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Category: Pets and other animals | Posted: Sat Apr 05, 2008 6:42 pm

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Today was the first do in the new riding house. The Icelandic people rented it for their gait competition. Iceland horses have five gaits. In addition to the walk, trot and gallop, they have two more unique to them. They walk like camels moving both legs on the same side the same way at the same time. That's called pass. It rocks and makes you feel sea sick. Then there's the tølt. It's faster than trot, slower than gallop and so smooth you feel more like flying than riding. When tølting the horses lift their forelegs so high it's unbelievable, and it looks very elegant and energetic at the same time. The Iceland horse is very small, and is actually a pony, but they don't know that so we won't tell them.

I watched the preparations for the competition. It was very different from what I'm used to seeing. First they evened the track nicely. Then they put chairs and tables in the middle and defined the track width. Then they brought in big cars and drove around in there to make the surface hard and even. And then the show started, but not one by one. They started in groups from two to five participants. Here are a few photos to show what it looked like:

The three judges watching the contestants:



One of two participants from our stables:



The oldest:



The youngest:



Do my eyes deceive me? One group and all men!



One of the prize winning stallions and a world championship rider:



As you can see, both skill and age differed a lot! It was fun to observe how supportive the old hands were towards the young beginners. That's the proper way to do it to get new riders in. Our young rider managed a third place, which is very good considering it's her first do ever. We're very proud of her and the horse.

Here's a small film that shows one icelandic horse doing the tølt, for those who might be interested. flying pace


Last edited: Sat Apr 05, 2008 6:43 pm

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Biita wrote on Sat Apr 05, 2008 7:50 pm:

Ohhh wow, that is so cool. Was all the participates from your stables or were some or all from Iceland.

I can honestly say those are some beautiful horses and that tølt gait is "wow" so beautiful to watch. I can only imagine in person what it looks like. I would fall in love with those horses.

I won't tell them their just ponies,, lips are sealed. Thanks for sharing your new expericence... awesome!!

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Droopy wrote on Sat Apr 05, 2008 8:05 pm:

We only had two from our stables participating. The rest came from surrounding areas. There were some from Iceland, but they're Norwegians now. I sometimes feel there are more Iceland people outside Iceland than on it. You ought to find an Iceland horse and try, Biita.

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glendann wrote on Sat Apr 05, 2008 9:22 pm:

Gorgeous horses.I bet that was an exciting day just to watch the horses.

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Sjoerd wrote on Sun Apr 06, 2008 12:10 am:

Thank you so much, Droopy! This was very nice to seee and watch. I watched a number of film clips. They were ALL interesting. Biita is right, they are beautiful to see in action. I liked the films that had episodes of slow-mo because that showed better how they looked when they brought their 'knees' up so high. Remarkable.
Thank you so much for the explanation, pics and link.
Congrats to your stable mate that did so well in the show.

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Droopy wrote on Sun Apr 06, 2008 5:59 pm:

I found out that the oldest contestant is 70 years old. Isn't that amazing!

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woodlandfey wrote on Wed Apr 09, 2008 7:05 pm:

How amazing! What a great little horse! Mums the word tho. I won't tell them they're little. Hehehe!
Thanks for sharing this!

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sharon mc wrote on Fri Apr 11, 2008 9:17 am:

Looks like a really good day out! In the UK they hold trotting races but the gait is a forced one and not kind to the horses knees; differnt to the natural gaits of the Icelandic.

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Droopy wrote on Fri Apr 11, 2008 2:16 pm:

They're really something else, aren't they? I don't like trotting races either, and don't bet on them like so many other people do.

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SongofJoy57 wrote on Sat Apr 12, 2008 2:01 pm:

Wow . . . how exciting & grand . . . I especially love the riders' uniforms & hats . . . Thank you for the documetation of the experience, and the link!!!!

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Droopy wrote on Sat Apr 12, 2008 9:35 pm:

No riding without the safety helmets, SoJ. We do get thrown or fall off occasionally no matter how long we've been riding. The Icelandic riders have lovely riding breeches. I would like a pair, but it's not easy to combine those with leather chaps. I like to wear those for good contact with the horse.

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muddybob wrote on Fri Jul 25, 2008 1:42 pm:

My friend down the road has five Icelandic horses. I adore them. I have an American breed called Tennessee Walker. They have unique gaits also. In the states we refer to these classes of amblers as gaited horses. Do they call them that over there or are there still too few of them? They are becoming ever so popular here. Just to add that Europeans often have the misconception that the TW horse's gait is artificial and cruel methods are used to achieve the gait. Not true. Just in some of the show horses with bad trainers does that occur. Mine are natural like the wonderful Icelandic.
muddy

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Droopy wrote on Tue Aug 12, 2008 8:29 pm:

I've always admired the TW horse, but have never seen one in real life. I hope they spread out rapidly so I can get to enjoy them too.

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