Eri-Aaroni
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3423 Valio (July 12, 1932 – September 1, 1953) was
liver chestnut Chestnut is a hair coat color of horses consisting of a reddish-to-brown coat with a mane and tail the same or lighter in color than the coat. Chestnut is characterized by the absolute absence of true black hairs. It is one of the most commo ...
stallion A stallion is an adult male horse that has not been gelded ( castrated). Stallions follow the conformation and phenotype of their breed, but within that standard, the presence of hormones such as testosterone may give stallions a thicker, "cre ...
who was a '' Ravikuningas'' title winner in
harness racing Harness racing is a form of horse racing in which the horses race at a specific gait (a trot or a pace). They usually pull a two-wheeled cart called a sulky, spider, or chariot occupied by a driver. In Europe, and less frequently in Australia ...
and a very influential
Finnhorse The Finnhorse or Finnish Horse ( , literally "horse of Finland"; , literally "finnish cold-blood") is a horse breed with both riding horse and draught horse influences and characteristics, and is the only breed developed fully in Finland. In E ...
sire. During his racing career, Eri-Aaroni became the holder of the Finnish harness racing speed record, a ''tähtijuoksija''''Tähtijuoksija'', "star runner", record better than 30.0 per one kilometre; ''huippujuoksija'', "top runner", record better than 35.0; ''suurjuoksija'', "grand runner", record better than 40.0. Being both a race horse and more noble and refined in appearance than most Finnhorses of the time, he did not conform to the contemporary working horse ideals, and never gained great success at
horse show A horse show is a judged exhibition of horses and pony, ponies. Many different horse breeds and equestrianism, equestrian disciplines hold competitions worldwide, from local to the international levels. Most horse shows run from one to three days ...
s. Nonetheless, in 1946, the horse breeding association of
Laihia Laihia () is a municipality of Finland, founded in 1576 through a separation from Isokyrö and Korsholm. It is located in the Ostrobothnia region. The municipality has a population of 8,020 (Jul 31, 2020) and covers an area of of which is wat ...
purchased Eri-Aaroni to stand at stud for the unpreceded price of two million
Finnish mark The markka (; ; currency symbol, sign: mk; ISO 4217, ISO code: FIM), also known as the Finnish mark, was the currency of Finland from 1860 until 28 February 2002, when it ceased to be legal tender. The markka was divided into 100 penny, pennies ...
s. In Laihia, he sired hundreds of
foal A foal is an equine up to one year old; this term is used mainly for horses, but can be used for donkeys. More specific terms are colt (horse), colt for a male foal and filly for a female foal, and are used until the horse is three or four. Whe ...
s, of whom 22 were ''tähtijuoksija'' and five ''Kuninkuusravit'' title winners. Today, Eri-Aaroni is found in the pedigree of the majority of modern Finnhorses.


