Sympathetic and Humorous Carl Hester Steals Everyones Hearts

Lovisa Degreef Beselin, Ingrid Sundqvist, me and Carl Hester

What an Amazing weekend we had together with Carl Hester, Swedish Lovisa Degreef Beselin and Ztables Ingrid Sundqvist a few weeks back. Lovisa is the founder of Equestrian Academy and she organized her third event together with Carl Hester in Scandinavia. 

Anna Kärkkäinen and 5 year old FWB Kiahan Duchess

After a few very popular clinics in Sweden, Lovisa decided to bring Carl to Finland to Ypäjän hevosopisto. Equestrian Stockholm has been sponsoring the events in Sweden so it was natural for them to be one of the main partners also at the event here in Finland. Since I work as the Finnish agent for Equestrian Stockholm I found out from my Swedish colleagues a while ago that Hester would hold a clinic in Finland. I was so excited because I have always looked up to Lovisas Equestrian Academy and I was so excited to get in touch with her. We really hit it off directly and we both felt that we have known each other always. During one of our talks Lovisa told me that she needed someone to moderate the day at Ypäjä. I did not think much about it and told her that I would love to do it. We also decided that they would stay in Helsinki for Friday night and we would all go out for dinner to Ravintola Teatteri in the evening.

Nipsu and Amazing 6 year old DWB Fürst Michigan

The dinner on Friday evening was fantastic. As soon as I saw Carl he gave me a big hug and I felt totally at ease and very good in his company. There was no stiffness that I thought an Englishman might carry with him.  I actually quickly found out that Carl is one of the most genuine, fun and of course handsome people that I have ever encountered. And his humour..... I don't think there was five minutes before he had us all laughing again. And the love he feels for his horses. Not only does he keep most of them outside all year round but he also wants to have them retired at home. Utopia and Valegro go out daily and since they have been together almost their whole lives they get to spend time out next to each other even if Utopia is a stallion. They go out only a few hours a day since they both get too fat and the girls that work for Carl get to ride them and learn from these amazing horses. 

Carl and Charlotte both ride four days a week and the rest of the time goes into training others and traveling to competitions.

Nina Dunder and truly flashy 11 year old FWB Floresco Sil

During the clinic I was so impressed by the way Carl gave room to all the animals and people. He was gently guiding them and when the young horses felt uncomfortable he brought other horses into the arena. He gave both the horses and riders time to adjust and when they started working he was really with them and very concentrated on the horses and riders. "If only I would teach like this at home", Carl laughed, when I told him how impressed I was with his teaching. 

Since I was moderating the event I did not really write much down but one thing that stayed with me was when Carl told Susanna Hyypiä who was riding beautiful 6 year old Ivemmo that she should let go of the rains. Since Susanna only lengthened the reins a little bit Carl told her to think about the movie Frozen and the song Let it go. After a while Susanna let go of the reins more and Ivemmo started to move really nicely and more supple than before. It was lovely to see that Carl could really help all the riders with their riding. I was also really impressed how important it was for Carl with the timing. With the more advanced horses he did not really give the riders any slack and the timing and riding every stride (as Margit Ticklén so well puts it, jokainen siirtyminen on tärkeä) was extremely important.

Carl Hester and Susanna Hyypiä that told Carl that she will be working on ´letting go´ when riding Ivemmo.

All in all it was amazing to follow such a legend work with both horses and riders. After meeting Carl I believe that one of the biggest reasons for his success is not only his talent but also his humble personality and positive attitude. He is a horseman in the true meaning and just being around him for approximately 24 hours made me feel happier and lighter. He is the kind of person that sprinkles a little bit of stardust around him wherever he goes. I am so grateful that I have had the opportunity to meet him and moderate his clinic. 

When we entered the arena I told him that I hope that he picks me up because I just might faint from excitement. I think that the standing ovation video talks for itself.

Equestrian Stockholm had a wonderful presence at the clinic. 

Not every day do you get to see yourself on Carl Hesters Instagram.