Reykjavík Grapevine - 20.10.2017, Qupperneq 48

You’re never too old to yell “HORS-
ES!” when you spot them from a car
in the countryside. For me, it's one
thing to admire Icelandic horses
from afar. Riding them, however,
is a whole different
story. I’ve never been
on a horse before, nor
have I had a big inter-
est in doing so, but
when you’re in Iceland
it’s one of those things
you have to experi-
ence. Icelandic horses
are like the Cadillac
of stallions—they’re
strong, they have five
different gaits (two
of which are found in
no other horse), and
they look super ador-
able in their winter coat. Don’t you
want to brag to your friends that
you got to ride an exclusive horse?
Endless options
We make our way to the riding
range, Eldhestar (meaning “Vol-
cano Horses”), which is located just
outside Hveragerði, a 40 minute
drive from Reykjavík. Horseback
riding is the perfect activity when
you want to get away from the city
but don’t want to spend ages in a
car, and the tour itself is only two
hours long. Eldhestar
also offers a wide se-
lection of tours that
include riding and
another activity, such
as rafting, glacier
walking, or visiting a
hot spring. Whatever
activity you’re look-
ing for, they’ve got it.
Eldhestar also
has as a cosy ho-
tel, with colourful
decor reminiscent
of Icelandic nature
and inspired by Ice-
landic horses. If you’d like to try
multiple tours, you don’t have
to worry about driving back and
forth; you can just stay overnight.
Unfamiliar territory
For your own safety, you don’t get to
pick which horse you ride. Depend-
ing on your level of experience, a
trained guide will choose the ap-
propriate horse for you. Since I’m a
rookie I requested the slowest one.
I was paired with Hegri, a beautiful
cream-coloured horse that never
goes faster than you want him too.
Our tour guide, Sarah Wiesner,
informed me that he’s very well
behaved and never gets into any
trouble—perfect for a new rider.
The trip begins with a short tuto-
rial on the basics of horseback rid-
ing. You’re shown how to mount,
how to arrange your feet in the stir-
rups, how to signal for the horse to
stop and go, and how to dismount.
It’s a little scary at first, especially
if you don’t have the best balance,
but you’re given a few minutes to
adjust to your horse and get the feel
of being on top of a huge animal.
Horseplay
Once everyone is ready to go, the trip
begins. Despite my initial reserva-
tions it was a relaxing and thera-
peutic experience passing through
stunning volcanic hills and valleys
on horseback. The backdrop of na-
ture definitely makes the ride more
enjoyable, and the scenery alone
makes you forget your fear of los-
ing balance and falling on your face.
Shortly after the tour begins,
there’s a river crossing. This is
probably the scariest part of the
tour because the last thing you
want is to fall into a stream! How-
ever, once you cross, you kind of
feel like a 9th century Viking. We
trotted along at a steady but mod-
erate pace. Occasionally the guide,
Sarah, would encourage us to pick
up speed, which kept it exciting.
Since I’m completely new to
horseback riding, the position of my
foot and angle of my back were off at
times, which resulted in a very sore
body, so make sure you listen to your
guide. The ride can be bumpy—even
a little agonizing if you aren’t use
to riding. Two hours is more than
enough time to become acquainted
with your horse, and when you ar-
rive back at the stable, you’ll already
be looking forward to another ride.
48 The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 19 — 2017
The Countryside Cavalry
Horseback riding through lava fields
Words: Jenna Mohammed Photos: Art Bicnick
Distance from
Reykjavík:
40 km
Trip provided by:
eldhestar.is
How to get there:
Drive Route One South
“The scenery
alone makes
you forget
your fear of
losing bal-
ance and
falling on
your face.”
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