Ensto is sponsoring Finnish para dressage rider Jessica Kerttunen who as a young sportswoman is a perfect match for the company’s sponsorship policy. Para dressage is dressage for riders with an eligible permanent physical impairment.
Finland’s Jessica Kerttunen, a 23-year-old dressage and para dressage rider, is out to conquer the world. Her plan is to compete in the 2022 World Championships in Denmark, as well as in Paris in the 2023 European Championships and 2024 Paralympic Games. This year, the Finnish Olympic Committee has granted Jessica and two other Finnish para dressage riders elite sport financial support to prepare for the Paris Olympics. The Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games were rescheduled for July 2021, and Jessica is waiting for confirmation of her participation.
The corona pandemic has affected Jessica’s life and training. There was practically no travel in 2020, and many national and international training camps and competitions were cancelled. Jessica was suspended from her employment at the airport security check, which has had financial impact on her training, but her weekly dressage training sessions with individual trainers have continued to take place. Unemployment, though, has also meant virtually unlimited time for training. Jessica has actively trained and exercised in a variety of ways, both alone and in groups: circuit training, fitness boxing, kettlebell training, running, and gym workouts.
In addition to riding at the international level in para dressage, Jessica is a national level dressage rider in Finland. Ambitious, goal-oriented Jessica has represented Finland in the European Championships twice and in the Nordic Championships several times. In 2015, she won Finland’s Championship. Jessica’s competition horses are named Westside and Ladykiller, a.k.a. Sulo, and both have earned medals with Jessica.
Jessica’s plans for 2021 are still partly open and depend on the corona pandemic situation. Still, the International Ypäjä Spring Dressage competition in Finland is on the calendar for March and her motivation is high. Along with a successful competitive career, the optimistic young woman dreams about studying food science in university and about living the good life.
Ensto is proud to sponsor Jessica in 2021. She is a perfect match for Ensto’s company sponsorship policy which emphasizes cooperation with young people. Jessica also reflects the Ensto values that reach the very core of the idea of sponsorship: responsibility, human centricity, innovativeness, and collaboration.
Pictures: Nelli Kuusela