Sweden in mourning over Margareta Wallenius-Kleberg

The Elitlopp race and weekend next month will be without the Menhammar Stuteri harness racing leader Margareta Wallenius-Kleberg who died April 14 at age 85.

She also owned Stoner Creek Farm in Lexington and was a USA and Sweden Hall of Famer. She served on the board of the Hambletonian Society, Solvalla Racecourse and was President of the Sweden Breeders Association. The report below by Travsport.se was issued following her death.

The Swedish trotting sport is in mourning. Margareta Wallenius-Kleberg fell asleep yesterday on her farm Menhammar. She lived to be 85 years old.

“Margareta and Menhammar’s influence on the sport cannot be overestimated. She was also a very warm person who, despite extensive business in many industries, always had time for horse and trotting related issues. It is difficult to imagine harness racing today without her and it is with great sadness that we received the news that she has now left us, says Anders Källström, chairman of Swedish Trotting.

Margareta was born in Stockholm on October 17, 1937. She grew up in the south before moving to Lidingö. When her father Olof Wallenius passed away in 1970, she took over Menhammar on Ekerö.

Year by year, her horse business has grown and when Margareta left us, she ran an extensive business at Menhammar, but also at her stud farm Stoner Creek in the United States. These two places were close to her heart and many horse lovers came here to visit.

At Menhammar, they have been the year’s most profitable breeders 16 years in a row, 2007-2022 and they have bred 148 millionaires. Two of them are From Above and Maharajah, horses that made Margareta’s eyes shine a little extra.

She was also, of course, involved in the various trotting organizations. She has previously been chairman of the Breeding Association for the Swedish Warm-blooded Trotting Horse (ASVT) and Stockholms Travsällskap (Solvalla) and a board member of Svensk Travsport. She has also been very involved in Stockholms Hästambulans. At the time of her death, she was on the board of the Royal Mounted Guard and the Nordic Trotting Museum.

Margareta has meant a lot to Svensk Travsport, so much that it is difficult to put it into words. Her commitment really shone through in everything she did, and it was amazing to see how she was active until the very end. The stable hill and the winner’s circle will feel empty without her, says Swedish Travsport’s CEO Maria Croon.

As a sign of her great value for the Swedish trotting sport, she has been awarded the Swedish Trotting Association’s Great Honorary Badge and been appointed Trotting’s Honorary Ambassador. In addition to those honors, Margareta was also elected to the Hall of Fame here in Sweden in 2013, something she also became in the Hall of Fame in the United States in 2018.

Margareta’s commitment to the horse, both warm- and cold-blooded, is testified. She was involved in all issues, big and small. And she followed their breeding throughout their careers. She would figure out their names for weeks when they would be baptized, and then she followed them for life. She has seen thousands of horses pass by.

Now, unfortunately, Margareta’s life has also passed.

Our thoughts now go to the children Jonas Kleberg and Annika Bootsman Kleberg and Margareta’s life partner Tore Erkén.

Paralympiatravel the STL Gold division at Axevalla

Hades de Vandel (6m Ganymede-Sileni de Vandel-Love You) took this day’s (April 15) elim. 3 for the Paralympiatravel the STL Gold division at Axevalla in Sweden (purse to winner 150,000SEK, 2140 meters autostart, 12 starters) timed in 1.11.5kr

Robin Bakker teamed this Paul JP Hagoort trainee for Stable Why Not. He was off at 13.4/1 odds and recorded his first 2023 victory and sixth in his career.

Cicero TG (6m Kadabra-Artisane-Lindy Lane) held second along the pegs for Magnus Telen Gunderson at 3.2/1 with third to 3.7/1 Unuico Broline (7g Cantab Hall-Notre Histoire-Muscle Yankee) handled by Erik Adielsson. Aetos Kronos was a closing fourth for Magnus A. Djuse after being well back early from post 10. Hades de Vandel joined ilo Jepson, Rackham, Milliondollarrhyme and Jimmy Ferro BR as horses to race in the May 6 Finale at Aby.

The May 28 Elitloppet at Solvalla now has six invitees that includes Onas Prince, Just Believe, Vivid Wise As (shown below), San Moteur, Horsy Dream and Etonnant.

ATG, Travsport, Axevalla files/photos

by Thomas H. Hicks, for Harnesslink