Iceland review - 2014, Qupperneq 33

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oF nature
For the first time this past summer, farmer Halldór
olgeirsson from Bjarnastaðir in Öxarfjörður,
northeast iceland, offered a special five-to-eight-
day arctic circle horseback riding and sightsee-
ing tour for experienced riders on behalf of tour operator
Íshestar. twelve riders and more than 40 horses were
thrilled to test the route leading through diverse landscapes,
remote locations and past breathtaking natural wonders.
Fast Forward
“Helena, how is your horse?” emmely grasmeyer from
germany asks, as we take a break in the sun on a blueberry
field. “my horse is like this,” Helena Bränneby from Sweden
sighs and makes a sweeping gesture, all smiles. then her
expression darkens. “How can i return to my own horses
now?” as a prize for winning a boot-throwing competition
the previous day, emmely got to ride Halldór’s best horse, a
brownish-black Landsmót – national Horse Festival winner
in flying pace. on its back, emmely flew rather than rode
the last stretch, as she later describes it. Helena’s big black
horse, worth tens of millions of iSK, is also one of Halldór’s
best; a particularly fast tölter. one minute, i was riding right
next to Helena, then the next minute, she had disappeared
into the distance. “only the best for my girls,” says Halldór.
“three of them are leaving us after today, so i wanted to
treat them.” it’s clear that he and the eight women, guide
maría tinna Árnadóttir, nicknamed maya, included, have
grown fond of each other, in spite of the language barrier—
Halldór doesn’t speak any foreign languages. “We always try
to do something fun at each stop,” he explains of the boot-
throwing competition.
one of our stops includes Hafursstaðir, the farm where
Halldór grew up, his mother serving bread, cinnamon rolls
and waffles in the garden. now abandoned, Hafursstaðir
has been maintained in its original state, used by the fam-
ily as a summer house. after the coffee
break, we bask in the sun. “if i’d die now,
i’d die happy,” Susanne Reh-Hofmaier
from germany, Susi for short, muses,
sitting in the grass against the white
concrete wall, sheltered from the chilly
wind, sunshine in her face. She has a
special affection for galloping, she tells
me, which is why she picked the gray
horse she’ll ride next. “it’s rare to find a
tour organizer who provides such qual-
ity horses,” states nina Zörkendörfer,
whose dark bay horse is a natural at fly-
ing pace. She and Susi are friends back in
germany and the only ones in the group
who knew each other beforehand. they
have been on many riding tours. “Here,
we’re all at a similar level, so we can ride
fast,” excites nina. “it’s also interesting
with the loose horses.”
wild horses
For most legs of the journey, a herd of
approximately 40 horses has been run-
ning along with the party of 12 or so rid-
ers (their number varies between days)
with four or more helpers making sure
that no horse breaks away from the herd
or is left behind. chasing after horses or
riding in front of them is a thrill, espe-
cially as the herd comes to realize that
we’re on the way back home and the rid-
ers in front have to speed up so that they
won’t be overtaken. We happen upon a
stray horse, which, in confusion, starts
Eygló Svala Arnarsdóttir joins 12 riders
and 40 plus horses on a debut Arctic Circle
horseback riding tour in Öxarfjörður, Northeast Iceland.
By eygló SvAlA ARnARSdóttiR.
PHOTOS By Páll StefánSSon.