About Meri

Meri was born and raised in Finland, and found interest in horses as 5 year old when her Uncle took her to horse races (trotting). She sneaked to a stable near by as 7 year old and started grooming horses and taking riding lessons. Ever since then Meri has had horses in her life in one way or another. Meri has attended the Endurance riding World Championships in UAE 1998 and France 2000 with Finnish team as a groom.

Additionally, Meri took an equine massage education in 1998 and felt after that she wanted to work with horses as a career. It was then the idea of vet school arose and she applied and got in to vet school in Helsinki University 1999. Coincidentally, at the same time the harness racing and trotters became a big part of her life.

Meri has practiced as a veterinarian since 2005, first as a county vet with all kind of animals in Finland; one winter with reindeers in Finnish Lapland, one summer in a horse breeding farm just for an example of the variety. In the beginning of 2008 she was headhunted to work in an equine clinic in Sweden and take care of horses for one of the biggest harness trainers in Sweden, Åke Svanstedt. 

As a team they had a big success, and won all the biggest races in Sweden. When Svanstedt decided to move to United States, he asked Meri to follow him with his team. That is when she attended a program for over-sea veterinarians to receive accreditation, and practice as a vet in the USA. At the same time she has worked along side with some of the best trotting trainers in Sweden with good results.

Now she is ready to start her own ambulatory practice in United States. Winters she will be in South Florida and racing seasons in New Jersey helping harness racing trainers and owners with their horses.