The National Icelandic Horse Competition 2018
Horse riding in Iceland is a popular sport, and although it can be enjoyed all year round, the summer is definitely the best time to ride. The summer is also when one of the country’s biggest equestrian events is held, Landsmót or The National Icelandic Horse Competition, a bi-annual festival showcasing the country’s best horses and riders.
The festival had a little headstart as smaller events and competitions were held this past week at Víðidalur valley in the Árbær suburbs of Reykjavík city. The area is only a short bus ride away and with a Reykjavík City Card, you'll ride the bus for free!
Víðidalur valley has transformed into a whole village featuring a campsite, a children’s playground, and markets which sell everything from horse riding equipment to the Icelandic ‘lopapeysa’ sweater. There is also a food hall where you can try a wide variety of Icelandic delicacies and a stage for musical events performed by local artists.
Aside from the competitions themselves, the event is a family-friendly country festival where people can get to know both the Icelandic horse and the Icelandic culture.
- Find Horse Riding Tours here
Cover photo credit: Landsmót Hestamanna
History
The Icelandic horse was first brought to the country by the Viking settlers around the year 900. Shortly after that, the Icelandic parliament, Alþingi, passed laws which prohibited the importation of other horse breeds, and so for over a thousand years, the Icelandic horse has been kept in complete isolation on this island. In fact, the rules are so strict that if an Icelandic horse is taken abroad, it can never return.
There is no denying that the Icelandic horse has been an intricate part of Icelandic culture and community for centuries. It was the nation’s best and surest way of transportation, even after the arrival of the automobile in 1913.
However, once the automobile became more popular, the streets of Iceland became unsafe for riders, and so to create a safe space, as well as a platform for equestrians to get together, a few rider’s clubs were formed throughout the country.
The first National Icelandic Horse Competition, or Landsmót, was a nation-wide gathering of these rider’s clubs where they’d show off their best stallions and breeding mares and compete for a ‘best in show’ price called Sleipnisbikarinn, or 'Sleipnir's Cup', named after Odin’s 8-legged horse.
The event was held in 1950 at the country’s most sacred place, Þingvellir National Park, the same place where Alþingi established the horse importation laws roughly a thousand years before.
The competition has since grown into a week-long festival with musical events and tournaments for children.
- Þingvellir is one part of the Golden Circle route, find tours here.
Today
Photo credit: Landsmót Hestamanna
The main event of Landsmót is the All Icelandic Horse Riding Competition, also known as “Gæðingakeppni”. Here, riders of all ages compete with their horses in events designed to show all five gaits of the Icelandic horse; the tölt, trot, walk, gallop, and flying pace.
Yes, FIVE gaits because unlike other horse breeds, the Icelandic horse also has ‘tölt’ and ‘skeið’ or ‘flying pace’. The latter is a rhythmic gallop with a moment of suspension between footfalls, as each side of the horse’s feet moves simultaneously.
The tölt, however, is perhaps the favourite gait of riders of the Icelandic horse. This four-beat lateral ambling gait merges both speed and comfort, and the Tölt Competition is usually considered to be the highlight of the Landsmót.
What sets this competition aside from other horse sporting games is that the focus is not on the rider but the horse itself. The competition form is more free and open, and less emphasis is on the rider’s precise riding, rhythm and speed and more on the horse’s spirit, power and extension in the gaits.
The competitions are, therefore, an excellent opportunity to show off a horse’s lineage, and alongside the matches, there are judged exhibition of breeding horses where the best stallions and mares are shown and rated.
So if you are interested in Icelandic horses, why not head to the Árbær suburb of Reykjavík and see the best horses this country has to offer? You can find tickets here.
기타 흥미로운 블로그
요쿨살론부터 비크까지, 꽃보다 청춘 5화
드디어 하늘씨과 쓰리스톤즈가 합류했는데요! 설원을 달리는 모습에 저도 아이슬란드가 엄청 그리워졌답니다. 빙하와 빛나는 요쿨살론 첫번째로 향한 요쿨살론(Jokulsarlon)은 아이슬란드의 대표적인 명소 중 하나랍니다. 영어로 Glacier lagoon 이라고도 하는데요. 방송에 나온 것처럼 눈 앞에 보이는 빙하는 빙하수가 흘러서 녹았다 얼었다를더 보기스코가포스 폭포부터 오로라까지, 꽃보다청춘 4화를 따라서
여행 5일째, 포스톤즈가 처음으로 향한 곳은 아이슬란드 남부에 있는 스코가포스 폭포(skogasfoss)입니다. 아이슬란드 남부의 대표적인 폭포 중 하나에요. 방송에서는 들르지 않았지만 스코가포스 거의 바로 옆에 위치한 셀리야란드스포스(seljalandsfoss) 폭포와 함께 같이 들르곤 한답니다. 스코가포스 폭포는 폭포의 물줄기 끝까지 올라갈 수 있단더 보기꽃청춘을 따라서
요즘 인기리에 방영되고 있는 꽃보다 청춘 아이슬란드편! 저도 매주 빼놓지 않고 시청하고 있습니다. 많은 분들께서 포스톤즈의 발랄한 매력과 아이슬란드의 놀라운 경치에 빠져드셨을 것 같습니다! 이번에는 꽃보다 청춘을 따라서 아이슬란드를 한번 가보도록 해요! 사실 아이슬란드가 한국에서 그렇게 가기 쉬운 나라는 아닙니다. 거리도 멀고 항공권도 비싸고! 우더 보기
아이슬란드 최대의 여행 마켓플레이스를 전화에 다운로드하여 전체 여행을 한 곳에서 관리하세요
전화 카메라로 이 QR 코드를 스캔하고 표시되는 링크를 누르면 아이슬란드 최대의 여행 마켓플레이스를 주머니에 넣을 수 있답니다. 다운로드 링크가 포함된 SMS 또는 이메일을 받으려면 전화번호 또는 이메일 주소를 추가하세요.