Atlantica - 01.01.2006, Page 60

58 AT L A N T I CA
Apassionata,” and tours with the show.
“I wrote a little musical, basically, for the
show, based on Snorra Edda,” says Halla. “That
is kind of the bible of the religion [that existed]
before Christianity in Iceland… Baldur was the
pure, good god, and when he got killed, it was
the beginning of the end of the world, called
Ragnarök.”
The riders in Apassionata are not joking
around. They ride backwards, standing up, or
dragging alongside the horse while it circles the
ring at full speed. After several international acts
of acrobatics, trick rope throwing and comedic
interludes involving a miniature pony, the small
arena in Saarbruecken was dimmed. Mist flowed
out over the sand floor of the oval ring where the
horses performed, and a Viking ship floated out
into the middle of it. The six horses followed,
led by Árnason and his five young riders. The
horses performed in formation to Halla’s singing.
A couple of them even tölted – the famous fifth
gait unique to Icelandic horses – with sparklers
strapped on to their ankles.
Árnason looks at the seven months he will
spend performing in Apassionata as an opportuni-
ty to showcase all that his favorite horse can do. If
all goes according to plan, the show will generate
equestrian tourism to Iceland as well as business
for horse trainers who take people out riding on
farms like the one Árnason runs near Cologne.
After the show is over, the Icelandic team
members, in their historically appropriate tunics,
line up at the perimeter of the ring alongside
the other teams from around the world. The
audience members gingerly approach the horses
and raise up their hands to give them a pet. The
Icelandic horses, both conveniently short and
generally laid back, are a favorite.
Naturally, a horse-human show isn’t always so
smooth. Sometimes the animal stars are just not
in the mood.
“The horses – if they are tired, if they are in a
bad mood – do what they want, basically,” says
Halla. “You always have to have a little free space.
There’s always a little bit of improvisation in the
show.”
Halla has lived in Germany for 11 years and
doesn’t plan to move back to Iceland. Like many
Icelanders, she grew up working with Iceland’s
horses.
“Of course, not like in the show,” Halla explains.
“We were just chasing sheep.” a
ICELANDa

Apassionata will be touring throughout Germany,
including stops in Mannheim, Munich, Berlin, Frankfurt,
and Stuttgart, through May 2006.
050-53 Atl 106 Suburbs+Ice.indd 58 16.12.2005 13:00:22