10 Questions for December

Once again, massive thanks to Viva Carlos for doing these questions! I love reading everyone's answers

Does your horse need shoes? Yep, all of our horses have shoes because they all need the support, and because for the winter months they also need to have studs in so that they don't fall over! Basse also has had a 'special shoe' with a wedge pad on his left front foot since his injury in February to try and keep the hoof/foot in the correct position to aid healing and to try to prevent a new injury if he slips again.

What do you think of the barefoot vs shoes debate? I would love to try having our horses barefoot IF we were in a country where this was possible but in Finland, I would never have a horse barefoot because of the long winter. For those who keep their horses barefoot and healthy, well done.

Favorite season for riding? SPRING TIME!🌱 🌺 🌷 🌼🌿 🌸 💐 When spring arrives, we've survived the horribly long winter months, the air is clean, everything is turning green and everyone is happy! It's not too hot yet so I still get to wear more than a t shirt (I love my layers) and I'm not constantly sweating or having to run away from wasps and flies!!

How many shows do you think you’ve gone to? I have no idea? 50+ with both my pony and Basse, maybe? It's been a while since I've competed (fingers crossed for 2017... 🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼)

Do you consider yourself a good rider? I feel like I should be a good rider by now having been riding consistently since I was 10 years old, but how I feel about my riding skills is totally dependent on how much training I get. If I've got training twice a month, I feel like I'm actually quite good but then when months go past I work myself up into such a state where I think I don't even deserve to own a horse, never mind ride one. Last week I got off Vallu after an okay ride and burst into tears because I felt like I was terrible and shouldn't be allowed to ride. Luckily this week I'm feeling a lot better and have had better rides, but I desperately need someone to tell me that I'm doing okay.

Niilo getting ready for Christmas

How experienced do you think someone needs to be to own a horse? I think a good few years in a riding school and several courses in 'horse management' would provide a good basis for someone for owning a horse. Obviously not everything can be taught beforehand and we all learn so much with owning each horse, but I detest seeing people with no experience buying horses and both then suffering when it all goes tits up! I do think part-leasing before owning a horse would be a great way of learning what life with horses really is like...

Have you ever gotten into a fight with your trainer? No thank god! I hate confrontations.

Describe your dream horse - Before I had my pony I always dreamt of a great horse that would look like a Barbie horse 🦄 and now I have Basse who is getting closer and closer to that stage with every year as he gets lighter. But movements wise I would like a sane dressage horse that would be capable of getting 65%+ at advanced medium, but at the same time I could go hacking and do some small jumps without fearing for my life haha! Essentially something between Basse (calm but not a 'good enough' mover) and Vallu (fantastic mover but not sane enough).

Does anyone in your family ride? My mom rides and has ridden since she was a teenager and she made each of us kids try riding as a child. Henri and I got hooked whilst my other brother can't stand horses to the extent that on a good day he can just about give Vallu a sugar lump. Henri obviously is a professional rider who rides, sell, trains and competes dressage horses for a living (which is great because I never have to look far to find the next horse!!)

If you could ride any horse in the world, which one would it be? Why? ANY established Grand Prix horse, just to be able to feel like what it is to ride a top dressage horse and how tempi changes and piaffe should really feel. It would be awesome to try passage and piaffe passage transitions!

My big bro at the Helsinki International Horse Show with Roble (pic taken from here)