Riding Club House - before and after

​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 

​is also a very important factor among local horsemen and women. To meet up for a coffee and chat about riding, arguing about breeding, have a beer or two and be merry is almost as important as training your horses!  
 
In Reykjavik area there are four riding clubs, in fact the three largest riding clubs in Iceland are to be found in the capital area. Each riding club (Fákur, Sprettur, Sörli) has about one thousand members with stables for a few thousands horses, some even with apartments, big riding halls, great oval tracks and chic community houses. But the fourth one is the little riding club Sóti in Álftanes peninsula (15 min drive from Reykjavik center) with just 130 members, old but charming stables for 70 horses, an excellent oval track, still no riding hall and a small, old community house.  But the future is bright as the local community board has agreed to build a riding hall with a help of Sóti´s members.  

At the same time two ladies of the riding club (Nanna and me, Steinunn) decided to renovate the old community house with the aim of making it a cozy „horse-café“ but only using second hand furnitures, preferrably at no cost with the help of Facebook.  In other words, a very sustainable project.  They started a year ago and it has been a lot of work!  Everything was taken out of the house and given to a charity, then the whole house was painted (colour: cozy-grey).  By the help of Facebook they found second hand tables, chairs, sofas etc but that of course needed a facelift. In spite of all the work we find that it was totally worth it!  We received help and advice on decoration from a local designer (her daughter is in the riding club (see our other blog about a girl and a horse) and she did the final touches.  You can read her blog and see "before and after photos" here:  Skreytum Hús
 
If you are planning to come to Iceland and only have time for a short ride in Reykjavik area,  (and you are an experienced rider), check out our private riding tour Álftanes Adventure and see for yourself the cosy little riding club Sóti.

We would be happy to welcome you! 

Text:  Steinunn 
Photos:  Steinunn, Drone video by Þorsteinn Narfason