Atlantica - 01.09.2002, Blaðsíða 37

Every summer, tourists comb Iceland’s countryside by bus, car,
bike, and foot to ogle waterfalls, volcanic deserts, glaciers and
green mountains. And while many leave with the midnight sun, a
tenacious bunch stick around — or are lucky to be around — for
early fall’s premier event: réttir, the annual sheep and horse round-
up.
The Icelandic sheep and horses that graze the country’s lush sum-
mer highlands aren’t, after all, just a photo op. Sheep farming is
still a major domestic and export industry, and the Icelandic horse
is in higher demand than ever before.
SOMEBODY’S GOT TO BRING THEM IN FOR THE WINTER
Though the round-up has been a part of Iceland’s autumn since the
island’s settlement, it wasn’t until urbanisation was in full swing in
the 1980s that tourists began to take an interest in this agricultural
event. Today, visitors can witness this rural tradition in one of two
ways. Experienced equestrians can book week-long tours and actu-
ally help herd the sheep or horses. The less-experienced can take
a day trip to watch (from a respectful distance, both for the farm-
ers’ sake and for self-preservation) the end of the réttir, when the
livestock are corralled together and sorted by farm.
Round-ups are huge celebrations. Communities gather to watch as
thousands of sheep and horses thunder down the mountains,
Following the Fall Round-Up
KRISTA MAHR TAKES A LOOK AT THE APPEAL OF JOINING IN ICELAND’S TRADITIONAL SHEEP AND HORSE ROUND-UPS.
guided along by farmers on horseback. When livestock and
humans alike are back home, food, drink, and song naturally fol-
low.
ROUND-UP 101
Lambs are born in early spring and kept on their farms until late
June or July, when they are set free to roam the Highlands until
fall. The sheep’s penchant for wandering necessitates a three-
round round-up, so to speak. In the first round that tourists can
attend, farmers on horseback gather the majority of their sheep
with the aid of the Icelandic sheepdog. By the last cycle, horses,
dogs and amateurs are left behind, and only experienced moun-
tain men head out with jeeps and wagon to scout stragglers.
The horse round-up is a similar process that occurs in late
September or early October. While sheep round-ups of various
size take place all over the country, there are only three major
horse round-ups in Iceland today: Vídidalstunguréttir,
Laufskálaréttir and Skrapatunguréttir. The culmination of both
takes place when sheep and horses are herded into the rétt, or
corral, to be identified and separated according to farm. An
intricate ear-marking system is used to identify sheep and foals,
though many farmers have the ability to recognise their live-
stock by sight.
PHOTOS BY PÁLL STEFÁNSSON
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