Profile: Maija "Jaaja" Korpivaara – Horse Breeder and Lifelong Horsewoman 

  What's new in 2025?

"This year, a filly was born from my own stallion Vivito de Halliers and a De Niro mare, who is also the dam of the approved breeding stallion Bossanova Crystal. The foal was registered in the Finnish Warmblood studbook – previous foals have mostly gone into the Hanoverian or Oldenburg studbooks.

Over the year, three horses have been sold: one to Finland and two abroad. Currently, I have around ten horses, and the goal is to reduce that number. None are actively for sale at the moment, but in principle, all are bred with selling in mind."

Let's go back in time – when did horses first enter your life?

"I started riding at the Tapiola Riding School when I was eight, I think on Welsh Cobs. At nine, my sister and I got our own horse after much pleading with our parents. They weren't horse people at all, but my father had mentioned to a business acquaintance that his daughters wanted a horse. That acquaintance was involved with trotters and arranged for us to get a three-year-old unbroken mare from Denmark.

There's an old joke: an inexperienced rider gets an inexperienced horse, and an experienced rider gets an experienced horse. The mare was named Pearl, and we nicknamed her Pölli."

How did life with Pölli progress?

"A trotting enthusiast had ridden Pölli a bit after she arrived in Finland, so she theoretically knew what a saddle was. Pölli came to our summer cottage in Puumala, and we borrowed a seasoned riding horse to keep her company. They lived in an old stone barn and grazed in the yard meadow.

The beginning was very lively – we fell off nearly every day but always climbed back into the saddle. Our parents were a bit puzzled by how tough the sport was."

When did competitions enter the picture?

"I don't remember exactly, but I was maybe 11 or 12 when I earned the junior badge with Pölli. She lived at Ruskeasuo, and I entered my first competitions there – national level, easy B class. Pölli was afraid of the dressage arena letters and gave each a wide berth. At that time, you also had to jump a couple of fences during the dressage test. Well, I got eliminated. The judge was the respected Mauri Moren, and I'll always remember his encouraging words. He said, 'This time you were eliminated, but with more practice, you'll do well.'"

What happened after that?

"Pölli was bred, but the foal was stillborn, which was a big disappointment. Later, she developed respiratory issues and had to be euthanized.

In my teens, I had two geldings, Limonit and Domani, with whom I won ribbons in both dressage and show jumping, in easy and demanding classes. In 1976, I represented Finland with Domani at the Nordic Junior Championships in Strömsholm, and in 1977 I competed with Limonit in Denmark. In 1978, I was in Fredrikstad, Norway, again with Limonit at the Nordic Young Riders Championships.

At the same time, I competed actively in Finland. I was coached by Cajus Aminoff. In the junior and young rider national teams, Tom Gordin coached us in jumping and Kyra Kyrklund in dressage."

At this point in the interview, we're looking at the trophy cabinet in Karjalohja. What's in there?

"Hold on, let's see... Junior cross-country silver from 1976, junior show jumping silver from the same year – both with Domani. Then there's the junior dressage bronze from 1976 with Limonit. Helsinki district championships in both dressage and jumping that same year. Looks like 1976 was a good year.

Also, wins in the young horse dressage championships with Limonit at ages five and six. With Ben Hur II, I competed in the European Youth Dressage Championships in Austria in 1978.

Even though we're looking at trophies now, and they're lovely memories, I still think the best part is the daily interaction and work with horses. You learn to read their behavior, physical and mental state. Every horse teaches you something different, and I believe that's the path to good competition results. Succeeding and failing together with the horse – not thinking of it as a sports tool that only matters when it fills the trophy cabinet."

How did life continue from there?

"After my studies, I worked in the commercial sector, and horses remained a part of my everyday life. After that, I spent a few months in England riding show jumpers. From there, I moved to Kytäjä to work as a rider – my duties included training young horses and preparing them for sale. I stayed there for just under a year.

Next, I went to Paul Darragh and Alain Storme's stables in Ireland. In addition to gaining knowledge and experience, I brought back Mad Mary – a large Irish mare with whom I competed in Finland and bred a few foals. These were the first foals after Pölli's unsuccessful pregnancy.

