Lögberg-Heimskringla - 02.10.1992, Blaðsíða 2

2 • Lögberg-Heimskringla • Föstudagur 2. október 1992
Ceíebration at the Saga Ranch
Labour Day saw a truck with 27
horses, newly imported from Iceland,
roll through the gates at the Icelandic
Horse Farm in Lavington, B.C., just
east of Vemon.
Largest breeder of Icelandic horses
in Canada, Robyn Hood, just imported
her fourth shipment of 43 horses from
Iceland, which she shared with her sis-
ter, Susan Hodgson of Palgrave,
Ontario. The horses were flown into
Toronto in late-August and spent a
week in quarantine at Hodgson’s farm.
Robyn Hood and her husband Phil
Pretty are the largest breeders of
Icelandic horses in Canada. Almost
120 horses call the Icelandic Horse
Farm their home and they sell between
30 and 40 horses each year. The main
market is the rider who wants a com-
fortable and sensible horse. Icelandic
horses are five gaited with an excep-
tionally smooth middle gait, called a
toelt, that allows the rider to enjoy vir-
tually motionless ride. The majority of
the imported horses are well trained
geldings, most suitable for the pleasure
horse market. They have been drawing
buyers from all over Canada and the
US.
The Icelandic horse was once again
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a popular attraction at thc IPE and if
you missed the demonstration come to
the Open House at the Icelandic
Horse Farm on October 10, 1992, 1-4
PM.
For more information call Robyn or
Christine at 545-2336.
MESSUBOÐ
Fyrsta Lúterska
Kirkja
Pastor Ingthor I. Isfeld
1030 a.m. The Service followed by
Sunday School & Coffee hour.
First Lutheran Church
580 Victor St., Winnipeg, MB
R3G 1R2 Ph. 772-7444
1992.
On Thanksgiving Day, 1978,
Elisabeth Haug, a pioneer of the
Icelandic Horse in Europe, took a deep
breath and loaded thirty-eight carefully
selected horses onto a chartered DC-8
at the Copenhagen International
Airport. She headed for Califomia with
the determination to spread the Viking
horse on a new continent, knowing
that the horse which had captured the
European horse community had some-
thing important to offer to the
American scene as well.
The Icelandic Horse is the only
horse known to be ridden in all the fíve
basic gaits. In addition to walk, trot,
and canter, he is also able to go toelt
and flying pace.
Toelt is a gait so smooth that a rider
can carry a mug full of becr at full
speed without spilling a drop. (Loss
due to other causes is, of course, a dif-
ferent matter).
In flying pace, the flagship “Gait of
the Gods,” speeds frequently exceed
thirty miles an hour during competi-
tions.
Much like pilgrims who sought
refuge in North America, peaceful
Vikings left Scandinavia in their open
Viking boats and headed for Iceland in
search of freedom and opportunity.
Their horse had to adapt to the rugged
terrain and harsh climate of this new
home. In the winter, horses often had
to scrape away the snow to reach bits
of grass. The horse served as an impor-
tant source of fresh meat, and only
select ones survived to reproduce.
It is no wonder that today’s Ice-
landic is very sure-footed and endur-
ing, outpulling most other breeds by a
factor of 1.4 per pound of body weight.
In the middle ages, Alþing, the first
democratically elected government
since ancient Greece, banned the
importation of livestock into the coun-
try to prevent the spread of the “Black
Death.” This ban was never lifted and
the horse has been purebred ever
since.
The stock at the Viking Saga Ranch
now stands at 125. While many of the
old-timers have found new homes
since 1978, the results of American
breeding efforts have been impressive.
Far from being the sole domain of the
rough and rugged Vikings, the
Icelandic Horse has rapidly penetrated
the hearts of such diverse groups as
senior citizens, endurance riders, the
disabled, and many others.
The public is invited to an Open
House and reception at the Viking
Saga Ranch celebrating the anniver-
sary. The festivities will take place on
Sunday, November 22nd. at 2 pm. In-
terested persons will have the opportu-
nity to meet with Icelandic Horse
owners and see the horse in action.
Those who are unable to attend
may be interested in the ranch’s
newsletter, The Viking Report, which
relates the story of the Icelandic Horse
and his friends in the New and the Old
Worlds. Additional information may
be obtained at (805) 688-3869.
The Viking Saga Ranch, the largest
breeder of Icelandic Horses in the
United States, will celebrate its four-
teenth anniversary on November 23,
Horse Farm gets new blood
• Eurobargain and Super Bar
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