<p><span style="font-family: Tahoma, Arial, Helvetica, Verdana; font-size: 12px;"> <h2>About Mattias:</h2> <p>A fearless doer with a sharp mind and big heart.</p> <p>Mattias is a former international event rider, who already has an amazingly varied equestrian CV; from show jumping, to dressage, to vaulting, to steeplechasing,&nbsp;to four- in-hand (carriage) driving. He has ridden the famous Icelandic horses, and driven standard bred trotters. To ride the even more formidable Mongolian horses in the Mongol Derby will be a rare new experience for him on horseback. A lifetime of equestrianism hasn't improved his sense of direction though, which may slow him down; his family have implored that he get home again "within three months".</p> <h2>Nationality:</h2> <p>Swedish, from Lund</p> <p>&nbsp;<span style="font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold;">Age:</span></p> <p>42</p> <p>&nbsp;<span style="font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold;">Occupation:</span></p> <p>Animal Welfare inspector and Member of the directors board of the Swedish Equestrian Federation</p> <p>&nbsp;<span style="font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold;">Adventure essential:</span></p> <p>Mongolian phrasebook, to allow him to communicate with the Mongolian people</p> <p>&nbsp;<span style="font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold;">World less boring-o-meter:</span></p> <p>Solid. Mattias family runs a stud and training centre in the south of sweden, backing and breaking showjumpers and standard-breds for trotting races, so has no shortage of crash-test dummy experience. He is one of the most decorated riders the Derby has ever had, a member of the Swedish Eventing team from 1995-8, with multiple 2-3-star international appearances.</p> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong>As the Mongolian proverb - a man without horse is like a bird without wings</strong></p> </span></p>