​I have been so lucky to meet new friends on our hotel riding tours in Iceland.  When travelling in very small groups (2-4 guests) we get to know our fellow riders well and they become long life friends! Many have returned every year.  Although dinner is not included on our hotel riding tours we always try to spend at least one evening all together, either at a local restaurant or at the hotel and usually on the last evening on the tour.  A good farewell dinner sharing stories about our horses and horsemanship are not to be missed!  

​In every little village in Iceland there are at least four „places“ to be found:  
 
1. Swimming pool 
2. Football/soccer field 
3. Golf course 
4. Horse stables/Riding club with oval track, community house and preferrably riding hall

​No surprise as riding is one of the most popular sports in Iceland and socializing 

On a cold September evening when I was browsing through Facebook I came across an advertisment where a beautiful grey horse was for sale (see video).  Since grey is my favorite colour and team Steinunn ​needed more good horses for the hotel riding tours I decided to take a closer look. 

​Unfortunately the horse was based in East Iceland and 700 km from my home consequently I did not have any opportunity to try the horse but I made some calls and found out this would probably be a perfect horse and he was at a good price too.  So I took the chance and bought the horse. 

​He came to my stable a few days later with a trailer and we rode him for few days before he was introduced to some other of my horses at the president´s backyards. He stayed there for a few weeks , just getting to know the other horses until I took him into the stable to start riding him on a regular basis. 

​When horse lovers plan to go on a horseback riding tour in Iceland they usually think about riding into the Icelandic highland with a loose herd of spare horses. They expect having to stay in dormitory sleeping bag accommodation in basic mountain huts and to party every evening. And without a doubt, this can be a lot of fun especially when the weather is good.  But the weather in Iceland is “notoriously temperamental” and getting wet and cold on horseback can be a bit frustrating at times.  ​Adding to this the potential concert of snoring by fellow riders you may decide for yourself to leave out exactly that experience. So how about a riding tour with hotel accommodation? 

In late May 2012 I was expecting a second foal of my mare Sperra.  From the middle of May I went every morning to the maternity field to check on her before going to work. She usually just greeted me quickly and then continued to eat.  But on May 25th she behaved strangely during my usual morning visit. ​​She followed me around everywhere and it felt as if she was asking me to stay.    The milk was flooding out of her udder and I felt it was time for her foal to come into the world.

Nasty Travel companions may spoil all the fun…
We all love to travel but quite a few of us have made the experience that a nasty travel companion can spoil the fun at times! That is the reason why a lot of people have turned away from scheduled group tours and rather do their own thing, for example by renting a car and driving around their destination on their own. It is easy to do - either you sit down and plan & book your own tour or you turn to a company like Exploring Iceland and  ask them to put together your personal self- drive tour. 

On a small farm in South Iceland lives Vilborg Ástraðsdóttir with her family and lots of farm animals. From early childhood on she has been fascinated by the forms and colors of nature. Born on a farm and raised with the task of taking good care of animals such as herding the sheep during the autumn round up she felt inspired by the mountains,​ ​glacial rivers, mossy hills and wide open landscape.

As the wind blows heavily in Iceland today we are tied to the office but that does not keep us from thinking about going out & doing stuff tomorrow or the day after.  After all here in Iceland people have had to live and enjoy themselves with or despite of the weather since the time of settlement and we know that the good old Vikings did enjoy a ball game called „knattleikr“ but most of their outdoor games were connected to preparing for battle and fighting such as archery, tug-of – war and wrestling. 

​There is something special about the relationship of women and horses. And the companionship among women when they go on adventures in the saddle together!
Horse obsession afflicts thousands of girls and women and once you have caught “the horse bug” it will plague you forever. A childhood spent around horses will haunt you all through your later life; it tugs at you until you give in again. You may have to pause for studies, career or having kids – but at some point- in- life the “infection” will flare up one more time! 

We follow the Icelandic tradition in giving the horses a good winter break after a season of riding tours during summer. By end of September/October we take the horse shoes off and release them into their huge winter field of approx. 30 hectares around the farm. There they will roam „free“ for about 3 months before we stable them again for riding. Icelandic Horses are highly social animals that prefer to live in a group. It also suits their strong grazing instinct very well,