The reason for the creation of this article, is following: I had to arrange
a presentation in the framework of an English training over a topic of my
selection. This is the result.
The Finnish horse is one of the few multi-purpose breeds in the world. The Finnhorse belongs to the general horse breeds, having both warm blood and heavier cold blood influence.Once located on the Baltic coast, later they were crossed with warm bloods and cold bloods to develop the Finnish Universal. They are called the Finnish Universal because they are said to fulfil all needs. From draft to speedy trotting races to riding.
History
Studbook / Breeders
External characteristics
Traits
Traditional uses
Galery
Trotting in Finnland
History
Established Stud book since 1907- the breed has remained pure. Performance
breed since 1930 - Registration
The Finnhorse was originally bred as a draught horse, but nowadays there are
4 types- (T) Trotters, (J) Workhorse, ( R) Ridinghorse, ( P) Pony-type horse.
They presently number approximately 18,500. The majority of these Finnhorses
are trotters. About 2000 are used for riding and less than 1000 for farming
and forestry.
Studbook
/ Breeders
The studbook is kept in Finland. Stallions are performance-tested before entering
the stud book, and their pedigrees and competition records are carefully evaluated.
Trotters' racetrack records are evaluated, and the stallion committee will test the horse in front of a sulky.
Riding type Finnhorses are put through their paces and asked to jump.
Draught type horses
must perform a traction test.
Mares' look, gait and character are evaluated before entering the stud book.
Breeders: The Finnhorse is the only native breed of horse fromFinland. It is descended from the native Finnish PonyThe breeders: Finland, Sweden, Germany
The weight is about 500 kg
up to 600 kg. |
Traits
Finnhorses are very bright,calm, patient, tolerant, enduring, honest,
hardy and tough and they have strong nerves.
Finnhorses tend to live a long time, and possess remarkablestamina. The head
of the Finnhorse shows its honesty andworkman-like attitude
Traditional
Uses
Finnhorses can be used for many kinds of work:
Trotting
race (courses) |
Working
farming and forestry it is capable of pulling heavier loads than many larger draught horse breeds |
They are used for competitive driving,
riding and
Dressage [Prix de St. Georges-Level] including:
The piaffe is a trot performed nearly on the spot. It requires the utmost gathering and engagement from the horse, and is required only at the highest levels of international dressage competition. |
The passage is a trot in hover or float position |
The flying change is a one tempo change or a two-tempo change or changes every other stride. |
Showjumping. And they are also used for showjumping. (jumped in open 130 cm classes and over 110 cm high cross-country fences. Some jump even higher. Specially, when they want to get rid of their riders. |
Long-distance
riding endurance riding harness-driving |
The Finnhorse is a versatile riding horse. Finnhorses are becoming popular family horses and riding school mounts
A typical Finnhorse head with a rather straight profile and an alert, interested look |
Finnhorses
tend to be very interested in their surroundings
Trotting in Finland
Trotting is one of the most popular sports in Finland. Every year it attracts
over 800 000 spectators on racetracks. The number of spectators in the off-track
betting shops is almost 900 000. There are about 580 race events yearly, with
over 8000 horses and over 3000 drivers. The number of professional trainers
is 150, and the register of amateur trainers contains over 7000 names. The
total turnover in horse betting is over 1 billion Finnish marks.
Trotting in Finland is many-sided. There are races throughout the year, every day except on Christmas. The nature of the events varies from international competitions and weekly meetings on provincial tracks to small race events in the countryside or even to races on ice.
Internationally Finland lies among the 5-6 major trotting countries in Europe. The most famous Finnish trotters are Charm Asserdal, Keystone Patriot, Friendly Face and Houston Laukko, the first horse of Finnish breeding to win the Grand Circuit. The latest international top horse of Finnish breeding is the stallion BWT Magic. The most famous Finnhorse is Viesker, who has won both the Trotting King title and the Nordic Championship five times. As a result of the rapid development of Finnish breeding, many Finnish trotters have made a reputation on the top of European trotting sport during the recent years.
The European Champions Pekka Korpi and Jorma Kontio, as well as Veijo Heiskanen, are the best known Finnish drivers.
Tracks
There are 44 race tracks
in Finland. The main track of the country, Vermo, is situated in Helsinki
and hosts over 60 race events yearly. There are 19 provincial tracks spread
across the country, which together with Vermo arrange most of the 580 race
events. Every Wednesday Vermo stages V5-races, and every Saturday the V75-races
take place on one of the provincial tracks.
The main events on Vermo are the Finlandia-race in the spring, which is part of the Grand Circuit, and the Great Finnish Derby for 4-year-olds in the autumn. Teivo, the second biggest track of the country, located in the city of Tampere, hosts the Kriterium for 3-year-old standardbreds and 4-year-old Finnhorses. Other major events are the Suur-Hollola-race in Lahti, St. Michel in Mikkeli, Killerin Eliitti in Jyväskylä and Kymi GP in Kouvola.
The greatest event of the Finnish
trotting year is Kuninkuusravit, The Finnhorse Trotting Championship, which
takes place in the beginning of August, changing venue every year.
Totalizator
Totalizator wagering
is an essential part of trotting industry. The total turnover in tote is over
700 million Finnish marks yearly. Along with the pari-mutuel totalizator wagering
organised by Fintoto Oy, there are big national pools carried out by the company
Oy Veikkaus Ab. The total turnover in Finnish horse betting amounts over 1,1
billion Finnish marks.
