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\u201cOur first event at Messukeskus went very smoothly from start to finish without any major problems. The severe cold and equine herpesvirus required some last-minute adjustments to the arrangements, but we handled them with flying colors! A big thank you to our entire veterinary team and to all the volunteers who made the event a success,\u201d says CEO Valtteri Gundersby. <\/p>\n\n
The event succeeded in growing its popularity and attracting a new audience, while also strengthening visitor engagement. The audience and riders appreciated the improvements brought by the new venue, such as the athletic facilities at the two competition arenas, the spaciousness and amenities, and easier accessibility. On average, respondents to the Sponsor Insight visitor survey spent nearly 14 hours at the Horse Show. The four-day event drew nearly 54,000 visitors. <\/p>\n\n
<\/p>\n\n <\/p>\n\n An event that cost nearly ten euros<\/strong><\/p>\n\n The FEI awarded the Helsinki World Cup show jumping event a perfect score of 10 for the conduct of the competitions, veterinary care, marketing, media coverage, emergency preparedness, and cooperation with authorities. The only deductions came for the show jumping courses and materials (9.8) and the athletic presentation (9.9). <\/p>\n\n The event featured a substantial prize pool of 477,000 euros, of which 250,000 euros was allocated to the World Cup. International show jumping (82%) and Horse Expo (44%) were considered by the audience to be the most attractive parts of the event. The World Cup competition was the undisputed highlight of Sunday, and as many as five top riders secured their spots in the series finals in Texas here in Helsinki, now the final leg of the league. <\/p>\n\n <\/p>\n\n <\/p>\n\n \u201cHIHS is its own wonderful little bubble\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n Based on the visitor survey, the event was also a success in terms of the audience experience. The Net Promoter Score (NPS) rose to 75, indicating a high level of satisfaction and showing that the event also attracted new attendees. First-time attendees made up 20 percent of the audience. Audience satisfaction has traditionally been high (over 95%), but the rise in NPS also reflects audience engagement and the event\u2019s significance. <\/p>\n\n The flow of information and the conveyance of the event\u2019s atmosphere were exceptionally successful. The audience was very satisfied (87%) with the event information, and the website was the most popular source of information (62%). On social media, we succeeded in creating a modern and approachable image of the event; TikTok emerged as a significant platform, particularly among young people and first-time attendees. Collaboration with industry influencers reached entirely new target groups. <\/p>\n\n Commercial interest also increased. As many as 70% of visitors reported that they favored the event\u2019s partners in their purchasing decisions, which indicates the audience\u2019s strong commercial engagement. <\/p>\n\n Visitors Are Satisfied with Ticket Prices<\/strong><\/p>\n\n The ticket reform was well received. The 2026 Horse Show offered several ticket categories that were particularly appealing to families and newcomers to the sport. As many as 71 percent considered the price of the new exhibition ticket to be affordable or reasonable. Traditional show tickets accounted for more than half of ticket sales, and as many as 60 percent considered the ticket prices to be reasonable. The VIP areas, aimed at corporate clients and discerning enthusiasts, sold out. As a result, the VIP area will be expanded and improved for next year. <\/p>\n\n <\/p>\n\n <\/p>\n\n Horse Expo, which had expanded to three times its original size, offered 40 hours of sales time, proved popular with the public, and also attracted a new customer base to the event. New features, such as the performance stage and the hobby horse arena, extended the time visitors spent in the exhibition area. <\/p>\n\n <\/p>\n\n <\/p>\n\n There is still room for improvement<\/strong><\/p>\n\n The feedback also highlighted areas for improvement, such as a more traditional \u201cshow atmosphere,\u201d better coordination between the programs at the two competition arenas and the main stage, and the opportunity to get even closer to the horses. Overall, the revamped event demonstrated its ability to combine elite sports, exciting experiences, and commercial appeal into an even stronger international equestrian event. <\/p>\n\n \u201cWe\u2019ve already started planning improvements so we can address the points raised in the feedback. Plus, there will be new, exciting elements at the upcoming event!\u201d <\/p>\n\n The next Helsinki Horse Show will be held at Messukeskus on March 4\u20137, 2027. Ticket sales will begin on September 8, 2026<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The 2026 Helsinki International Horse Show was a success that cemented its place as one of Finland\u2019s most significant sporting events. The 40-year-old event received exceptionally high ratings from the International Equestrian Federation (FEI), competitive riders, and the audience alike. The FEI awarded the Horse Show an outstanding overall rating of nine! Both the visitor […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":18706,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[95],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21372","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-2"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/helsinkihorseshow.fi\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21372","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/helsinkihorseshow.fi\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/helsinkihorseshow.fi\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/helsinkihorseshow.fi\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/helsinkihorseshow.fi\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21372"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/helsinkihorseshow.fi\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21372\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21375,"href":"https:\/\/helsinkihorseshow.fi\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21372\/revisions\/21375"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/helsinkihorseshow.fi\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18706"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/helsinkihorseshow.fi\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21372"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/helsinkihorseshow.fi\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21372"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/helsinkihorseshow.fi\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21372"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/helsinkihorseshow.fi\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Joanna-Hogberg-ja-Hillstone-Kuva-Arnd-Bronkhorst-1-edited-scaled.jpg\")
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