Horses of Taiga – winner of the Ecotourism Award 2026
“When I got the call saying we had been nominated, I was absolutely delighted. And then to actually win… well, we work with horses in beautiful natural surroundings and get to live our dream. This is exactly the life I wished for when I was ten years old. And now my company is receiving an award for it. I’m incredibly happy,” says Floriane Colonnier.
Horses of Taiga is the winner of Grand Travel Ecotourism Award 2026, presented on Thursday evening at Berns in Stockholm.
Since 2016, Floriane Colonnier and Rianne Kindt have been running their business in Svansele, a rural village in northern Sweden located between Skellefteå and Arvidsjaur. Guests are offered nature experiences on horseback all year round, riding Icelandic horses through a landscape dominated by forests and rivers.
“At the beginning, we offered riding tours with accommodation and did everything ourselves. Over time, we chose to focus entirely on the riding experiences and instead collaborate with other local entrepreneurs for accommodation and food. Today, we also combine our tours with what others offer, such as snowshoe hiking, dog sledding, and experiences of Sámi life and culture,” says Floriane Colonnier.
More local guests
Up until the Covid-19 pandemic, the majority of the guests were international visitors from France, the Netherlands, Germany and the UK.
“But the pandemic meant that more people from our local region discovered us. Many of them became returning guests and now come back year after year.”
The riding tours are carried out in small groups, with a maximum of five participants.
“We don’t want more than that. It feels right to have the time to talk to and support everyone. Everyone should feel safe and confident when riding with us.”
At the farm, the wellbeing of the horses is at the very centre of the business. The horses are ridden bitless and without horseshoes, meaning the tours take place on soft forest trails.
“The forest and our agreements with landowners are crucial to our operations. How the forest is managed over time affects us directly – we don’t want to take guests out riding through clear-cut areas.”
Developing sustainability and regenerative practices
Caring for the horses is closely connected to caring for both nature and people – two core principles of ecotourism. Horses of Taiga has been quality labelled by Nature’s Best Sweden for many years and is also actively involved in the regional Responsible Tourism programme run by Visit Västerbotten.
“For example, we actively work to support biodiversity around the farm. We don’t mow the grass and allow wildflowers to remain. When maintenance is needed, we use a scythe and try to minimise the use of machinery.”
This is the final year of a three-year Interreg project focusing on regenerative tourism development, in which Horses of Taiga participates. The aim is to integrate even more regenerative methods into the company’s operations.
“We have long worked from a regenerative mindset, but we want to take it even further. Right now, for example, we are exploring the possibility of contributing to species inventories during our riding tours and reporting observations to the Swedish Species Information Centre. For those of us who live on this planet, I see no other way to live and work than constantly striving to become more sustainable and regenerative in everything we do,” says Floriane Colonnier.
In addition to Horses of Taiga, STF Kebnekaise Mountain Station (Norrbotten) and EcoAdventure (Dalarna) were nominated for the 2026 award.
Jury citation
Powered by horses, Horses of Taiga – led by Floriane Colonnier och Rianne Kindt – welcomes guests to Svansele in Västerbotten, northern Sweden, to experience nature in close interaction with horses throughout the year.
Participation and small-scale operations are central to the experience. Professional guides share their knowledge of nature and wildlife, while collaboration with local entrepreneurs in food production and crafts contributes to a sustainable whole – where businesses, places, guests and animals all thrive.
Being an ecotourism entrepreneur through and through also means nurturing dialogue with partners and ensuring permits and long-term agreements with landowners – something that Horses of Taiga takes very seriously.
The company has been quality labelled by Nature’s Best Sweden since 2021 and is also engaged in the local Responsible Tourism Programme in Västerbotten.
About Grand Travel Ecotourism Award
Since 2001, Naturturismföretagen (The Swedish Nature and Ecotourism Association), together with the travel trade magazine Travel News, has awarded the company that best brings Swedish ecotourism to life. Naturturismföretagen manages the nomination process, and the association’s board selects the winner.
The award ceremony takes place in connection with the annual Grand Travel Award gala.
