Sources:
Sledding – an old sport in a modern form
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talent team ·
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Introducing the Talent Team: Raisa Takkinen
In early spring, Biohansa was looking for representatives of different horse breeds to join the new Talent Team project. The aim was to gather a diverse team to represent Biohansa in competitions in their own breed and in their own region, and possibly also in international competitions. In total, we received close to 70 applications from different riders, harness teams, dressage riders and trotting enthusiasts. The characteristics of the applicants varied widely, so choosing the team members was very challenging in the end. There were plenty of great candidates!
In the end, four representatives were selected from the applicants to join Biohansa's Talent Team . Each of them is skilled in their sport and actively competes successfully. The Talent Team's goal is to support these team members and at the same time make Biohansa's products known through practice. We will introduce all the team members on our blog in the coming weeks. The first one is the sled driver Raisa Takkinen .
Sledding as a sport
Unfortunately, in Finland, dressage is not as big a sport as it is in Europe. In any case, dressage is one of the sports of the Finnish Equestrian Federation. It has nothing to do with trotting, although horses are ridden in it. The first competition rules for the modern form of dressage were written based on the rules of eventing at the turn of the 1960s and 1970s. The project was led by Prince Philip, then president of the International Equestrian Federation, FEI. The husband of Queen Elizabeth II served as president of the FEI from 1964 to 1986 and competed at world championship level himself.
Sledding arrived in Finland in 1986 by Rolf Simonsén, the owner of Savijärvi Manor in Sipoo. Since then, sledding has been actively competed in our country. Our sledding rules largely follow the FEI international competition rules and have been modified several times over the years.
The sled driving competition has three sections, like in eventing. The sections include a dressage, marathon, or endurance test, and accuracy test. These require high levels of fitness from the horse, driver, and groom. A groom is a person who helps with the carriage. Judges, stewards, and a veterinarian monitor the well-being of the horses throughout the competition and can interrupt the team's performance if necessary.
The goal is a World Championship medal
Raisa Takkinen and WPB gelding Kooihuster Harro are from Kouvola. They compete hard in team driving and have already had success at, for example, the Finnish Championship and Finnish Championship levels. This pair of teams is well motivated and they train 5-6 times a week. At this year's World Championships in France, the final placing was 14th/33. They also have a victory in the 2021 international two-star competition in Denmark. Raisa's goal for the next World Championships in 2023 is a medal. The goal is not impossible, but everything has to go as planned.
Raisa has been competing with 13-year-old Harro since 2016. At the beginning of July, the Finnish Sledding Championship took place, and Raisa and Harro won bronze there. The marathon race was a victory and Harro set the record time for every obstacle. - So many damn things affect a good performance, and all the little pieces just have to fall into place, Raisa says. Of course, training is long-term work and requires dedication. - We train with a twinkle in our eye, our head in the clouds, but our feet firmly on the ground, she says. Raisa is also active on social media and updates competition and training news from around the world. - I work as a hairdresser during the day and run my own stable. I am lucky that I get to compete at the top level, with a top horse, and I have had supporters. I am very grateful to them, she adds.
Biohansa wishes Raisa and Harro good luck in the current competition season and we look forward to continued great cooperation, including in product testing!
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Sources:
Sledding – an old sport in a modern form
Sources:
Sledding – an old sport in a modern form
