Anna Hiltunen, Finland, will make her Australian debut in the coming weeks after completing her necessary exams. Another junior driver will appear here in the west.
Hiltunen, no unknown person in the grumpy or races, decided that she wanted more for her life and experienced more races, and in August 2024 she moved to Western Australia, where she took a position for Barry Howlett in the Seaside City of Busselton in south of WA.
“I have driven a truck in Finland in the past two years and I have bored, and I just think that I can move to Australia with nothing massive, I want something else.
“I want to run here, I would like to know how racing works here in Australia.”
Hiltunen is no stranger to the race, an experienced driver and jockey in Finland, Sweden and France. In her love for horses, her journey started and finally saw it between the countries and at the age of only 24, she has already won about 20 races.
“I only liked horses and started riding horses, and then I find a stable, a stable racing, and I got my license, and after that I ran all the time.
“It is similar (for Trotter in Finland), it is only different because we only have trans, we don't have pacemakers, so it's a little different, but almost the same.
“And of course the start of the start differs from what we have in Finland.” Said Hiltunen.
Excited to finally give her WA debut, her only worry is whether she will get the possibilities to drive because she is a completely fresh face in her trots, but she strives to get out of there and to give her best shot.
“No, I'm not worried, I think it's a little different, but I drove in Sweden and France, and I think every place is the same, I don't worry too.”
With numerous types of races in Finland, Hiltunen had success as a Monte driver with 8 wins in the saddle from 2020 to 2024.
Aldo Cortopassi from Racing WA is excited to see a fresh driver.
“I look forward to getting out of there and participating in competitions.
“She won races in Europe and tried to have a good piece of hands all her life.”
from Ashleigh PaikosFor RWWA