Early life and racing career

Eri-Aaroni was foaled on July 12, 1932. He was bred by Sulo Rintala in
Seinäjoki Seinäjoki (; "Wall River"; , formerly ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of South Ostrobothnia. Seinäjoki is located in the western interior of the country and along the Seinäjoki (river), River Seinäjoki. The population of Sein ...
. He was by a stallion who was a '' Ravikuningas'' title winner and ''tähtijuoksija'' named 2306, and out of the
mare A mare is an adult female horse or other equidae, equine. In most cases, a mare is a female horse over the age of three, and a filly is a female horse three and younger. In Thoroughbred horse racing, a mare is defined as a female horse more th ...
Upeva 1640-V, a 50.0-timed, well-conformed broodmare. The colt was brought as a weanling to
Turku Turku ( ; ; , ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Southwest Finland. It is located on the southwestern coast of the country at the mouth of the Aura River (Finland), River Aura. The population of Turku is approximately , while t ...
, and then purchased by, Albin Ahlqvist, who took him to
Ã…land Ã…land ( , ; ) is an Federacy, autonomous and Demilitarized zone, demilitarised region of Finland. Receiving its autonomy by a 1920 decision of the League of Nations, it is the smallest region of Finland by both area () and population (30,54 ...
. Eri-Aaroni grew to be a handsome and noble-looking horse who differed from the contemporary ideals of
Finnhorse The Finnhorse or Finnish Horse ( , literally "horse of Finland"; , literally "finnish cold-blood") is a horse breed with both riding horse and draught horse influences and characteristics, and is the only breed developed fully in Finland. In E ...
breeding, which favored a stockier, work horse look. Ahlqvist raced Eri-Aaroni occasionally at Turku. Eri-Aaroni was noticed there, and horse dealer Matti Takanen bought him from Ahlqvist for 75,000
Finnish mark The markka (; ; currency symbol, sign: mk; ISO 4217, ISO code: FIM), also known as the Finnish mark, was the currency of Finland from 1860 until 28 February 2002, when it ceased to be legal tender. The markka was divided into 100 penny, pennies ...
s. Then, in 1937, the well-known horseman Fritz Buttenhoff bought the now 5-year-old Eri-Aaroni from Takanen for 100,000 marks, corresponding to c. 34,000 Euros, and took the stallion to his estate in
Vyborg Vyborg (; , ; , ; , ) is a town and the administrative center of Vyborgsky District in Leningrad Oblast, Russia. It lies on the Karelian Isthmus near the head of Vyborg Bay, northwest of St. Petersburg, east of the Finnish capital H ...
.Raevuori 1982, p. 42 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 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. His racing career came to a halt with the beginning of the
Winter War The Winter War was a war between the Soviet Union and Finland. It began with a Soviet invasion of Finland on 30 November 1939, three months after the outbreak of World War II, and ended three and a half months later with the Moscow Peac ...
, as Eri-Aaroni and his owner were evacuated to
Suomenniemi Suomenniemi is a former municipality of Finland. It was consolidated with Mikkeli on 1 January 2013. It was located in the province of Southern Finland and was part of the South Karelia region. The municipality had a population of (31 December ...
and then
Kirkkonummi Kirkkonummi (; , , Sweden ) is a municipality in Finland, located in the southern coast of the country. Kirkkonummi is situated in the western part of the Uusimaa region. The population of Kirkkonummi is approximately . It is the most populous Mu ...
. 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.Raevuori 1982, p. 43 Before the war Eri-Aaroni had won dozens of full silver keepsake prizes and challenge cups, which were brought along with him. After the
Continuation War The Continuation War, also known as the Second Soviet–Finnish War, was a conflict fought by Finland and Nazi Germany against the Soviet Union during World War II. It began with a Finnish declaration of war on 25 June 1941 and ended on 19 ...
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 The Kuninkuusravit ("royal races") championship is an annual harness racing championship contest in Finland. It is the official Finnish national championship contest for Finnhorse stallions and mares. It has been held annually since 1924, except d ...
'' 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 A furlough (; from , "leave of absence") is a temporary cessation of paid employment that is intended to address the special needs of a company or employer; these needs may be due to economic conditions that affect a specific employer, or to thos ...
to drive Eri-Aaroni in the competition. Eri-Aaroni had finished third in 1939, and now won.