In 1983, I bought a farm in Pusula. I worked in Helsinki and rode and coached in the evenings and on weekends. I had a few horses of my own and also trained horses for others. This continued steadily, but at some point, my career began to take more time.

Then we jump to 2002, when I made a major investment in Karjalohja: a stable for 32 horses, an indoor arena, a loose housing barn, and more. It operated as an SRL-approved riding school and private stable. Currently, the facility is used for my own horses.

In the early 2000s, I competed modestly in dressage and show jumping. That's when breeding began to play a stronger role, along with harness racing. There were trotters in training both from outside clients and in my own care at Karjalohja. The farm was home to my Finnish horse stallion Hirmori, whose first foals were born in 2005 and the last in 2013. Hirmori produced lovely offspring – some became trotters, and a few did well in riding competitions.

Hirmori, or "Himppu," really taught me the ABCs of harness racing: training, rehabilitation, competition, and how to keep an old gentleman mentally sharp. I rode and drove him, we waded through snow and water together, and I tried to keep the training as varied as possible for the horse's sake. Occasionally, mares were bred in the yard. Hirmori spent his final summer in the pasture with a mare, and as a result, one last foal was born in 2013."

When did warmblood breeding expand?

"In the 1980s, I had a few warmblood foals, but the first Crystal foal was Crystal Rain, born in 2006. Her sire was Logan and her dam was Ciciolina, a Caletto I mare. Crystal Rain produced, among others, Diandra de Halliers, who is the dam of the approved stallion Bossanova Crystal.

Finnhorse and warmblood foals were born steadily until 2012, when I participated in the Oldenburg Verband's Summer Meeting. During the week, we visited various breeders, and the highlight was a horse auction. My goal was to acquire a good broodmare, but making such a purchase wasn't easy. Eventually, I bought a promising filly at the auction with a strong dam line, correct conformation, and excellent movement.

Her name was Weihe Glück (Totilas – Don Schufro). I would never have been able to win the bidding if her dam – the multi-champion Weihegold OLD – had already been known for her future success in major championships and World Cup victories. I also bought another mare, sired by Apache.

With these mares, I decided to focus on breeding dressage horses, to the extent that I began planning to buy a horse farm in one of the traditional horse countries. In 2014–2015, I looked at farms in the Netherlands, Germany, and France. The Netherlands was ruled out fairly early because I wanted a lot of space for the horses, and land there is very expensive. Germany remained a candidate for a long time, but I ultimately bought a 42-hectare former dairy farm in Burgundy, France. (Editor's note: this project will be featured in a multi-part article series later.)

The move materialized in 2016, and I gradually relocated to France with the horses. I brought several broodmares and a few riding horses. Embryo transfers were done with Weihe Glück first in the Netherlands and later in France. The mare gave birth to her last foal herself from the stallion Belissimo M here in Karjalohja in 2024. In the meantime, I had already returned to Finland from France at the end of 2021, mainly due to difficulties caused by COVID lockdowns. The timing worked out well, as I found a suitable buyer for the farm in France."

Foals were born in France—up to seven in a single spring. 

 I could write a whole book about my time in France, so it's hard to highlight any single event. France is a deeply traditional horse country, with countless equestrian and related events happening all the time. Horses are part of everyday culture there—almost every town has a racetrack, and horses are a common sight in the countryside. Horse sports in France are a bit like cross-country skiing in Finland: a sport for the whole nation.

Of course, the climate is favorable for horse keeping: horses could graze year-round. Summers had heatwaves and winters could be relentlessly rainy, but I appreciated the amount of sunlight in winter compared to Finland.

What I especially liked in France was the use of common sense. In Finland, it sometimes feels like rules and regulations make things unnecessarily complicated. Although people often joke about French bureaucracy, we in the North aren't far behind.

And naturally, the food and wine left a lasting impression. I also appreciated their respect for older people—it was evident in many everyday situations.

