Zimmer’s paradise

After a tough working day on the trotting arena, there is a way that David Zimmer prefers to relax – a quiet kayak trip on the Lule River at sunset. “It’s gratitude I feel for being able to bring this into my life,” he says.

After an exit from the road towards Unbyn and a winding gravel road between cow pastures, stables and forest areas, you come out on a small headland. Here in Överbodarna, David Zimmer lives #närhetsliv, right next to the sparkling Luleälven river.

– In Stockholm and also Malmö it was a lot of puzzling with the time, if you had to work and have horses it was almost impossible. But as it is now, it is extremely good, he says.

He likes to fish and live the outdoor life but now he does not have much time for it. The job as head of Bodentravet takes a lot of time and energy, especially in the summer which is the trot’s high season. The big competitions take turns and take a lot of time.

– But then it is even better that you can go out with the boat here just when you feel like it. I can fish two hours in the morning before work. The time it takes is to go down to the boat at the pier down here and then I can fish here outside and get trout that you can only dream of.

Close to nature experiences

After a stressful day at the office, he prefers to step into the kayak and take a walk at sunset to find peace and wind down. He does this several times a week.

– If I go out and paddle here one evening, I can see everything from deer to an eagle jumping over water or fish swimming right by the boat or a beautiful sunset. It is a nature experience close to the city. It’s damn nice here.

At some point in the future, he will of course have trotting horses himself and here in Överbodarna there are plenty of riding paths. At the same time, it only takes a quarter of an hour to get to work.

– If you get the urge for a pizza or an evening in town, it is still easy to do. It is so close to the amenities but at the same time completely secluded. For much of his life, David, both as a journalist, trotting coach and trotting manager, has lived in a duffel bag, worked and traveled.

– Since I moved here, it is the first time I feel that it is nice to come home, every time I come home.

The charm of trotting

David was born and raised on Prästholmen in Boden and has always been interested in horses and trotting thanks to his grandfather who worked with trotting horses.

– The trotting arena has always been a place for everyone, it is a wonderful melting pot of everyone, regardless of your background and conditions. On the stable hill, it will be equal because it is on the track that it is decided. But without the horse, the trot is nothing.

That’s what he tries to work with at trotting today, that it should be welcoming and have room for everyone. In the trotting school, they make sure that everyone feels welcome and has the opportunity to practice trotting based on their conditions.

– We are now investing in a training stable for several million SEK that will be adapted for the disabled and also have room for parents. Here we will train the trotting lovers of the future.

The vision of the future

His dream is to create an educational activity that means that especially young girls do not have to move from the municipality to pursue their passion. He also wants to eventually connect an upper secondary school education, integration project and adult education for groomers.

– My vision is to create a horse arena in Boden with trotting, equestrian sports, dressage, Icelandic horse competitions, western riding, where the arena is the obvious meeting place for equestrian sports and Boden will be a hub for equestrian sports throughout the cap of the north.

Whether it is physically possible remains to be seen.