There are several different bet types. Win and Show are the easiest ones and thus suitable for beginners. The most popular one is Quinella. Win, Show and Quinella can be bet on every race. Trifecta, as well as Superfecta, can be bet on particular races. In general, the best bet objects occur among V4-races, in which you pick the winners in four successive races. V4 can also be played as V4-Smart Quick Pick and V4-Smart Quick Banker. The national pools are V75, V5 and the Daily Double.
Horse betting takes full advantage
of today's latest technology. Thanks to rapid communication and satellite
links totalizator wagering could be brought off-track to "Totoline"-shops.
The number of the off-track betting shops is growing rapidly, currently there
are already 350 of them. The next step will be internet betting and betting
through mobile phone.
Breeding
There are about 57 000
horses in Finland. A third of them are Finnhorses, another third are standardbred
trotters, and the rest are riding horses and ponies. The number of foals born
yearly is about 4000. In the beginning of the 90's the numbers of trotters
were high, but because of the depression, which began in 1993, the breeding
figures were sharply cut with about 50 %. Thanks to the economical recovery
and the subventions from the EU, the breeding figures are gradually improving.
Suomen Hippos is the Finnish trotting
and breeding association, authorised by the EU. The Finnish studbooks and
horse registers are kept and administered by Suomen Hippos. The breeding of
trotters is developing evenly. In recent years the top of good horses has
broadened, and many individuals have reached the international top level.
There is even a demand for Finnish born standardbreds in the exports.
Finnhorse trotting championship
The Finnhorse Trotting
Championship, or "Kuninkuusravit" in Finnish, is the greatest event
of the Finnish trotting year. The first races were driven in 1924 in the town
of Lahti, and in the last decades this event has become one of the most attractive
summer festivals in Finland. The first Championship races of the millennium
were attended by about 50 000 spectators. The Trotting Championship is an
inseparable part of the Finnish trotting tradition. Year after year the Trotting
King and the Trotting Queen get their names to the history.
Above all, the Finnhorse Trotting
Championship is a tribute to the Finnhorse. The title of the Trotting King
was won five times by the stallions Vieteri, Vekseli and Viesker, and four
times by Tomu, Ero-Lohko and Patrik. The mare Valomerkki was crowned Queen
four times.
History
1817 | The first trotting race on the ice of the river Aura in Turku. |
1865 | Horse races supported by the state get started and become regular. |
1884 | The first racetrack is built in Helsinki. |
1907 | The studbook for Finnhorses is founded. Horse breeding is organised by creating regional breeding associations. |
1919 | Suomen Ravirengas, the Finnish Trotting Association, is established as a central organisation for private trotting associations. |
1924 | Kuninkuusravit, the Finnhorse Trotting Championship, is established in Lahti. The magazine Hevoslehti, the intercessor of the magazine Hevosurheilu ("Horse Sports"), is founded. |
1928 | Totalizator is introduced in horse races. |
1957 | The first standardbred horses are brought into the country. |
1959 | The standardbreds get the right to compete in Finland. Import of standardbreds begins. |
1965 | Betting Statute is amended more favourable for betters, totalizator turnover starts to rise strikingly. Trotting sport becomes more and more modern. |
1973 | The central organisations for trotting and breeding unite into Suomen Hippos. |
1977 | Charme Asserdal sets a new European record 1.13,9. The race track Vermo in Helsinki is completed. |
1979 | The trotting king Vieteri reaches the amount of 1 million Finnish marks in prize money as the first horse in Finland. The standardbred stallion Einarsin does the same in 1986. |
1980 | The Finnish born stallion Rocky wins the European Championship for 5-year-olds. Pekka Korpi wins the European Championship for drivers and repeats it in the two following years. |
1982 | The right to organise the national pool V5 is moved to the company Oy Veikkaus Ab. Pari-mutuel totalizator wagering continues to be carried out by Suomen Hippos. |
1985 | Jorma Kontio wins the European Championship for drivers. He repeats it in 1998. |
1993 | The stallion Smooth Blend, brought from the USA, sets up the world record 1.10,9a for 1000-meter-tracks in Mikkeli. |
1995 | Houston Laukko wins the Grand Circuit, as the first horse of Finnish breeding. Totalizator in OTB-shops is started by Suomen Hippos. |
1999 |
BWT Magic wins the European Championship for 3-year-olds in Tampere, Finland. |
2000 | Viesker wins the Trotting King title and the Nordic Championship for the fifth time in succession. |
2001 | Hippos establishes a company for totalizator wagering activities. Fintoto Oy begins operations on 1. January 2001. |
Suomen Hippos, the Finnish Trotting and Breeding Association, consists of about 130 member associations. Suomen Hippos administers the whole horse breeding and trotting industry as well as keeps register and studbook for all the horses bred in Finland. Furthermore Hippos organises training and publishes e.g. studbooks and yearly statistics. Hippos is also active in taking part in international organisations, e.g. in the European Trotting Union (U.E.T.), in which Hippos is a member since 1974.
A subsidiary company of Hippos,
Suomen Hevosurheilulehti Oy, publishes the magazine Hevosurheilu ("Horse
Sports"). Totalizator wagering is carried out by the subsidiary company
Fintoto Oy, established in 2001.