About
Where it all began
Kattis runs Kattis Ridcenter in Kungshamn, offering arena rentals, livery services, and a range of horse-related services, including professional training and education for both horses and riders. It was here that Helena boarded her horse — and where an unexpected idea would later begin to take shape in 2024.
Helena is a wool innovator and product developer. She developed FÅRTEX®, a wool insulation for outdoor garments, as well as the Glacier Blanket — a 100% wool cover installed on Björlings Glacier in Sweden to help slow melting. Designed to withstand extreme mountain weather and severe storms, the blanket has proven highly durable over several years.
One evening in at the stable, while caring for the horses and preparing the stalls, Helena spoke to Kattis about the Glacier Blanket — a natural, high-performance wool solution protecting ice under the harshest environmental conditions.
That conversation sparked an idea.
If wool could protect a glacier in extreme alpine conditions, could it also replace the polyester fibers used in arena sand?
Together, they began testing different wool fiber variants in Kattis’ indoor arena. The initiative later continued in collaboration with Axfoundation and Professor Lars Roepstorff at SLU. Professor Roepstorff, a leading expert in equine functional anatomy, has developed a mechanical hoof to objectively measure arena surfaces — a tool that will be a key parameter in the ongoing evaluation and development process.
Now, they stand before the next phase of large-scale testing and look forward to continuing their collaboration toward creating a high-performing, environmentally sustainable riding surface for the future.
