CdG riders Emmi Salminen and Johanna Similä were able to make their dreams come true despite the corona crisis. Both girls rode solidly at their level at the European Championships in Hungary, and Johanna took bronze at the Finnish Championships in juniors!
You were selected for the European Championships in Hungary. With what mindset did you leave, and how did the trip and the competitions go?
"The feelings were great, because the European Championships have been a long-term dream, and due to the corona situation it was uncertain whether they could even be held. The first trip toward Europe was nerve-wracking, but careful planning paid off and the trip went well. In the competitions themselves, the very last polish was missing, but we performed steadily at our own level. Everything was crowned by being the anchor rider of the Finnish team and by a good team placing," Johanna recounts her feelings.
"We left for the trip in good spirits, because just being selected to the team was already the fulfilment of our goals. It was a bit exciting to go on such a long journey with Ofi, who hadn't previously travelled on such long competition trips. But the trip went great and without problems. I expected that travelling might stress the sensitive Ofi more, but when we arrived at the venue he was immediately himself, and you couldn't even tell he had travelled almost 2000 kilometres. The competitions also went nicely. We maybe didn't get to perform quite our best, but on both competition days we still managed to ride smooth, fairly mistake-free tests with percentages of 66% and 67%," Emmi sums up.
The Hungarian competition venue was built nicely, everything was close and worked well. The footing and arenas were built in a horse-friendly way, and the arrangements worked well. Even though the competitions had to be arranged a bit more "modestly" because of corona, the event still had a nice buzz and a festive atmosphere, and the competition feeling was high.
How did corona affect preparation for the competitions and the trip, as well as things at the venue?
"Corona didn't so much affect preparing for the trip, but before leaving we had to organize things in advance for the time after the trip. After returning, we had to do a two-week self-quarantine. On the driving journey toward Budapest, there were fewer corona measures than expected, and crossing borders went smoothly in all countries," Emmi recalls.
"Because of corona, it was a bit challenging to find stable stops along the route, but fortunately we got overnight places. In the competition stable area, masks were mandatory, and the Finnish team wanted to set an example also at the opening ceremony, where we wore masks," Johanna says.
At the venue, precautions were followed and people were careful: everyone's body temperature was checked, and you could not enter if the thermometer moved above 37. Reminders about safety distances and hand hygiene were given at regular intervals.
The level in the competitions was high: all of Europe's best age-category riders were present. Corona affected only a few countries—Sweden and England—neither of which sent teams at all. In young riders, results close to 80% were achieved daily, and the winner of the final, Dutch rider Daphne van Peperstraten, rode the Kür to 80.6%!!
You both have your last year in your current age category. What were your expectations for this season?
"After Ofi's illness and the difficult start of the year, we didn't have many expectations for this year. But Ofi recovered and rehabilitated faster than expected and, in the end, in my last young rider year he took us all the way to the Europeans. That fulfilled all my expectations and even more," Emmi smiles.
"We expected to travel to a lot more competitions than we ultimately got to. And for example, one of the biggest goals of the season, Finland's home Nordic Championships, unfortunately disappeared completely," Johanna says. "But there's nothing anyone can do about that, and nobody could have expected it."
The Finnish Championships were held exceptionally at the end of the season, and this year anyone could participate without qualifications. What thoughts did this raise?
"In Finnish conditions, autumn may not be the nicest time to compete, because it was cold, dark, and windy. This year, the larger number of participants showed up as long days and busier warm-up arenas. On the other hand, it was really nice that there were more people and the competition was tight," Johanna sums up.
"In my opinion, the Finnish Championships could be held every year only at the end of the season. Then you have time to train the whole season and then compete for the medals for the 'real' Finnish champions of that year. Maybe just a bit earlier than this year, though—now in September it was already quite chilly to hold outdoor competitions," Emmi agrees. "I thought it was really nice that there were big classes and big competitions, and the level wasn't in any way 'bad.'"
What were your own expectations for the Finnish Championships?
"I didn't have any huge expectations. Above all, my goal was to improve my own riding and fix the mistakes that happened at the European Championships. Of course you could also have ridden a medal home from there," Emmi chuckles.
"My expectations for the Finnish Championships were to ride even better than in the previous competitions, but no big expectations, because we had very few competitions under our belt and the routine wasn't quite at its best," Johanna says.
What was the outcome—did you succeed?
"We rode training on Friday at Woikoski, the team test on Saturday, and the Kür final on Sunday. Ofi was absolutely on fire all three days! I got a completely new kind of feel to him, and he performed brilliantly and was very enthusiastic every day. On Saturday, we rode PSG for 68% with only a couple of small mistakes, but the feeling in the saddle was the best! Ofi tried his absolute hardest and was 110% with me. In tough company we took third place, and after Saturday we were holding onto the bronze heading into Sunday. On Sunday, the feeling was also super good, and it was fun to go ride the young rider Kür one last time. Although in Ofi's opinion it might have been a bit too fun, and he cantered the entire beginning of the trot program… After the initial difficulties, I fell behind the music quite a lot and had to improvise a completely new trot program. Fortunately, I managed to ride all the required movements and I almost managed to catch up to the music again too. The break in rhythm annoys me a little, because all the other movements went really well and the feeling was so good that this time we could even have broken our personal best. We got 68.6% on Sunday, and in the end we finished fourth in the young rider Finnish Championships!
Johanna had an unfortunate, costly mistake in her test on the first day, but the second day was better. In fact, so good that she brought home a bronze medal. Johanna has the full set of colors from juniors: silver from the first year, championship gold from the second, and this year the missing bronze.
"The expensive mistake on the first day pulled the percentages down and the placing was sixth. On the second day we did better and climbed onto the medals, and you simply have to be satisfied with that."
And next year—plans?
"This season was definitely unusual! We had very few competitions, only four starts. Still, they included big milestones like European Championship representation and a third Finnish Championship medal. Next year's age group change will be a big step, and the season will probably be spent getting to know and practising new things. We'll see how we get going! Manu has already practised the required things and understands them well. Now it's a lot of training and quality into these new things," Johanna plans.
"Next year, with Ofi we are aiming for the Inter classes! Those already have more difficulty: full pirouettes, ones, a bit of piaffe and passage, and so on. It's awesome to finally get to ride more demanding things! Depending on how training and competitions start to go, I would also like to compete in the U25 classes. But time will tell, because then we're already talking about GP. Next year we might get some new winds in our sails, but more on that later," Emmi grins.