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. In 1936, Eri-Aaroni was evaluated in a
studbook A breed registry, also known as a herdbook, studbook or register, in animal husbandry, the hobby of animal fancy, is an official list of animals within a specific breed whose parents are known. Animals are usually registered by their breeders w ...
inspection and accepted with the working section registration number 3423. The evaluation points awarded for him did not qualify him for even the lowest level prize. In 1939 he was re-evaluated and awarded with a third level prize. The best show success Eri-Aaroni gained as an individual was a second prize in 1946, when he had already proven his talent both as a record-breaking racehorse and a sire. After the
Continuation War The Continuation War, also known as the Second Soviet–Finnish War, was a conflict fought by Finland and Nazi Germany against the Soviet Union during World War II. It began with a Finnish declaration of war on 25 June 1941 and ended on 19 ...
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 Porvoo (; ; ) is a city in Finland. It is located on the south coast of the country, on the Gulf of Finland. Porvoo lies in the eastern part of the Uusimaa region. The population of Porvoo is approximately , while the Porvoo sub-region, sub-re ...
, and finally in
Nastola Nastola is a former municipality of Finland. It was merged with the city of Lahti on 1 January 2016. In the province of Southern Finland, Nastola is part of the Päijät-Häme region. The municipality had a population of (30 June 2015) and cover ...
.Raevuori 1982, p. 44 From his time in Ã…land, 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.Toivonen 2008, p. 27 Buttenhoff agreed to sell as he had become disabled by
rheumatoid arthritis Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a long-term autoimmune disorder that primarily affects synovial joint, joints. It typically results in warm, swollen, and painful joints. Pain and stiffness often worsen following rest. Most commonly, the wrist and h ...
, 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.Toivonen 2008, p. 28 Eri-Aaroni was sold for 2,000,000 Finnish marks, corresponding to c. 680,000 Euros. It was the highest price ever paid for a horse in Finland. 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
oestrus The estrous cycle (, originally ) is a set of recurring physiological changes induced by reproductive hormones in females of mammalian subclass Theria. Estrous cycles start after sexual maturity in females and are interrupted by anestrous phas ...
or not, and did not attempt to serve pregnant mares.Toivonen 2008, p. 33 However, he also was uninterested in serving nursing mares, which was problematic.Toivonen 2008, p. 34 During the busiest peaks of breeding seasons Eri-Aaroni had to serve mares as often as every three hours, but as he ate well, he did not grow weak. In Laihia, Eri-Aaroni sired dozen of foals each year, and more than 200 during the best years. His stud fee was exceptionally high, 15,000 marks, corresponding to about 5000 Euros. He sired more than 1100 offspring, of which 73 became ''suur-'', 24 ''huippu''-, and 22 ''tähtijuoksija''.Tammen suuri hevoskirja 3 p. 90–91 Of his first generation offspring, 4 stallions and 1 mare became winners of ''
Kuninkuusravit The Kuninkuusravit ("royal races") championship is an annual harness racing championship contest in Finland. It is the official Finnish national championship contest for Finnhorse stallions and mares. It has been held annually since 1924, except d ...
'' titles; 6 stallions and 11 mares were made breeding champions; 167 stallions and 381 mares were accepted for the Finnhorse studbook. 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. 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. In 1952 the previously healthy and strong Eri-Aaroni suffered from
colic Colic or cholic () is a form of pain that starts and stops abruptly. It occurs due to muscular contractions of a hollow tube (small and large intestine, gall bladder, ureter, etc.) in an attempt to relieve an obstruction by forcing content ou ...
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 Laminitis is a disease of the feet of ungulates, found mostly in horses and cattle involving inflammation of the laminae. Clinical signs include foot tenderness progressing to inability to walk, increased digital pulses, and increased temperatur ...
. Eri-Aaroni died on September 1.Toivonen 2008, p. 36


Pedigree

Eri-Aaroni had unusually noble looks and in certain circles was suspected of not being
purebred Purebreds are cultivars of an animal species achieved through the process of selective breeding. When the lineage of a purebred animal is recorded, that animal is said to be pedigreed. Purebreds breed true-to-type, which means the progeny of l ...
.Toivonen 2008, p. 35 As late as in 1992,
Suomen kuvalehti ''Suomen Kuvalehti'' ( or 'the Finnish picture magazine') is a weekly Finnish language family and news magazine published in Helsinki, Finland. History and profile ''Suomen Kuvalehti'' was founded in 1873 and published until the year 1880. The m ...
published a story where a veterinarian named Gösta Broberg claimed it "commonly known today" that Eri-Aaroni had been foaled in Sweden by a
warmblood Warmbloods are a group of middle-weight horse types and breeds primarily originating in Europe and registered with organizations that are characterized by open studbook policy, studbook selection, and the aim of breeding for equestrian sp ...
trotter named David's Boy, and that he had been brought to Finland for slaughter value as a two-year-old. Nonetheless, the prevailing view held that Eri-Aaroni, with his dark chestnut color and prominent
markings Marking may refer to: Symbols Marking may refer to human-made symbols and annotations in several contexts: On vehicles * Aircraft marking * Emergency vehicle equipment markings ** Battenburg markings, emergency vehicle patterns * Vehicle marki ...
, strongly resembled Murto, who was properly credited to be his sire. Earlier Murto had been the target of similar suspicion.


Notes


References


Sources

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Eri Aaroni 1932 racehorse births 1953 racehorse deaths Finnhorse racehorses Individual animals in Finland