Eri-Aaroni
Eri-Aaroni 3423 Valio | |
---|---|
liver chestnut[1] | |
Breeder | Rintala Sulo, Seinäjoki |
Owner | Fritz Buttenhoff |
Trainer | Arvi Räikkönen |
Record | 27,8[1] |
Major wins | |
Ravikuningas 1943 | |
Awards | |
made Valio (breeding champion) in 1952 |
Eri-Aaroni 3423 Valio (July 12, 1932 – September 1, 1953) was
During his racing career, Eri-Aaroni became the holder of the Finnish harness racing speed record, a tähtijuoksija
Early life and racing career
Eri-Aaroni was foaled on July 12, 1932. He was bred by Sulo Rintala in
In Vyborg Eri-Aaroni was groomed, trained and raced by Arvi Räikkönen. In 1939 Eri-Aaroni, now 7 years old, broke the tähtijuoksija ghost limit[note 1] of three minutes per two kilometres as he finished a heat held at Seinäjoki in 2 minutes and 59.9 seconds. By the end of the season he had improved his record to 2:28.2, or 29.1 calculated per one kilometre.[6] His racing career came to a halt with the beginning of the Winter War, as Eri-Aaroni and his owner were evacuated to Suomenniemi and then Kirkkonummi. In August 1940 the stallion made a Finnish record with his 2:55.6 time for two kilometres (27.8). The record remained unbroken for nearly a decade.[7] Before the war Eri-Aaroni had won dozens of full silver keepsake prizes and challenge cups, which were brought along with him.[6] After the Continuation War began, Eri-Aaroni was raced very little: he participated in seven heats in 1941 and two heats the following year. The only war-time Kuninkuusravit championships were held in 1943. The event happened to take place during uneventful trench war, and Räikkönen, who served in the Finnish ranks, was given furlough to drive Eri-Aaroni in the competition.[7] Eri-Aaroni had finished third in 1939, and now won.[1]
Breeding career and influence
During Eri-Aaroni's life, the official goal of Finnish horse breeding was to produce work horses. Eri-Aaroni's looks were "foreign", and although he did well in the obligatory pulling tests, he was not given any mentionable success in horse shows.
After the Continuation War ended in 1944, parts of Kirkkonummi were rented by the Soviet Union to host a military base, and Eri-Aaroni was evacuated again. He ended up in Porvoo, and finally in Nastola.[8] From his time in Åland, he had sired about 300 foals. In 1946 the horse breeding association of Laihia made an offer to purchase him from Buttenhoff, despite the fact that the horse population in Laihia was already widely influenced by his sire, Murto.[9][10] Buttenhoff agreed to sell as he had become disabled by rheumatoid arthritis, and Räikkönen, the groom and trainer of Eri-Aaroni, was planning to become a farmer. Multiple horse breeding associations had expressed interest to purchase the stallion, but Buttenhoff chose to sell to Laihia because he heard the mare population of Laihia was of high quality.[10] Eri-Aaroni was sold for 2 000 000 Finnish marks, corresponding to c. 680 000 Euros.[3][5][10] It was the highest price ever paid for a horse in Finland.[3]
Eri-Aaroni proved to be successful at stud. During his first breeding season in Laihia, his pregnancy rate was 75.2 percent. He was accurate in detecting whether a mare was in
