Meet Vicky Castegren, with horsepower and breeding passion in equal measures
The American owner of Hyperion Stud, benefactor and patron of the SWB Trophy series at Gothenburg Horse Show, has created a breeding legacy spanning two Olympic disciplines and as of last year entering the third. Vicky Castegren, with Swedish parents and summers riding at Flammabygget, is building bridges between Europe and the US with her outlook on good horsemanship.
The Hyperion Stud farm is located outside of Barboursville in Virginia, but horses flying the Hyperion brand is competing on both sides of the pond called the Atlantic. – We’re coming from Virginia. That’s where our farm is based, and that’s where everything happens—our breeding, our training, and our stallion station, explains Vicky Castegren.
– We have a few mares and it’s time to start focusing on the younger offspring we have coming up. The bulk of what we do, though, is at the stallion station. We have a number of stallions standing for fresh collections, and then we also have several frozen as well. We bring plenty of options for breeders. And of course, we also have our training horses that we raise from birth, and we’re working with clients to take care of the breeding aspect for them as well.
Hyperion Stud also has a facility in Wellington, Florida, for the competition and training horses that do a winter season between November and May in the sunny state. Currently Hyperion has an eventing team in cooperation with Will Coleman III and in Germany the stud has breeding operations as well as several international show jumping horses.
The connection to Sweden has resulted in procurement of foals and youngsters as well as the cooperation with two youngster trainers, Anna-Clara Pettersson and Ida-Linn Lundholm.
And, as an ongoing birthday present, Hyperion Stud supports the opportunity for breeders with talented youngsters to show them at the annual world cup event Gothenburg Horse Show by sponsoring SWB Trophy for several years now. SWB Trophy provides an opportunity for the best horses from SWB Equestrian Weeks to come and show in Scandinavium. By keeping the performance requirements at the same level, although a year older, and thus providing the opportunity for the horses to shine.
Vicky Castegren with her daughter Anja Castegren. Photo: Kim C Lundin
It is an incredible opportunity for a small Northern European studbook to get this kind of support. What makes you so interested in Swedish breeding and Swedish talent?
Vicky Castegren explains:
– I think it’s just a really natural fit. My parents are Swedish, I speak the language, I understand the culture. I grew up with the traditions, so even though I was born in America, I still feel very Swedish. And I do have roots here. I love coming to Sweden, but what’s even better is coming here for the horses!
– When I was young, back in high school, I actually came to Sweden for two summers to ride, to train, and to learn. It was an incredible experience. So ultimately, getting involved in Swedish breeding and talent has just been an organic progression. It just makes sense. And as a business, it’s important to expand where our horses are. If I keep them all in one place, then I think it becomes this little microcosm that kind of locks me in. So, we have stallion semen here in Europe for two of our stallions, we have young horses, and now we’re even branching out into young dressage horses that we’ve bought at auctions here. It’s all part of something bigger that has naturally evolved from my relationship with the horses and the SWB studbook here in Sweden.
You are a breeder since many years and have invested in talented youngstock. Would you like to your own Hyperion-horses in Scandinavium over the next years?
– The oldest Hyperion dressage horse is five this year, so we’re really just getting started with dressage. But the way I see it, it’s all about education. You always have to aim high, whether it’s for sport, for breeding, for business—whatever you do, you have to aim to be the best.
- And in my way of thinking, if you start at the top with your ideas, your concepts, your ambitions, then even if you don’t quite reach the highest point, you still land in a really good place. You’re still ahead of where you would have been if you started with a small goal. That’s how you maintain longevity in this business. And you have to diversify. If you get stuck in one place, I think it can be hard to maintain your passion.
- Because this industry is difficult. There are a lot of hardships along the way—as a breeder, as an owner, as someone managing horses. There are always bumps in the road. So you have to constantly find new sources of inspiration, whether that’s seeing your children start to ride, getting a young stallion approved, or watching a horse you’ve raised go out and perform. Right now, for me, that new inspiration is dressage. Let’s try it!
You have a foot in both the American horse world as well as over her in Europe and Sweden and are very familiar with them. Would you say that one big difference between Sweden and the U.S. in terms of horse development is how talent is managed from a young age?
– I think it’s all of it. A good horse is a good horse, no matter what. But a great horse is one that’s been meticulously developed, well-managed for its health and soundness, and given the right experiences at the right time.
– If we compare Sweden and the U.S., we in the U.S. continue to struggle with having the proper channels to develop these horses in sport. We might do all the right things at home, but we have such a different system that we must navigate. It’s not really based on the fundamentals of young horse development. Whereas here, you have structured young horse classes, you have a clear pipeline, and if you have a really great one, maybe you aim for the young horse championships in Lanaken. Wonderful! We’ve done that too when it was the right thing at the right time.
- But it’s the simple things—like courses that are designed with a rail on the ground before the jump to make the horse comfortable. It’s about the way the horse experiences competition. If we had something like this in the U.S.—some big goal to aim for—it might create a more fundamental path for horses to develop correctly and reach the top sport.
Vicky Castegren with Johanna-Due Boje and Ester (1), winner of SWB Trophy Dressage 5 year old horses 2024. Photo: Kim C Lundin
As someone who has created a goal for breeders in Sweden to aim for with the SWB Trophy you have put things in motion. You’ve placed ideas and dreams in the minds of thousands of Scandinavian breeders. How does that feel?
- It’s incredible! And it’s not just the breeders—it’s the young people too. The kids who are out there watching and going, “I want to do that one day.” I love it. That’s what makes this all worthwhile in the long run. It’s a bit of dream weaving.
Talking about big goals and dreaming. If we are looking ahead to the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics—if a horse that has come through the SWB Trophy at the Gothenburg Horse Show makes it to the Games, how would you feel?
– That would be amazing! It’s a real possibility, and there’s no reason why it couldn’t happen. But I don’t need to stand in the spotlight—the program does that in itself. The riders, the owners, and the breeders do – they’re the ones doing the work. What we’re doing is just creating a platform that helps encourage growth and development.
- And we’ll keep going as long as we can. And you know what would be even more amazing? If my daughter one day gets to be here, training in Sweden, riding, and learning. That would be a dream come true.
Facts Vicky Castegren, Swedish American Valkyrie with Viking ancestry
Home: Virginia, USA
Family: Husband, three children between 11 and 16 year and two children from her husband’s previous relationship.
Horses: Can’t Touch This, Imothep (WC-2014 individual 12th, Olympic Games -2016), Ethene, Carrasca Z, Urthago, Off the Record (WC in Pratoni team silver)
