Day 2 - Iceland horseback riding

Iceland is beautiful. Can I start off with that? The landscape is wonderful, and I can’t help but to imagine the old Nordic myths and stories when I look out across the fields and up to the mountains. There’s snow up in the cloud-covered mountains and steam rising from the rivers and hot pots. What an ironic combination!! That makes it all the more gorgeous. I can’t help but to imagine living here... Raising a family in a small town with horses grazing out in the pastures. This would be an amazing kid-friendly society. I could just imagine sitting on the back porch watching little kids run around playing and herds of horses galloping around behind them...

Horses!! That’s what I was supposed to be talking about!! We went horseback riding this morning, which, of course, was what I was most looking forward to. The ride was a lot better than I’d expected. Since it was a beginner’s ride, I expected a slow line of uninterested horses just following the leader. But it was the complete opposite. We started slow, but it wasn’t like a trail ride at Girl Scout camp. These horses had a mind of their own and made you actually pay attention and have to have control. Plus, we didn’t have to stay at just a walk. We went faster into a trot multiple times. Of course, I was wishing that I could go faster, but it was really cool to see all the other girls having such a good time. They seemed to really enjoy it.

I’m not sure how the other horses were, but I was put on a more advanced horse since I’ve been riding for seven years. I believe that his name was Stoic. He walked really fast and didn’t like to stand still. He was also a little mouth shy and wasn’t too found of the bit in his mouth. He kept pulling his head forward to try and have me loosen up on the reins. The problem was the reins were as loose as I could let them!! Riding him was a completely different experience for me though. Icelandic horses are a few hands shorter than the horses I’m used to, so it was different being lower to the ground. These horses are also a bit bouncier than the one I ride. But it was really fun. I just can’t wait until we visit the farm and get to ride show horses!! I’m sure I’ll be writing an article on that too!!

Until next time, have fun reading the other girls articles, and do something different! Maybe look up at the night sky after the setting sun. It can sometimes be the perfect shade of dark blue. Think of us when you’re doing it too. Remember, we only get two hours of dark here in Iceland!!

~Brittany