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Horseback Riding
Horseback Riding on Lava Fields--Mary Beth, Kelly, Gayle and Angela Sunday, May 28, 2006
On Sunday we get up around 10:30 and put on the warmest clothes we can find. We head to Segafredo one of the many coffee shops in downtown Reykjavik to order breakfast and some much needed java. The breakfast sandwiches are just variations of the same food you would eat all day long. None of the standard American ingredients of eggs, bacon, etc….and many of the orders come with a small side salad. Interesting but good.
After breakfast, we hit an internet café and have a grand time searching the keyboard for the @ symbol. We highly recommend that you locate this crucial keystroke before you plop down your money and start paying by the minute!
Once we checked our email we headed back to the guesthouse to prepare for our horseback riding adventure. Before our trip, we signed up with Ishestar Riding Centre located in Hestamiðstöð ´Ishesta about 20 minutes outside of Reykjavik. Included in our package was transportation from the guesthouse to the riding center. Very convenient.
We arrived at Ishestar and were immediately asked to sign liability waivers - we felt right at home. With the legal matters out of
Gayle & Seabiscuit
Gayle atop Seabiscuit before he takes her on the ride of her life! the way, we tried on English style helmets and made our way outside to be assigned to the appropriate horse. The horses were already saddled and waiting in a corral. The riding guide would ask a few people to step forward and state their riding ability, eyeball their weight and size, and then bring a suitable horse forward.
Angela, Kelly and Mary Beth honestly told the guide they had little to no experience on horses. Gayle watched the other three get assigned to mangy half-dead horses and decided she would be better served to overstate her experience. Gayle was taken to a better looking horse that actually had a name and was saddled in the same manner as the guide horses - an uncomfortable looking strap was belted under its tail. The guide joking referred to the horse as “a little crazy.” This didn’t seem like a big deal at the time since Icelandic horses are small, shaggy and give the impression of being rather harmless.
A note on Icelandic horses:
The Icelandic horse has many characteristics unique unto itself. Perhaps the most noticeable would be its intermediate size and the mane of shaggy hair. The five
Angela & Slow-Poke
This is before we knew Angela's horse preferred and amble along! gaits of the horse are also one of the special features that sets it apart form all other horses. These gaits are the fetgangur, the walk or step, the brokk or trot, the tölt, which is a running walk, the skeið or the pace and the stökk, or gallop.
Tölt is a gait possessed by all Icelandic horses. Tölt is the gait where the horse moves its legs in the same sequence as while walking, with alternating one foot / two foot support, which is done at speed.
Skeið is a gait where the horse moves both legs of one side at the same time; it is solely considered a gait for racing, and ridden at the proper speed is called flugskeið, loosely translated as "flying pace". A slow pace, like that used in riding certain Peruvian horse races, is considered useless in Icelandic horses, and is called lull (piggypace).
Once everyone mounted, we set off single file down a dirt path. The gait was jarring (I’m being generous here) and there was much bouncing up and down despite the slow pace.
After half a mile, we were told that advance or experienced riders could go
At the back of the line
Mary Beth & Kelly caught behind Angela's horse (Slow-Poke) stayed near the back of the tour line. to the left and beginners and sightseers should stay to the right. Gayle, the one assigned to Seabiscuit, had managed to convince herself, along with the guides, that she knew what she was doing. She went to the left. Angela, Kelly and Mary Beth have a healthy respect for their own well being and stayed to the right.
Both tours consisted of “an adventurous ride from the Íshestar Riding Centre into the lava fields surrounding Mt. Helgafell volcano and the Kaldársel area. View rough lava fields an reforestation efforts, with beautiful Bláfjöll Mountains on the horizon.”
Gayle’s group of experienced riders spent the two hour tour at nothing less than a tölt. The tölt and skeið are distinguishable primarily from the amount of pain they cause the rider. While Iceland is very proud of these “unique” gaits - an American horse would be turned into glue for such an offense. Picture riding a jackhammer across the countryside. To add insult to serious injury, Gayle’s horse had high ambitions. At every opportunity it would dart ahead of the horse in front in an effort to become the lead guide horse. A compromise was finally reached between horse and rider and they spent most of the tour out to the side of the group with the lesser guide horses.
Meanwhile, in the group for sane people, ….
Angela had the horse we will generously refer to as Slow-Poke. The group, supposed to stay in single file line and one horse right behind another, was often separated into two actual groups due to Angela’s horse refusing to pick up the pace. Thinking perhaps being in the middle of the group instead of dead last would help, Angela encouragingly persuaded the horse to trot up a bit in line and placed herself between other horses. The trick did not work and for the remainder the rest of us were forced to endure the guide’s clicks and other strange noises encouraging Slow-Poke and those positioned behind him to catch up.
Mary Beth spent the majority of the ride praying that her horse did not drop dead at any one moment (specifically that if he did he was not on top of her). As Maulki (MB’s horse) tripped a dozen or so times causing Mary Beth to conclude that the 14-year old horse was not in the best of health. The horse, smarter than the rider, had earlier REFUSED to take the “fast track” with Gayle, which in retrospect, Mary Beth highly appreciated from the insightful (and sickly) beast. Even though he was on his last leg, Maulki was still faster than Slow-Poke.
Kelly, being unsure of the whole horseback riding experience before we even boarded the bus, quickly decided that her horse did not like her. Starting at the front of the line, close to the lead guide, she somehow managed to end up second to last. All that really mattered though was that she managed to remain in saddle and not bounce out, which is completely possible with the absurd gaits of which Iceland is so proud. Asking at least for some sympathetic compassion from the guide and preferring for help with stirrups that were too long for her legs, Kelly got the simple response that the stables were not far away. The guide then proceeded to quicken the pace of the horses, due to Slow-Poke once again, and Mary Beth (positioned directly in front of Kelly) proceeded to make prayers on her friend’s behalf that she held tight for a bit longer.
Thankfully, no one (in either group) fell off their horse as there is no possibility of landing on something soft in a lava field.
After the tour, we boarded the van and were taken back to the guesthouse. Everyone took some Alleve, showered and rested up for another night out. Mary Beth took advantage of the kitchen and made spaghetti for dinner. Once our stomachs were happy, we ventured back out on the streets and spent the next few hours in a little Irish pub (Celtic Cross) located on Hverfisgata 10 and then headed to another bar (Prikid) closer to our guesthouse for a couple more. Sunday is not as crazy in Reykjavik as Thursday-Saturday. We finally capped off the night with hot dogs and donor kebabs before heading back to the guesthouse to once again sleep in the daylight.
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Paul G.
non-member comment
LMAO
Okay whoever wrote this should make a short book out of this experience. I'm sitting here LMAO totally picturing this experience as an observer and bystander. Even as I'm typing this I have chuckelitus. Great story.....lol