities and leisure activities for a substantial number of people in Sweden. Although these activities are closely connected to nature and dependent on ecosystem services, the sector faces significant ecological challenges. This article explores how representatives of the equine sector-particularly riding schools-conceptualize and articulate their work with environmental sustainability in policy documents and "talk about" everyday practice. The analysis is informed by the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and grounded in an ecolinguistic framework. Our results show that national level policy documents are closely aligned with the established sustainability terminology, whereas local documents and interviewees rarely employ SDG related terminology. Despite this discursive distance, riding schools demonstrate strong engagement and considerable creativity in addressing local environmental challenges. However, this ambition is constrained by limited knowledge, resources, and authority to address more complex ecological issues. Within the pedagogical environments that riding schools constitute, systematic instruction on environmental sustainability holds a marginal position. We identified five "stories we live by": "the responsible local care taker", "we try, but we lack resources", "learning through everyday practice", "sustainability without sustainability terminology" and "small action matters". We have interpreted this as emerging eco-benifical narratives that can carry pedagogical potential. We argue that with strengthened organizational support, clearer conceptual tools, and structured opportunities for capacity building, riding schools could play a more active role in shaping sustainability-oriented "stories to live by" and contribute more fully to the broader societal transition toward sustainable development.