If I had to mention something negative about France, it would be their flexible approach to schedules, which from a Finnish perspective was sometimes a bit too relaxed.

You've seen many horses, both bred and ridden. Now a tough question: what are your top 5 horses or experiences with your own horses?

First, I must say this question is impossible to answer definitively. Every foal I've bred is incredibly important to me. Breeding is such a long process: inseminating the mare, waiting 11 months, and the birth is always a memorable event. Then comes the foal's growth, training, and eventual sale—it's a long journey filled with joy and, of course, challenges. My horses are currently in France, Finland, Sweden, England, and Belgium. Even one Finnish horse from Silvolan Hemming and a Hirmori-line mare is now in Normandy, France. Through horses, I've seen the world and met many people.

But I can mention a few horses. Of course, Weihe Glück, who placed in the Brillantring at the Rastede mare show in 2015 and was awarded Elite Mare status under my ownership. She has produced breeding stallions Figo Crystal and Vivito de Halliers. Weihe Glück now resides in Belgium.

From my youth, definitely Limonit and Domani—these horses laid the foundation for my competitive career and taught me a lot about competing, training, and maintaining a horse's mental and physical condition.

I must also mention the Finnish stallion Hirmori. "Himppu" taught me so much about harness racing and was a true gentleman in every situation, whether at the racetrack or breeding mares naturally. Among trotters, I must mention Black Deep Sea, who performed well on the track and participated in the Harper Hanover race at Solvalla during the Elitloppet weekend in 2006. The trip wasn't a competitive success, but it was a great experience. He suffered a fairly serious suspensory ligament injury, and we rehabilitated him for 1.5 years. I'll always remember when Blackie won in Turku in 2009 from home training, and in the same race meeting, my four-year-old homebred Himpun Humu trotted a 32.8 time in a trial run driven by Tapio Katainen. That evening stayed with me after all the hardships. But that's horse sport—sometimes the sun shines on a thicket, but mostly it doesn't.

Among broodmares, I must mention Ciciolina (Caletto I), who passed on excellent traits to her female line.

There have been many memorable moments. I'll highlight the positive ones, though the journey has included disappointments and farewells.

The 2024 stallion inspection was a wonderful experience: Vivito de Halliers was chosen as the best gaited stallion and the best horse of the event, and Bossanova Crystal was approved for breeding. Both are my own offspring, and Bosse is already third-generation. Hassan Iber presented both horses with great professionalism.

From my youth, I also remember the European Youth Dressage Championships in Austria. That trip with Ben Hur II was full of learning.

In 2007, I bought a 12-year-old schoolmaster named Nachtwacht from the Netherlands. I returned to the world of competitive riding, and it was incredibly rewarding. I competed with "Nalle" up to Prix St. Georges level and trained actively under Dutch coach Piet Tijssen.

What are your thoughts or observations on modern horse breeding?

Finland isn't exactly a horse culture country, and we don't have massive old traditions compared to major breeding nations. I'm concerned that society here makes many rules and decisions that don't align with the reality of horse keeping, riding, or breeding. Keeping horses in Finland is expensive from the outset, partly due to our climate. Naturally, horses' basic needs must be well cared for, but unnecessary bureaucracy and regulation complicate things and increase costs for professionals—this has already happened in agriculture.

Horse sports are practical by nature, and everyone should have the chance to handle horses, not just ride them. I understand that safety is important, but sometimes today's safety thinking veers into overprotection, which hinders learning.

I hope that in the future, equestrian organizations will play a bigger role when preparing new requirements for horse keeping, so that individual stable owners or hobbyists don't have to fight alone. On the other hand, it's encouraging to see new breeders emerging. Finland has plenty of space, good feed, and exceptionally clean nature. If we can improve the young horse training system here—more trainers and a customer base that better understands the value of buying a domestically bred horse—we'll be on the right track.

Thank you, Jaaja, for the interview. Stay tuned for upcoming articles from the years in France—they'll feature many fascinating stories and unique photos from this one-of-a-kind project.

October 1, 2025 – Vesa Järvinen