In Laihia, Eri-Aaroni sired dozen of foals each year, and more than 200 during the best years.[13] His stud fee was exceptionally high, 15 000 marks, corresponding to about 5000 Euros.[3][5] He sired more than 1100 offspring, of which 73 became suur-, 24 huippu-, and 22 tähtijuoksija.[note 1][3][13] Of his first generation offspring, 4 stallions and 1 mare became winners of Kuninkuusravit titles; 6 stallions and 11 mares were made breeding champions; 167 stallions and 381 mares were accepted for the Finnhorse studbook.[3] In state horse shows, Eri-Aaroni was finally rewarded when three times he was granted the first prize for his offspring. In 1952 he was one of the first horses to ever receive the title of a breeding champion.[3] His influence in the Finnhorse breed remained significant, and by the 1990s, more than 90 percent of Finnhorses were descended from him via one or more lines.[3]
In 1952 the previously healthy and strong Eri-Aaroni suffered from colic a few times, although with good treatment he recovered well. However, in August 1953 he came down with a particularly dramatic case, which was further complicated by laminitis. Eri-Aaroni died on September 1.[3][14]
Pedigree
Eri-Aaroni had unusually noble looks and in certain circles was suspected of not being
Sire Murto 2306 29.4ke |
Toimi 1102 50.0ke | Sopusointu 207 37.2 |
Poke ro Ylihärmä 50.0 |
---|---|---|---|
Sorja 25a-SÖ | |||
Peuha 856-EP | Tuisku ro Kortesjärvi | ||
Vappu (of Ojala) | |||
Hilppa (of Erkkilä) - |
Ilkka (of Erkkilä) | Nöyrä 201 2:16.2 | |
Kirppa (Piku) | |||
Vilppu 800-EP | Polli (in Vähäkyrö, f. 1895) | ||
Minna (in Vähäkyrö) | |||
Dam Upeva 1679-V 50.0 |
Sauli 1985 55.0 |
Sopusointu 207 37.2 |
Poke ro Ylihärmä 50.0 |
Sorja 25a-SÖ | |||
Vakaantyttö 2383-EP | Eino-Vakaa 25 33.9 | ||
Vappu (by Urpi Tt 2755) | |||
Kreeta 832-EP - |
Poke ro Ylihärmä 50.0 |
Poke ro Urjala | |
unknown | |||
Vappu (of Luoma) | unknown | ||
unknown |
Notes
References
- ^ a b c d e f g "Eri-Aaroni at sukuposti.net pedigree database". Retrieved 2011-04-18.
- ^ a b "Eri-Aaroni in Heppa database". Suomen Hippos. Retrieved 2011-04-23.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Tammen suuri hevoskirja 3 p. 90-91
- ^ "Elävä kansallisaarre" [Living national treasure]. Archived from the original on 2012-03-13. Retrieved 2011-04-17.
- ^ a b c "Money values 1860–2010". Statistics Finland. Retrieved 2011-04-23.
- ^ a b c Raevuori 1982, p. 42
- ^ a b Raevuori 1982, p. 43
- ^ Raevuori 1982, p. 44
- ^ Toivonen 2008, p. 27
- ^ a b c Toivonen 2008, p. 28
- ^ a b Toivonen 2008, p. 33
- ^ a b Toivonen 2008, p. 34
- ^ a b c Vuolukka, Marko. "Nykypäivän suomenhevoset periytyvät neljästä kantaoriista" [Modern Finnhorses are descended from four founding sires]. Hevosnetti.com. Archived from the original on 2014-12-16. Retrieved 2011-04-16.
- ^ Toivonen 2008, p. 36
- ^ Toivonen 2008, p. 35
- ^ a b Ranta, Ray (2002-10-16). "Eri-Aaroni ja kauraformula". Canadan Sanomat. Archived from the original on 2011-08-20. Retrieved 2011-04-23.
Sources
- Aalto, Jouni (1995). "Eri-Aaroni, Merkitykseltään kestävä" [Eri-Aaroni, of lasting influence]. Tammen Suuri hevoskirja 3. Tammi. ISBN 951-31-0515-6.
- Raevuori, Antero; et al., eds. (1982). "Eri-Aaroni - hevosten Tauno Palo" [Eri-Aaroni 0 the Tauno Palo of horses]. Suuri suomalainen ravikirja. WSOY: 42–45. ISBN 951-0-11192-9.
- Toivonen, Veijo, ed. (2008). "Matti Torkko löysi Eri-Aaronin uudestaan ja haki sen takaisin synnyinmaakuntaansa" [Matti Torkko refound Eri-Aaroni and brought him back to the province where he was foaled]. Hevoset etukaarteessa. Arkmedia: 26–38. ISBN 978-952-67028-1-0.
External links
Media related to Eri-Aaroni at Wikimedia Commons