Icelandic horse ride - part 1

Wow, WOW! I tolted in Iceland. Why would you ever trot when you can tolt?

The Icelandic horse is known for the gait, or movement, of tolting that allows them to cover long distances quite fast and is super smooth and comfortable for the rider. Most horses walk, trot, canter and gallop. The Icelandic can do all those plus the tolt and the flying pace. It is a genetic trait along with their small size and friendly nature. 

After two days in Reykjavik with the other 6 Aussie riders, recovering from our 40plus hours of traveling to the far side of the world, we were collected in a bus with 5 other riders and driven 4 hours to the north of the country.

While in Reykjavik, we soaked in hot thermal pools and sat in a steam room with the locals at Laugardalslaug, ate some Icelandic soup, toured the Botantic Gardens. There are only 490 plants native to Iceland. 

And wandered the city centre with its quirky architecture and murals.

Then it was out into the bare, bleak, green landscape. 

We rode with Hestasport, staying in very comfy cottages. We began and ended most days with a relaxing soak in the thermal pool. Bliss.

On our first day we met the herd and learned how to tolt.

The horses are small, 12 to 14 hands high, but strong and so friendly.

On the second day we rode along the valley past horse farms. About 4100 people and 7200 horses live in Skagafjordur which means 'Valley of the horses'. 

The herd followed us, driven by the herd-master and his assistant. 

We ate lunch in a paddock surrounded by the herd. Then we were allocated a different horse to ride in the afternoon.

Then we were driven back to the cottages where an excellent meal was served. This became the pattern for the next few days.

Day 3 started with rain and wind which, lucky for us, eased as we rode for over 30 kms up into the highlands to stay overnight in a mountain hut. 

The weather cleared into a beautiful day, riding through gorges and over barren-looking moors, dotted by a few sheep. 

The mountain hut, used for the annual sheep round-up and our overnight accommodation. We slept in bunks but we did have a hot shower and a lot of singing, drinking and laughing after dinner.

We rolled some hay into the small paddock for the horse's dinner.

Very relaxed horses in the morning.

After breakfast we continued over the high landscape reminiscent of Scottish moors. We changed horses at lunch each day. The horses were chosen for us, matching our riding style and ability to the horse.

The horses stayed in a paddock in a valley near a sheep sorting yard and we were driven back to the cottages and the thermal pool for the night.

Stay tuned for part 2 of the riding story.