Vantaa is home to a horse so rare that you won’t find one like it anywhere else – its name is Turbo

“Not like this can’t be bought anywhere anymore”, says the riding instructor and co-owner of the Poni-Haa riding school Petra Larney.

The 19-year-old Turbo Intercooler calmly looks at the people gathered around him and the snapping camera from his stall. For eight years, Turbo has been teaching adults and children to ride in Vantaa at the Poni-Haa riding school. At the same time, it has grabbed a bunch of rosettes from school and show jumping competitions. Riders have voted Turbo as the stable’s favorite horse many times.

15-year-old Iris Elomaa has taken care of Turbo for two years. He goes three times a week to take care of the horse and help its riders.

“Turbo is so kind that every rider can fix it himself. It is always eager to go to work. It’s never boring, it doesn’t crack and everyone from old riders to 7-year-olds can ride it,” Elomaa lists Turbo’s good features.

The service horse has quickly become a good friend who always meets his handler with his ears up.

”

“A good riding school horse is a melting pot for riders.”

For the riding school teacher Turbo is an irreplaceable workmate.

“Turbo has soft and small steps that are easy for riders to sit on. It is competent and versatile. It can be used in terrain, in school competitions and in obstacle courses,” says Larni.

In the beginning lessons, Turbo notices that there is an inexperienced rider on his back. Then it starts following the teacher’s instructions. When the teacher says “gallop”, the horse knows to pick up the gallop.

“A good riding school horse is a melting pot for riders. It can have 14 different riders per week. The horse does not get nervous, even though the aids of all riders are different. It knows how to ignore unnecessary aids and suggest to the rider, Did you mean this”, describes Larni.

Call round to a few large riding schools in the capital region says that it is getting harder and harder for riding schools to find good riding school horses like Turbo.

“I am constantly looking for horses everywhere, at competitions, online and from foreign brokers, even if there is no need to buy right now. You never know when one of our horses will get injured and we need a new one quickly,” says the head of the Peikki riding school Tomas Kiviranta.

“Horses are being searched everywhere with cats and dogs. We read all the online ads, but it’s really hard to find good ones,” affirms the co-owner of Poni-Haa Virpi Beach.

”

“Everyone is looking for the same type of good, trained horses.”

In the background affected by several reasons. The prices of hobby horses have risen rapidly.

“Before the corona, you could buy a riding school horse for 4,000–6,000 euros, now they cost more than 10,000 euros”, former CEO of Husön Riding Center Leila Therman says.

During the corona, the horse market heated up. Many hobbyists bought their own horse. At the same time, riding schools received a rush of customers, so they are looking for more horses.

“There are also many large riding schools in the capital region, all of which are looking for the same type of good, trained horses,” says Petra Larni.

Riding school entrepreneurs say that many private horse owners do not want to sell their horses to a riding school.

“It’s funny. With us, all the criteria for the well-being of the horses are fulfilled: they get to go outside in a herd with friends, they get regular exercise and professionals are responsible for their well-being. If the riding instructor notices any change in the horse’s movement, it is examined and treated immediately,” says Virpi Ranta.

He thinks that the background is influenced by old, wrong ideas about the activities of riding schools, where horses suffer and everything is taken out of them.

“The operation of riding schools has changed radically. The well-being of the horses is everything to us.”

”

“You can’t buy these from us with money. They are colleagues.”

Also horse breeding has changed. More and more breeders want to breed racehorses because they fetch a better price than hobby horses. However, not all racehorses end up in racing. On the other hand, they are not suitable for riding school either.

“Reactivity has been refined into them. They are often too demanding to ride at a riding school,” says Ranta.

Because training horses is expensive, many would like to sell the horses as young as possible. Young, untrained horses are also not suitable for riding school.

“We don’t have the resources and money to train horses from the beginning. The musculature of a riding school horse must also be well developed so that it can carry different riders,” says Ranta.

The stables will not give up any price for a good riding school horse.

“You can’t buy these from us with money. They are colleagues and cannot be easily replaced. They only leave us if they are not suitable for the riding school or they can no longer do the work of the riding school”, Tomas Kiviranta says.

76 years old Louise Lindholm has been riding and racing Turbo for seven years. At home, there are over a hundred rosettes on the wall, most of which are earned by Turbo.

“We have a relationship of friendship and love. This is a real love story, Turbo is one of the most important horses in my riding career,” says Lindholm.

He stopped jumping obstacles 10 years ago for safety reasons, but with Turbo, Lindholm has still dared to jump small obstacles.

“I need a horse that I know and trust. I have ridden Turbo more than 300 times and after every ride I always feel good. We have a deep relationship of trust with Turbo. It’s an absolutely wonderful horse,” Lindholm says and smiles.