Victory in Prix St. Georges

This weekend I had a show with Sini Soul. It was a national show at the Bury Farm here in England. The test was Prix St. Georges and it was our fourth show together. Soul was really nice and did a lovely test. The highlights were the serial changes where we got some 9s and also the extensions. Our score was 73,026%!!! And we won the class! I didn't expect that because there were 32 starters including my trainer Emile Faurie who, by the way, got second.

This year we don't have any other shows planned but next year is going to be busy 😉

Hi!
Last weekend I was in Finland and did a clinic for 2 days in Erkylä. I had 8 riders per a day and most of them I didn't know for before. I'm planning to come again in January and then keep coming maybe once a month or once in 2 months.
I stayed at my parents and spent the Sunday which was the vathers day as well with them.
Solina and Soul are doing well. Unfortunately Solina hit her splint bone just before our first show since we moved to England and we had to cancel it. With Soul I did one Prix St. George to get some routine and we've planned another show in December.
The weather is getting more wet and humid and now I now what they mean with the English weather!

England

Hello everybody and greetings from Milton-under-Wychwood where now is my new home! We left to our journey 2 weeks ago. The trip was long and exhausting but everything went smoothly and we arrived safely. Sini Solina and Sini Soul which I took with me were tired but in good health after the trip. They have settled down into their new stables very well.

I have been very busy finding me a place to stay and get everything organised. Luckily I found an apartment really close to the Farm were the horses are. And finally I moved in. There's still a lot of boxes lying around waiting to get emptied. But it has to wait. This weekend I'm going back to Germany to pick up my car. So far I just been riding the bike 😊

I'm feeling very good about this new part of my life and can't wait to see what it brings to me.

Training fotos Aachen

 Here some more fotos. Thank you Iina Holopainen for making them!

Fotos Aachen

Finally got here some pics!

Aachen Gran Prix

I had a very nice feeling last days and Solina was going well in the training. Also the warm up for the Gran Prix test went well and Solina stayed calm. As I rode in to the main arena she got a bit nervous but I tryed to keep her concentrated. It worked in the beginning until the halt and reinback. Solina started staring something and she didn't notice me anymore. So it took a while before I got her to do the reinback and then it was hurried. After that the test went on nicely. We had a nice piaffe and passage tour and got some good marks. In the canter we had two bigger mistakes but the pirouettes and the one tempis were great. I was still quite confident as we reached the last center line. I was in the last piaffe little bit too long and Solina got tired and I couldn't make her to go out early enough and then she noticed the audience and started cantering. I couldn't make her to calm down that quick and then we missed the last passage. It was such a shame! We had some eight's but from the last passage we got 0. Totally 64% which was not enough for the semifinal. I'm still happy that we had this experience. Solina is 12 but she is still very green and needs to see many arenas and go to many shows and get some routine.

Aachen 2015

So here we are! In Aachen. It's a huge show with thousands of people and very good riders and horses. The first day Solina was tense and unconcentrated but of course and it's normal because she haven't ever seen something like this big. But every day she has been getting better and she is getting more confident and willing to work. So now I just try to keep her on the good mood till tomorrow and then we will see what happens. Finland is the ninth team to go and I will be the third rider from our team. Keep the fingers crossed!!!! 

Before Aachen

I had my last show with Solina on last weekend. I wanted to have one more test before the Europeans so we went to a national show in Neu-Anspach. The Gran Prix went very well except the zick-zack in canter and the last passage. I'm very happy about Solina! We got the score 69,22% and were second in that class. Now we have some last preparing before we start our journey to Aachen! I'm very excited to be again after a one year break part of the Finnish team!

NBCH

On Saturday we had the GP special. I like the test, it's nice to ride even if it's a bit longer and harder for the horses. Solina did her best but we had some difficulties with the piaffe and with the transitions in and out. That dropped the score under 67%. We were still on the 8th place and qualified for the freestyle on Sunday!

The freestyle was Solina's first on the Gran Prix level. She had been so calm and relax though the hole weekend so I wasn't quit expecting what happened in the freestyle. She got so scared about the music because of course it was a bit louder and she didn't really know where to go. But one thing I'm very happy about: she did both piaffes better than the day before!

Overall it was a great weekend for us, to get all that experience and now we are one step closer to be a good horse-rider combination! 😄

Nordic Baltic Championships, Aalborg

So here we are, me, Solina and my groom Iina. It's very exciting to ride in these championships after many years and see so many other Finnish riders.

The vet check was on Wednesday and it went well for all Finnish horses. On Thursday was the Gran Prix and it was the team competition for the seniors. It has been very windy for 2 days already but that didn't bother Solina. She was concentrated and I had a nice feeling through the test. We got one bigger mistakes in one tempis but overall it was a good test and the score 69,18% was our best score so far internationally. I am very happy and pleased with Solina! 😄 Unfortunately as a team we were left without a medal. 2 of our riders were a bit unlucky, so our team score wasn't enough to beat Norway, Denmark or Sweden.

Today seniors will have a training day and tomorrow we continue with the special.

Wiesbaden

I spent the last weekend with my girls Sini Solina and Heimliche Liebe in Wiesbaden. There was CDI4* tour and I must say that it is a very nice show. The main arena is just in front of the castle which looks wonderful!

