One might expect a trip to the Arctic Circle to be nothing less than really cool. And that’s how Tim Tetrick described his journey to Finland for the first Arctic Horse Race competition at Mantyvaara racetrack in Rovaniemi.

Tetrick returned home to New Jersey on Tuesday night following a weeklong stay in Finland. He finished third in the Arctic Horse Race event, highlighted by a win with a coldblood trotter in one of the three legs of the driving competition, but that was far from the only memorable moments he enjoyed.

Rovaniemi, situated on the Arctic Circle, is the capital of Lapland and known for being ‘the official hometown of Santa Claus.’ Tetrick met Santa and accepted an invitation to visit his workshop in the days following the Arctic Horse Race, which was held this past Saturday and saw more than 2,600 people attend the event.

Among other highlights for Tetrick were driving a reindeer and snow dogs as well as snowmobiling.

“It was a lot of fun,” said Tetrick, who was joined by his wife, Ashley, on the trip. “We enjoyed it and had a great time. They definitely rolled out the red carpet for us.”

“It’s something I would have never done if I wasn’t given this opportunity. It was a great trip, just a really cool adventure. I’m grateful for the chance to go and thank everyone that put together such a great event. It’s something I’ll never forget.”

Tetrick finished third in the Arctic Horse Race behind winner Antti Teivainen and runner-up Jorma Kontio, both from Finland. Other drivers in the competition were Finland’s Santtu Raitala, Jukka Torvinen, Olli Koivunen, Iikka Nurmonen, Petteri Joki, Mauri Jaara, and Hannu Torvinen as well as Sweden’s Jens Eriksson and Norway’s Hans Christian Holm.

The event consisted of one race with a coldblood trotter, known as the Finnhorse, and two races with Standardbreds. Tetrick won with the Finnhorse, named Pikku-Ryti.

“It was just cool that I got to win with a Finnish horse,” Tetrick said. “That drove those guys over there crazy. That was wild they said.”

Getting the opportunity to drive a reindeer was wild, too.

“It was different,” Tetrick said. “You don’t steer them. You can’t get in their mouth because if you do, they’ll throw their head. You just have to kind of hold on and hope it goes in the right direction. It was cool. I’m glad I did it.”

The 38-year-old Tetrick, who was elected to the Harness Racing Hall of Fame earlier this year, is leading all drivers in purses with $15.5 million this season and is second in wins with 750. For his career, he has won $217 million, which ranks third all time, and 11,425 races, which ranks eighth.

“They were so happy to have me,” Tetrick said. “We did a lot of interviews. I was in restaurants and people were wanting me to sign autographs. It was crazy.”

(USTA)