The overall competition for the Pohjola Small Road to Helsinki final was decided at the Helsinki Horse Show’s national Kultajousi Arena, with Salla Määttä and Celabelle taking the win, as well as the Pohjola Road to Helsinki Finnish Horse overall competition, which was won by Paula Pajunen riding the mare Rinna Lågland. Kullo Kender on Agilero won the second final class of the Pohjola Bronze Road to Helsinki. The winner of the Bronze overall competition will be decided on Sunday.
In the Pohjola Small Road to Helsinki overall competition, held at the 115 cm level, there was a tight battle for points among the top three riders. Salla Määttä, from Mäntsälä—who won Friday’s class and placed second in Saturday’s class—ultimately took the overall victory with Celabelle, ahead of Saturday’s final class winner, Doris Axelson , a 12-year-old from Kirkkonummi, and Honfleur. Janni Rinne from Lahti, riding Stuart Little, placed third in the overall competition .
Määttä, who won the overall competition, was pleased with the revamped indoor season and also considered it an excellent start to the competitive season with an eye toward the outdoor season. He plans to celebrate his victory with good food and a few drinks.
“It feels really great—I wasn’t expecting this [win] at all! I’m definitely going to treat both my horse and my supporters to plenty of treats now!”
The overall winner of the Finnish Horse Pohjola Road to Helsinki competition was Paula Pajunen from Porvoo, riding the mare Ringa Lågland (Ramses Lågland – Vokkerilla) Second place in the overall competition went to Emma Kivimäki from Vantaa on Päällikkö (Musta Magia – Kihis), and third place went to Venla Vastamaa from Vesilahti, who won Friday’s class, riding Mattilan Toivo (Liising – Viesker). Pajunen, who won the overall competition, also won Saturday’s final class.
“It’s absolutely amazing! This was my first time riding at the Helsinki Horse Show. I’ve been coming here as a spectator since I was little, and now that I’ve finally gotten to compete, it really feels like a dream come true—and the fact that I was able to pull this off makes it even better,” Pajunen said excitedly. Riding Rinna Lågland, Pajunen was the only rider in Saturday’s final to complete a double-clear round.
“It seemed like everyone was struggling today; we weren’t quite at our best either, but we fought together, and that was the key to our success today.”
The second final class of the Pohjola Small Road to Helsinki, held at the 125 cm level, was won by Estonian rider Kullo Kender riding Agilero. The Estonian rider, who is well known to Finns and has been active in the Lempäälä area for a long time, is preparing his horses in Helsinki for the 2026 competition season.
“Agilerolla doesn’t have much experience on big stages, so I came to Helsinki primarily to give him some good experience in competitions at this level. Today we had a clean run with a fast time; let’s see what we can do with that tomorrow,” Kender says.
“My own horses are currently in Tallinn, but I still go to Lempäälä to train once a month. I enjoy competing in Finland, so I think that if a suitable race comes up during the outdoor season, I’ll come here to compete.”
Second place in the Bronze class went to Annika Grönroos, 13, from Hangonkylä , riding Gigant, and third place went to Ella Nuuttila, 18, from Hyvinkää, riding Nolan. The overall winner of the Bronze series will be determined on Sunday.
There are a total of three final classes in the Bronze and Small divisions of the Pohjola Road to Helsinki, and two for Finnish horses. The combined results of the final classes determine the ranking of the riders and horses in the overall Pohjola Road to Helsinki competition. You can follow the competition, both nationally and internationally, via the ClipMyHorse.TV broadcast.
28.2. National Show Jumping Results, Helsinki International Horse Show, Messukeskus
Pohjola Small Road to Helsinki 2026, Overall Results
1) Salla Määttä / Celabelle, Ruohojärven Kartanon Ratsastajat ry
2) Doris Axelson / Honfleur, Vitträskin Ratsastajat ry
3) Janni Rinne / Stuart Little, Ruohojärven Kartanon Ratsastajat ry
Pohjola Small Road to Helsinki 3, 115 cm, time trial. Started 17th, finished 5th.
1) Doris Axelson / Honfleur, Vitträskin Ratsastajat ry 0/46.09
2) Salla Määttä / Celabelle, Ruohojärven Kartanon Ratsastajat ry 0/46.83
3) Betty Yliluoma / Duff’s Orders, Riding Club Solbacka ry 0/48.58
Pohjola Finnish Horses Road to Helsinki 2026, Overall Results
1) Paula Pajunen / Rinna Lågland, Porvoon Mustang – Borgå Mustang ry
2) Emma Kivimäki / Päällikkö, Ratsastusseura KiVa ry
3) Venla Vastamaa / Toivo Mattila, Vesilahti Region Riders Association
Pohjola Finnish Horses Road to Helsinki 2, presented by Hankkija: 100 cm, basic course and jump-off. Started 10th, finished 3rd.
1) Paula Pajunen / Rinna Lågland, Porvoon Mustang – Borgå Mustang ry 0-0/27.85
2) Maija Nieminen / Suojari, Tallitiimi ry 4/46.08
3) Emma Kivimäki / Päällikkö, KiVa Riding Club 4/46.27
Pohjola Bronze Road to Helsinki 2, 125 cm, basic course and re-run. Started 14th, finished 4th.
1) Kullo Kender / Agilero, Estonia 0-0/30.63
2) Annika Grönroos / Gigant, Hankoniemen Ratsastajat ry 0-0/30.89
3) Ella Sisko Nuuttila / Nolan, Hattel Riders ry 0-0/31.95
