Competitions on horses on ice and in snow

Competitions on ice and in snow are fantastic winter sports.

Icelanders are extremely proud of the Icelandic horse, the only horse breed in Iceland. The breed has been pure bread for over 1000 years. One of the main reason people were able to in habitat the island was the fact that horses were brought to the island. For many centuries the only mean of transport was on horseback and the horse was used as a working horse for a long time.

Iceland is an island of rough terrain and is not easily covered on a horse. Through out the centuries the horse has been moulded by the nature to survive and developed great skills that enable it to move easily over all kind of terrain. Riding on ice and in snow is something that had been done for hundred of years in Iceland.

The horse has gone from being a must-to-have working horse to a wonderful sport horse.

One of the most popular winter sports in Icelandic horsemanship is riding on ice or snow.

During winter all horses that are ridden must be shod on what is referred to as winter shoes. These are identical to the shoes that have been used through out the centuries. With out them riding would simply be out of the question.

The main reason Icelandic horses can do so well on ice or snow is because of its smooth gaits, especially to tölt.

In Iceland there are about 300.000 people and 70.000 horses. This surly states how Icelanders feel about their horse breed. There are very strict rules and laws in Iceland regarding how horses are treated and kept. The same goes for all the various horse sports. The Icelandic horse is extremely healthy, sure-footed, strong and a long lasting riding horse. That is the way we want to keep it.

Competitions on ice and in snow are fantastic winter sports which we hope will grow in popularity in the near by future.

The show.

 The length of our shows vary in time. It can be just 5-10 minutes like a thrilling entertainment prior to a ice hockey game or another ice show or any event and up to a full 70-80 minute long show. In our shows we do drill team exercises, put on short myths, we do the famous beer tolt, flying-pace, short tolt competition, vaulting on a horse on the ice, ride with fire on the legs of the horses, dressage exercises, gait demos, race hockey players ........................

The winter sport.

 Riding and or competing on Icelandic horses on ice or in snow is a fantastic winter sport - a sport for the whole family. There are two kinds of competitions we compete in; the ice tolt and the flying-pace. The ice tolt competition can be both outdoors and indoors. The flying-pace is only done out doors except if the arena is extremely big. A flying-pace competition needs at least a 150 meter long track. The tracks for both competitions can be ice or hard snow. In the ice-tolt the gait is evaluated, the leg action, the form of the horse as well as the speed. In the flying-pace its all about the speed, and of course the gait needs to be pace. Two or three horses compete at once! It is thrilling to watch. The competition is about getting the best time. Both competitions are extremely exciting and great to watch.

Please contact us for more information. We welcome every opportunity to promote both our shows and the great winter port.

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