On Saturday was the Gran Prix where I was the first rider starter with Liebe. She did a nice test until the one tempis. We got some mistakes and then she got very nervous on the las center line just before the piaffe. So there we lost many points and in the end got only 64%.

Solina did also a nice job. She was a bit worried about everything what was happening outside the arena but did everything what I asked her to do. Only in  both serial changes we made mistakes because she was not as concentrated as she should have been. The result 66% was enough to qualify for the GPS.

With Liebe I was also allowed to ride again. I did the freestyle with her and it was in Sunday night under the floodlight. Very exciting! She was really good and totally with me trough the hole test. We got 72,100% and were on the 7th place! I beated Hubertus, my boss, with 2 points!!! 

On Monday was the last test for me with Solina. She feld good in the warm up and in the test she was going better than ever. So that's why I don't know what happened in the first piaffe. Maybe she saw something and got scared and that's why she was rearing shortly but continued after that like nothing happened. Of course we got bad points from the piaffe and the transitions and unfortunately it effected also to the under scores. So our total score was only 64%. It was very interesting weekend and Solina showed that she can do internationally over 70% but she still needs lots of routine and self-confidence.

Have a nice week everybody! 

Mannheim 1.-5.5.

This weekend I'm going to Mannheim and I'm taking Lennox for the big tour. The Gran Prix is on Friday and then I'll try to qualify for the special which is on Saturday. 

Joosland

Directly after Austria I load Solina to the truck and drove another 400km  to Joosland in Holland. I found it important to get her use to the shows and get some routine on the Gran Prix level. We did another Gran Prix with 66,8% which I was happy about. I was able to ride her all the time even if there was some mistakes but some parts were already better than last weekend.

The next day we were allowed to ride the GP special. Solina really tried to do her best and I think that was the best test for us so far internationally. The score 66,45% was enough for 8th place.

Now I'm driving back home to Etteln and Solina will get her well-earned holiday! 

Stadl Paura

A nice weekend in Stadl Paura, Austria, is turning to an end. Tomorrow will be the last test for me and Lord of Lennox.

I left home on Thursday with Sini Solina and Lennox and after 10 hours I arrived to the Pferdecentrum-Stadl Paura. The horses were both very fresh and happy. On Friday I had the vet check only for Solina and then training with both of them. On Saturday was the Gran Prix for the special which I rode with Solina. I was riding her too carefully in the test and she got a bit unsure what to do. Therefor we had some uncertainties in transitions and then the one tempi changes didn't work out. Our score were just above 64% but we still made it in to the special. Then today I really tried to support and help her through the test and she was also much better. The Gran Prix special is a very long test and Solina got really tired towards the end. That's why the last center line was hard for her and there we lost many points. Our score was 66,098% and we were on the 10th place. The first international ribbon for Solina!

Braunschweig

Sini Solina's second Gran Prix was last weekend in Braunschweig. Unfortunately it didn't go so well for us. Solina was so scared of the huge banner on the short side that she didn't want to pass at all! So every movement what was going towards it was with tension or she also stopped and refused to go close to it. Such a shame! She went so well in the warm up and later in the test in the canter part we had some good moments too. The serial flying changes worked good this time! But anyway, it was another good experience for her and we will keep practicing! The next show for us will be in Stadl Paura, Austria, on the first weekend of April.

Sini Solina's first Gran Prix

I had my second show with Sini Solina this weekend. On the first day we had intermediaire II where Solina got a bit tense in the canter tour and we made some mistakes. We got 66,44% and were on the third place.
On the second day we had our first Gran Prix. Solina feld good during the hole test and specially the trot half-passes and passage were really good. She also did the canter zikzak very good which we can't train as a hole movement at home because our indoor is not long enough. And we still need to work on our passage-piaffe-passage-transitions but for the first test I'm really happy! I was even happier when I heard our score: 69,2%!!! And it got even better because with that score we also won the class! Unbelievable!!! I didn't expect that kind of a start! Wow!

Ankum

I had my first show this year in Ankum. Sini Solina did her very first Intermediaire II and got 72,28%!!!! I'm sooooo happy! She got third and Flynn placed just after her, fourth. He got 70,96%. Solina did a nice test with some highlights in the trot and passage tour. I was so suprised how well she handled the show situation after a longer break. 

The next day both of the horses started once again. I cannot describe how happy I am right now! Sini Solina won her first short Gran Prix with 70,86%. I couldn't even dream about that kind of a start on a higher level. And later on Flynn got second in young horse Gran Prix with 71,3%.

It was such an amazing weekend and a good start for this coming season!

A car crash

I was supposed to ride in K&K cup Münster this weekend but I was in a car crash yesterday. I was coming from Münster where I trained with Sini Solina and Stern and was going back to the barn to ride few more horses before my first completion on Friday afternoon. I was driving downhill towards tha barn and had the right of way when suddenly a guy came from right directly in front of me and I crashed into his left side of the car. Luckily I had my seatbelt on and the air back opened.

Now I'm at the hospital probably over the weekend just to be sure that everything's alright. I have some pumps and bruises and a sore chest but I will survive. I hope I'll get back on a horse again very soon!