The young star is not yet old enough for the World Cup.
The Helsinki Horse Show and with it the world stars of show jumping are here again.
The international competitions started on Friday with the 140-centimeter welcome class, and to the delight of the home crowd, Finland’s 16-year-old Jon Illi rode a clean course on his Celtas Quillian to finish third.
Among others, those who recently won the European show jumping championship were left behind Steve Guerdatas well as Sweden’s European team gold medalists Jens and Peder Fredricson.
– It’s always great to ride at the Horse Show, when the audience is really cool, Illi told Urheilu earlier and proved that he really gets fired up for the highlight of the year for horse people.
The weekend culminates in the steeplechase world cup competition on Sunday, but Illi will certainly not be seen there. A 16-year-old has a few more years to spare. According to the rules, you can compete in the World Cup the year you turn 18.
– Yes, that is definitely the goal, although it is not easy. The obstacle height is 165 and the tasks on the track are demanding. So it requires a good horse and is challenging anyway, says Illi.
However, the Finn has remained on the right development path, even though the defending champion had to bow out of the medal positions in the summer European Championships, finishing fourth.
– It was so small. One water barrier that the horse’s hoof hit by a few centimeters. Yes, it was annoying when I saw the picture afterwards. However, it was a good thing to notice that I can fight for the gold medal until the very last moment, Illi states.
The Finn’s good performances in value races have also increased the rider’s esteem. The phone has been ringing frequently when Illi is offered horses to ride.
– Mother takes care of those things, but I know that a lot of horses have been offered. That’s just a good thing. It develops when you ride a lot of different horses. And there are never too many good racehorses, Illi laughs.
Helsinki Horse Show on channels this coming weekend, October 21-22.