Iceland review - 2014, Page 61

ICELAND REVIEW 59
Held since 1950, originally at Þingvellir
national Park, landsmót, the national Horse
Competition, has developed into the largest
outdoor sporting event in iceland, celebrated every two
years at rotating locations. not only a week-long horse
competition, landsmót has turned into a popular coun-
try festival for the whole family, with a large campground
on site, a marketplace and a variety of entertainment. at
Hella in 2008, the audience reached a record of 14,000
people; while this year, more foreign visitors attended
landsmót than ever before: 4,000 out of 10,000 attend-
ees. around 800 horses and 400 riders were registered.
“The atmosphere was incredibly good, not least
because of how exceptional the horses were. That is what
stood out; the horses were peaking, and also how well
the competition went,” comments landsmót Pr person
Hilda Karen Garðarsdóttir. “The weather was a bother,
of course. Conditions were windy, rainy and muddy, and
people had to pack up their tents and campers. But both
guests and participants were content and understanding.
We live in this country where anything can happen. ” at
one point organizers had to postpone the competi-
tion and relocate it indoors.
The main event of landsmót is the
Gæðingakeppni—gæðingur being the description
of a perfect riding horse—a competition specially
designed to demonstrate the qualities of the icelandic
horse, where riders of all ages show off their horses’
skills in the five gaits: tölt, trot, walk, gallop and
pace. While rating performances, traits like spirit
and character are taken into account as well, the
focus lies on the horse, rather than the rider. The tölt
competition is always the most anticipated, as tölt is
the most highly valued gait of the icelandic horse. a
demonstration and rating of breeding horses is run
alongside the Gæðingakeppni.
Highlights this year included a new icelandic
and world record in 250-meter pace (21.76 sec-
onds) by Bjarni Bjarnason and his mare Hera from
Þóroddsstaðir, while Teitur Árnason on Tumi from
Borgarhóll set a new icelandic record in 150-meter
pace (13.77 seconds). Four-year stallion Konsert from