Coach wanted!

Oh no!!! What disappointment! Heard yesterday that one of my trainers Ben Simonsén comes to Vaasa for training on a day that I can't participate :P Had so looked forward to train again under his supportive attityde and in fact would had surpriced him by driving pair instead of just Ivanhoe... Well, that plan did not work out! :) Took immediately plan B. in action and called my other trainer Leena Rimpiläinen at Laukanmäki Stable and asked if there was any driving times left for Andreas Hesse who would be there coaching the same week... We'll see how that plan goes, would be fun to show him, too, what we have learnt with Ivanhoe since last time we drove for him. If plan B. doesn't work - well, I'll just have to exercise by myself then!

The first touch to driving (except for trotters of course) I got already when I did my equine studies in Häme Polytechnic/Mustiala in 1999 as we had a driving course at Ypäjä Equine Collage with Hans Sidbäck as a teacher. I'll always member how unbeliveable it was to drive his pair of North Swedish coldblood stallions and how exactly perfect his stables and tack-room always was and should be kept!  But here a few words of my trainers then for whom I have been driving lately!

Leena Rimpiläinen is a colleague and friend of mine and equine teacher at Kiuruvesi Equine Collage, she is one of two certificated driving teachers in Finland and driving stable owner. She has competed at national level with her Finnhorses of which you can here see me driving Mäntymäen Velmu with - Leena as a groom. What a stallion! Leena is very exact of security and teaches with a firm attitude.

Ben Simonsén has won the Finnish Championships a few times with single and pair and has got a silver medal from World Championships, too. Ben is a relaxed and supportive trainer and a true professional from whom you learn A LOT every time! Ben is here driving Ivanhoe at regional training camp.

For Andreas Hesse I have driven only once and he of course has the most strict (german? :) ) attityde to driving, you will learn to drive exactly as it is traditionally ment with him, but he is still a very relaxed and fun trainer, too. Andreas is for example the former trainer of the Finnish national team and a well know trainer in several countries, both riders and drivers. Verano was trained long reins with Andreas this summer and I think he liked Verano a lot!