Ronivaara · Kuusamo, Finland

Ronivaara Hosts and Professionals

Different skills, one shared place

Meet the people behind Ronivaara

Ronivaara is our family home, a Finnhorse farm and a workplace shaped by people with different skills and backgrounds.

Behind the horses, experiences and everyday life of the farm are people who know the place and its animals closely. Some have been part of Ronivaara for years, while others bring their own professional knowledge to the work carried out here.

For guests, this means more than having someone to lead an activity. The people guiding you know the Finnhorses as individuals, understand the rhythms of the farm and can help you notice more about the horse, the surroundings and the life of Ronivaara.

Sanna and Harri – the hosts of Ronivaara

Sanna and Harri Kallunki are the hosts of Ronivaara and the entrepreneurs behind the farm.

They moved to Ronivaara in 2005. What began as a family home with horses gradually grew into the Finnhorse farm, workplace and community that Ronivaara is today.

Much of what guests see at Ronivaara has grown through everyday life rather than from a ready-made plan. Horses, buildings, routes, animals, work and family life have all shaped the place over the years.

Sanna

Sanna is the hostess of Ronivaara and one of the entrepreneurs behind Ruska Laukka.

Finnhorses have been an important part of her life and work for many years. Her experience includes horse training, riding, coaching and guiding, as well as a strong interest in horse behaviour, herd dynamics and communication between horse and human.

She knows Ronivaara’s horses individually – their histories, characters, relationships and different ways of responding to people. This knowledge is part of the guidance whether the experience takes place on horseback, from the ground or simply while spending time observing the horses.

Alongside the horse and tourism work, Sanna has a professional background in working with people, families, groups and organisations. She is a solution-focused brief therapist, supervisor and neuropsychiatric coach, and her professional experience also includes animal-assisted and rehabilitative work.

Curiosity is an important part of her way of working: observing what is happening, asking questions and looking for practical ways to understand both people and horses.

Harri

Harri is the host of Ronivaara and the other entrepreneur behind the farm.

His work can be seen throughout the place – in the buildings, paddocks, routes, repairs and practical solutions that keep everyday life at Ronivaara working through every season.

A farm in Kuusamo has to function not only on beautiful summer days but also during snow, frost, rain and changing conditions. Harri’s practical knowledge of the place is behind many of the things guests may never need to think about but that make the farm, routes and surroundings work safely and smoothly.

He is also an entrepreneur in accommodation services in Kuusamo.

Read the story of the Ronivaara hosts

People who know the Finnhorses

The Finnhorses are at the heart of Ronivaara, and knowing them well is an important part of guiding guests.

The people working with the horses also see them in their ordinary everyday lives: in their herds, during feeding, in different weather, through changing seasons and on both working and resting days.

This makes it possible to know more than a horse’s name or role in a programme. We learn how individual horses behave, what they enjoy, how they communicate, which horses they prefer to spend time with and how they respond in different situations.

This everyday knowledge guides the choices made during experiences. The horse, activity, route, pace, participants and conditions are considered together.

For guests, it also opens a different way of meeting a Finnhorse. Your guide can tell you about the individual horse you are with and help you notice its character, signals and way of responding.

Professional expertise behind Ronivaara

Ronivaara is also a workplace for professionals from different fields.

Alongside tourism and horse services, professional work at Ronivaara includes social, therapeutic, coaching, rehabilitation and animal-assisted approaches. Different professionals contribute knowledge from their own fields when it is relevant to the work being carried out.

This wider professional background is part of Ronivaara’s identity. It has influenced the way we think about guidance, individual differences, interaction, safety and the relationship between people, animals and their surroundings.

Professional social, rehabilitation and therapeutic services are separate from the Finnhorse experiences offered to travellers. They have their own goals, client processes and service pathways and are not tourism activities.

For the international visitor, it is enough to know that Ronivaara is not only a place where horse experiences are organised. It is also a professional working environment in which knowledge of people, horses, animals and interaction has developed over many years.

Horse welfare is part of professional work

Knowing horses also means taking responsibility for their everyday lives.

Ronivaara’s Finnhorses live with other horses, move outdoors and have opportunities for rest, social contact and species-typical behaviour. Their health, behaviour, workload and individual needs are followed as part of daily care.

The same principles continue into the experiences offered to guests. Plans can be adapted according to the individual horse, participants, weather, ground conditions and the situation of the day.

Good guidance includes noticing when something should be done differently – or when the horse needs something other than what was originally planned.

This is one reason why meeting the horses as individuals is so important at Ronivaara.

Read About Horse Welfare

Read About Sustainability & Responsibility

One farm, many kinds of work

Ronivaara has grown through the work of a family and many other people who have brought their knowledge, skills and ideas to the place over the years.

Some work happens with horses, some with people, some around a table and some with tools in hand somewhere in the farmyard.

Together, these different kinds of work keep Ronivaara moving – as a home, a Finnhorse farm, a workplace and a place where guests can meet the horses and the people who know them.

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