Lögberg-Heimskringla - 13.07.1990, Page 7

Lögbetg - Heimskringla • Föstudagur 13. júlí 1990 • 7
Horses bring Nordic
heritage to Canada
by Barbara Shewchuk
A former Icelander has brought some
of his boyhood heritage to his rural home
south of St Norbert.
Shaggy, surefooted Icelandic horses
are enjoying their new home on Kelbum
Road, where Winnipeg businessman
Práinn Kristjánsson is keeping the three
horses he owns and several others. The
horses will be featured at the Icelandic
Festival in Gimli, August 6 and 7.
Fourteen horses in all were imported
from Iceland by a syndicate of Manitobans
of Icelandic origin. One is Brett Amason,
whose late father,“always wanted to bring
these horses to Manitoba,” Mr.
Kristjánsson explained, so Brett decided
to make it happen. The horses were
brought late lastyear.práinn Kristjánsson,
who came to Canada in 1973, spent sum-
mers on a farm with Icelandic horses. His
father was a prominent horse breeder and
trainer.
Icelandic horses originated in Great
Britain and continental Europe, Mr.
Kristjánsson said. “They have not been
intermixed with any other breed for hun-
dreds of years.” They are the only breed
allowed on the tiny island nation, and once
an Icelandic horse has left the country, it
can never retum. he said. This ensures no
interbreeding or spread of disease will
occur.
Icelandic horses are considered among
the most intelligent of horses, he added.
The horses are known for their delicate
gait, called the “tölt” in Icelandic. It is “so
smooth you can sit on the horse at full
speed holding a glass of champagne and
not spill any,” Mr. Kristjánsson said. The
horses, when tölting, have only one foot on
the ground at a time. They stand about 13
hands high, a hand-and-a-half less than
typical North American horses.
“Horseback riding in Iceland is a na-
tional sport,” he said. At one time it was the
only way to get around the ragged island.
In recent years, the Icelandic horse has
become so popular in Europe, the supply
can’t keep up with the demand. Prices
range from $1,000 to $80,000, depending
on the quality of the horse.
Mr. Kristjánsson won’t be breeding
Icelandic horses: his are all geldings. But
three foals have already been bom in
Manitoba to some of the 14 syndicate-
owned horses. Mr. Kristjánsson now has
the pleasure of watching his children ride
and care for Icelandic horses, just as he did
during summer holidays in Iceland.
Courtesy ofThe Scratching River Post
Two mothers and two sons - Helga Sigurdson and son Johann with colt pruma
and Elding. pruma is the first colt born in Canada of an lcelandic “father" and a
Canadian “mother” of the group of lcelandic horses imported from lceland in
1989.
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