Carriage Driving

Driving in Finland. Short summary.

At the beginning of the 20th century carriagedriving was not a sport. It was for most people a necessity. By a quick look at the horse and carriage you could instantly decide what kind of people the owners were. That also explains why you today use especially elegant carriages in dressage and precision-driving.

Even several decades after the first car saw the light of day horses were used for daily transportation. It was, among other reasons, an economical issue. The horse, carriage and driver were always around and didn`t cost more just because you were using it. Contrary to the old cars which were expensive to buy and run. The long-distance transports has left their traces in the marathoncompetition. You`re supposed to drive a certain distance in a certain time. Just the way it was a long time ago.

During the two world-wars, and especially the second, horses were essential in all kinds of transportation. For obvious reasons, they don`t run on petrol.

After the last war, when cars returned to civil use, horses in sports grew more popular each year. During the 50`s trotting was the most popular form. At the end of the fifties the number of horses in Finland was reduced dramatically. Not because they all of a sudden be-came unpopular. It was a political decision and the number fell from 200.000 to around 35.000 in just a few years. Despite such circumstances Savijärvi Manor has not yet seen a horseless day.

At the beginning of the 60`s breeding gradually became more important. At Savijärvi Manor driving as well as riding started to grow. When the children got old enough they entered riding-competitions and this went on until the mid-eighties. Driving kept a very low profile all these years. The odd wedding-couple or group of visiting tourists, but no competing.

That started to change in 1986 when Rolf went to Sweden to participate in an instructors course in horsedriving. It only took one year before the first competition was held in Finland.

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