The Helsinki Horse Show weekend culminates in the steeplechase world cup competition on Sunday. The broadcast on TV2 and Areena starts at 1:45 p.m.
The stable master Minna Uronen and the students of the Harju Learning Center solve the problems of the Helsinki Horse Show and keep the balls in the air. Two teachers and 40 students put together a puzzle of moving parts that include hundreds of trucks, 500 horses and 300 riders.
The arrival and departure of the competitors cause the biggest rushes. In the interim, we serve, help and solve problems.
– There haven’t been any big problems, but in addition to routines, the days are continuous problem solving, Uronen says.
– When the lights are suddenly off in the stable, the horse has gotten free from a broken stall or there is a loose dog in the area. This morning, for example, the horse washing place was frozen and we had to get salt there quickly.
The tasks of the two learning center teachers and 40 students are manifold. A volunteer but professional team takes care of the stables and the comfort of the horses, caretakers and riders.
– We take care of running things, cleanliness and that everything is safe. We also have access control and night monitoring of the stables, Uronen continues.
– We also try to fulfill the various special wishes of our guests.
The stable master’s puzzle
The work is done in two shifts and due to supervision around the clock. Uronen, who works as a horse riding teacher at the Harju learning center, assures that the volunteers’ obvious good humor is still genuine.
– The students here are extremely motivated, Uronen praises.
– I believe that it comes through the horses and from the fact that here they see where training can lead. The work has a concrete meaning and is not just practicing something.
The special challenge of the stable master is to design the stable map before the arrival of the trucks and horse trailers.
– You have to plan which pen each horse will be put in, Uronen explains.
Horses with the same rider, the same handler or arriving with the same ride are placed close to each other. Stallions and mares, on the other hand, cannot be placed next to each other.
– There are also some stallions that cannot have others near them. There are also wishes about what the pen should be like, and some have pens that are bigger than usual. This puzzle has to be made to work, and its design takes quite a lot of time.
A rewarding collaboration
Uronen, who started riding as a hobby at the age of seven, completed a riding exam in Germany and worked as a rider abroad for ten years. The students of Harju Center aim to become horse caretakers, horse service instructors or horse riding instructors.
All Horse Show operators are united by a horse. Uronen talks about horses with the same warmth as the riders participating in the competition classes of the event.
– It’s always great to see how the horses do things with us humans. You wouldn’t need them, Uronen is opening a horse riding hobby and a professional in the horse industry.
– A horse is a 600-kilogram animal. I don’t think you can work with it just by forcing it. The horses are ready to cooperate with us when we take good care of them. I see that things have always been done correctly with the horse when the horse has been brought to the top level.
Even the most successful riders talk about how rewarding it can be to work with a rider.
– Nothing in this sport can beat the feeling when you find a connection with a horse and somehow manage to communicate with a big animal.
The joy of helping
Minna Uro’s funny questions about the most boring tasks in the horse industry. He has also faced the question at the Horse Show.
– There is nothing here that would not be nice, Uronen laughs.
– You get satisfaction even from setbacks when you overcome those challenges and find solutions. You can always move forward with a certain kind of communication with the horse.
The joy of helping is also associated with the duties of a teacher.
– I myself have had very good teachers throughout my education and career. I have always received help when there was an uncertain situation or problems. I didn’t have to stay alone to wrestle with difficult things, and now I want to share with others the knowledge that I myself have received.
The Helsinki Horse Show weekend culminates in the steeplechase world cup competition on Sunday. The broadcast on TV2 and Areena starts at 1:45 p.m.
Brazilian track champion of the Helsinki Horse Show Guilherme Jorge put the steeplechase riders through a tough test in the five-star 160 class on Saturday. Only the top two in the competition, France Kevin Staut and Italy Francesco Turturiello survived both the basic course and the replay without mistakes.
Staut took the victory on the horse Beau de Laubry Z with a time of 35.70. Turturiello drove the restart time in 39.63 with the horse Quite Balou.
– It was a really difficult and technical track, but the horse now reacts really well to everything, Staut praised.
of Ireland Shane Breen on the horse Cuick Star Kervec was third in the rerun and Germany Philipp Schulze Topphoff on horse Carla NRW fourth. Both got a drop in the replay.
Other riders already had falls on the basic track. From Finns Aura Vasama Canto Bruno had his 20th, Susanna Granroth KG Corazon has the 27th and Annina Nordström Gabalier with HRH 32:s.
The difficulty and narrowness of the track was illustrated by the fact that Vasama, riding his second five-star GP, accumulated 12 fault points.
– The course was more difficult than in Oslo. Everything came together quickly, and even skilled riders made a lot of mistakes now.
At the same time, Vasama decided that he will not participate in the World Cup on Sunday.
– Canto Bruno gave his all today, and it has now won many big classes, Vasama justified his decision to spare the horse.
On Saturday, in the five-star 150 time class, we got to enjoy ourselves like Finns, when Eveliina Talvio and Glamor finished in third place. Those who debuted at the level Jon Illi and Celtas Quillian were a fine seventh. The category was won by Switzerland Martin Fuchs riding Viper Z.
Eveliina Talvio and Glamor left the track last in the class, and set the home crowd on fire with their pure performance.
– Super awesome feelings! Glamor tried and fought wonderfully on the track, all thanks to the horse. This is especially special for a Finnish rider, especially in front of the home crowd, Talvio enthused.