Lögberg-Heimskringla - 17.03.1995, Side 4

4 • Lögberg-Heimskringla • Föstudagur 17. mars 1995
MAGNAFAXI FARM
An unforgettable week touring
lceland on horseback
Susan or Michael Hodgson
MAGNAFAXI FARM
905-936-2228, Fax 905-936-6333
or the ultimate intro-
/ duction to the Ice-
“IWF" landic horse: go to the
' JW source. Take it from
U one of a dozen tölt
fanatics who spent an unfo'rgettable
week of the summer of ‘94 touring
Iceland on horseback.
This tiny country set alone in the
north Atlantic just shy of the Arctic
circle is known as the land of “Fire
and Ice” for its vast glaciers and active
volcanoes. Whatás less well known is
that it is the land of horses with by far
the greatest proportion of horses to
people anywhere in the world.
Stepping off the plane, you have - sta-
tistically - a blank chaiice of encoun-
tering a horse rather than an
Icelander, though these odds do not
apply at the customs counter.
Furthermore, that horse, when you do
meet him will certainly be an
Icelandic horse. There are no other
breeds, nor has there been any for a
thousand years. The lOth century set-
tlers of Iceland made quick use of one
of the few natural advantages their
harsh island provided: isolation. They
forbade the further importation of ani-
mal stock so as not to introduce any
more than makes up for it. They can
have up to five distinct gaits. Aside
from walk, trot and canter, they tölt
and pace like the wind. The tölt is a
four beat running walk that feels as if
your mount has sprouted wheels; the
(flying) pace is a two beat gait that
feels as if he’s gone on to swallow a
turbocharger. They are both incredi-
bly smooth — the latter, with a maxi-
mum speed of 50 km/hr, is exhilarat-
ing.
To see the best of these horses
demonstrate their paces there are
always plenty of horse shows to visit
in an Icelandic summer. 1994 hap-
pened to be one in four years in
which the grand national champi-
onship the Landsmót was held.
Classes for equitation, breeding and
paces mixed with flat out races to pro-
vide for interesting and exciting days.
There was drinking, dancing and
shopping for handicrafts and horses
to occupy the other hours, and most
participants stayed on throughout the
entire week of the event picketing
their horses outside their tents. It’s
hard to rival Landsmót for its enthusi-
asm, endurance and sheer concentra-
Cont’d. page 6
ravaging diseases to their herds. Even
now, as a visiting equestrian, you will
be required to boil or bleach whatever
riding equipment you wish to bring
along. Since such extreme standards
for disinfecting are rather hard on
appaloosas and Arabs for instance,
none have ever been introduced.
For North Americans who are the
most spoiled for choice in their
mounts, this might seem unappealing,
furthermore, to return to that sup-
posed encounter of the deplaning vis-
itor with an Icelandic horse, the first
thing to strike that person is how
small that horse is .. in fact one could
almost call it a — STOP! Do not call
an Icelandic horse a pony. This is in
very poor taste and is politically
incorrect. It also isn’t fair. In bone
mass and heart and girth size, they
are true horses. In the short run, they
have won races against thorough-
breds, and, in the long run, they are
second to none in endurance. It is
only ,in the length of their legs that
they come up a bit short, and what
they do with those sturdy little limbs
tion of horse flesh. Mares, foals and
stallions in nearly every colour of the
spectrum were there mingling and
stretching out on their sides for a
snooze between classes. Outside of
their fiercely competitive streak in the
ring, they maintained a cool indiffer-
ence to the bolsterous proceedings
and were readily approachable - often
not bothering to get up as strangers
scratched between their ears. As for
humans, Landsmót is where to find
your tour leader and, in the normal
course of events, your new horse’s
exporter. The sale of horses abroad
has become an increasingly signifi-
cant part of Iceland’s economy.
Europeans, Scandinavians and more
and more North Americans come to
the show not just to look but to buy.
It is hard not to get caught up in the
excitement, so, unless you know what
you are doing, bring only enough
traveller’s cheques to buy beer and
hotdogs!
Even with such a show as Lands-
mót, watching horses in Iceland sadly
does not compare with riding horses
in Iceland - few experiences could!
T\ipper & Adams
BARRISTERS & SOLICITORS
ALAN A. ADAMS, Q.C. ROLAND E. RIVALIN
JOHN A. DAVIDSON DONALD C. BROCK
HUGH A. ADAMS JAMES E. FIELDER
DOUGLAS A. BEDFORD LARRY J. BIRD
DONALD L. BJORNSON LAWRENCE B. CHERRITT
DAVID G. MEIGHEN BRAD W. EVERS
CATHERYN D. LOVEGROVE CHRISTOPHER A. BROCK
IAN D. MAHON MARLA D. MURPHY
TANYS-J. KRIENKE
J. STEWART TUPPER, K.C. (1882-1915)
SIR CHARLES TUPPER, BT„ Q.C. (1908-1960
ALEXANDER ADAMS, Q.C. (1916-1961)
GIMLI OFFICE - VIKING PHARMACY BUILDING
TELEPHONE (204) 642-8192 OR TOLL FREE 1-949-0360
DONALD L. BJORNSON ATTENDS
AT THE GIMLI OFFICE FIRST AND THIRD FRIDAY
4TH FLOOR
200 PORTAGE AVENUE
SW PORTAGE & MAIN
WINNIPEG,
CANADA R3C3X2
TELEPHONE
(204) 942-0161
FAX (204) 943-2385
lceland Toars
A Jules Verne Adventure,
•riding in the shadow
of the mysterious
& mystical
Snæfellsjökull on
the West Coast?
---- OR ----
Golfing in the
dormant volcano on
Vestmannæyjar, then the
Arctic Open in Akureyri at
midnight, June 23?
From June 16 to 25
^&a/ie ^&entefr
An Intermediate
Care Facility
PHONE
452-4044
Herman O. Thorvaldson
President
495 Stradbrook Avenue
PHONE
475-8484
OVER THREE DECADES OF CARING FOR THE ELDERLY1'