30 facts about me

Since so many people have joined in with this blog hop, I thought I’d join in too! Thank you, May As Well Event for this fun blog hop! Without further ado, here are 30 indispensable facts about me that you were probably not dying to know ⤵️

1. I've been riding since I was 5. Those poor Shetland ponies who had to put up with a super excited child.

2. My longest proper break from riding was 2 months when I was studying for my finals of college. Other than that I have never had a proper break from riding and don't see myself ever being able to stay away from horses.

3. My first pony was Briggsen. He was a little sh*t and threw me off everyday for the first 6 months I rode him, but he's the reason why I can sit to nearly all horses' bucks/rears/spooks nowadays! Thank you Briggsen ❤️

4. I was born in Kaarina in Finland, and we lived there until we moved to Reading, UK in 2001. We then moved to West Sussex in 2005 where I completed secondary school and did my GCSEs. We then moved back to Finland 2010-2012, then I spent 6 months in Germany at my brother's yard, then I moved back to Finland for a few months before going to university to Nottingham 2013-2016, and moved back to Finland in 2016. Moving back to the UK hopefully within the next 4 months and will hopefully be there for a good while!

5. I have no desire to ever go beyond advanced level dressage… I'm never going to be good enough/have a fancy enough small tour/Grand Prix horse so those levels are just are never going to be possible for me!

6. I love both dogs and cats 🐶🐱 We've always had dogs, but cats are still extra special to me because we've only had cats for the last few years, since moving back to Finland.

7. I have never fallen off Basse and hopefully never will! And I have only fallen off Vallu twice but both times were fairly dramatic - first time was out hacking at a park where Vallu threw me off and then proceeded to gallop towards the main road where I thought he was going to die(!!) but luckily he turned around at the last minute and galloped back into the park and after a terrifying ten minutes managed to let my friend catch him - no worse for wear apart from missing one shoe from getting stuck in the fencing that he tried to jump over. The second time he spooked at a car driving too fast on the road next to our outdoor arena and I FLEW into the arena fencing and got a 2 inch cut in the corner of my eye that had to be stitched up...

8. I have two older brothers, two sister-in-laws and one nephew. My oldest brother rides professionally (you NEED to check out the stables, it's so dreamy!) and the other one is totally petrified of horses. He has patted Vallu twice but that's about the extent of his horsey interactions.

9. I received my bachelors degree in Politics from the University of Nottingham in 2013 and I am hopefully going to get my masters degree in Master of European Studies (political science specialisation) from the University of Helsinki this summer!

10. My favorite colored horse is dapple grey… with a dark grey mane.

11. I played both football and netball as a child and was good enough to be told to try and get on the regional and national girls netball teams, but then I got my pony... I quit football and netball very quickly after that.

 12. My favourite breeches are the Pikeur Lucinda ones. Expensive, but THE most comfortable breeches ever!

13. The last time I counted I had fallen off horses at least a 100 times.

14. My left knee suffers from one particularly bad fall and the injury always flares up during the winter when it's cold.

15. If I could live anywhere in the world, it would either be in the UK or in Germany purely because of the equestrian pursuits. I've spent my childhood in the UK so feel culturally very at home in the UK, and having spent 6 months in Germany working and falling in love with the country and its people, I would happily move there too!

16. I’m an introvert most of the time, I like the quiet and I like to be alone. I can be terrible in large group settings. But then some days I NEED people and on those days I hate to be alone!

17. I might have a serious sour sweets addiction.

18. I travelled/holidayed a lot as a kid as my grandparents were massively into travelling. I've been to Egypt twice with them and I've visited most European countries. I was fortunate enough to go to South Korea in 2009 with my father which was an amazing experience too!

18. I have never broken a bone! I have a low pain threshold too, so not looking forward to that...

19. I'm a Libra and am exactly what the Libra zodiac traits and characteristics say
with my strengths being cooperative, diplomatic, gracious and fair-minded whilst my weaknesses are indecisiveness, avoiding bad confrontations, and carrying a grudge. The typical Libra likes of harmony, gentleness, sharing with others and the outdoors is exactly me!

20. I am fiercely loyal to my friends and family and will go above an beyond to protect and help them, but I am also willing to lose a friend if they prove to be dishonest, just once.

21. My favourite colours are peachy pink, grey and pale mint green.

I mean just look at these colours

22. I'm currently going through serious foal fever! There's this one foal that if I had the money and space I would buy him immediately!!

23. My favourite season is autumn, followed closely by spring. Summer is mmmm....okay (normally too hot for me and I complain lots) but I despise winter with all my heart as I hate being cold, I hate snow and I hate ice.

24. I'm not afraid of falling off, but I am afraid of what could happen to the horse if it gets free after I fall off #logic

25. I am not scared of horses that buck, spook, spin or gallop off with me. But if a horse rears vertically with me then I won't ride them again, after having seen the injuries from a horse rearing and falling over backwards on top of its rider... Not for me thanks!!

26. I actually really enjoy jumping and cross country jumping, I've just never had a horse that loved to jump. I'm obviously not talented enough in this area so I'd need a horse that I could point at the jump, kick and hope for the best. But the times that I've been fortunate enough to ride other people's horses and go jumping with them I've had the time of my life!

27. My favourite social media platform is Instagram, followed by Facebook and I could spend HOURS on Pinterest. It took an embarrassingly long time for me to understand and use Twitter but nowadays I love it.

28. I have an amazing group of followers from around the world. My top 3 countries are the United States, the United Kingdom and Finland, which are followed by Russia, Canada and other European countries.

29. I drink coffee like there's no tomorrow, but hey I am Finnish and here it's normal to drink 8-9 cups a day! ☕️❤️

30. I started this blog as an online diary for myself back in 2013, so I never thought that 5 years later I would still be doing this, that I would have met so many amazing and inspirational people nor that my little blog would win the Equestrian Blogger of the Year award last year 🏆 Funny how life takes you on such brilliant journeys if you are willing to go along with it!