Elina Lahdenperä: Eino-Vakaa, racehorce
Elina Lahdenperä: Eino-Vakaa, racehorse
2020, digital drawing on recycled fabric
Rooms 2046, 2047
Eino-Vakaa was the most successful and famous racehorse in Finland in the early 20th century. For most of the stallion’s life, it was owned by Viborg-based businessman Fritz Buttenhoff. Eino-Vakaa achieved success for example in the Great Stallion Championships organized in 1884–1924, which served the purpose of developing the horse population in Finland. It won the race six times in a row in 1907–1912. The finnhorse competed successfully all the way in Sweden and in the trotting race at the Stockholm Olympics, it came in third.
On 12 September 1913, Eino-Vakaa died in the middle of a trotting race at Turku Hippodrome (the trotting track in Kupittaa) after having run only 300 metres. Heart attack was stated as the cause of death. A memorial has been erected in the Kupittaa trotting track in honour of the Finnhorse Trotting Champion.
Sources: Sukuposti.net, Wikipedia
The artwork is a part of KampusART’s pedagogic programme.