Where they brush horses with stones

Fifteen women and one man are trotting through Iceland. Torrential rain, hot springs, dragon caves and a white-tailed eagle – it’s all part of these four breathtaking days on horseback!


Even their names are enough to make you fall to your knees. If the friendly four-legged friends beneath you are called Kleinigur, Hilling, Eldjarn or Geysir – then they’re Icelandic horses. Horses. HORSE. If you don’t believe it, you can buy the matching fridge magnet in Icelandic souvenir shops, bearing the words: ‘Never call me a pony’. Of course, no one in our colourful riding group would ever do that. There are 18 of us – 18 horses and 16 people – who will be walking, trotting, tölting and galloping together for four days through the natural wonders of southern Iceland. Only the horses are from Iceland. Everyone else – 15 women and one man, including both riding guides – are from Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Denmark, Sweden and the USA.



On the first evening, over dinner at the hotel, we get to know one another and our riding guides, Nadine and Lina, who ask us the ‘Friday, Saturday, Sunday’ question. In other words: ‘Which horse would you like?’ A ‘Friday’ is spirited and fast, a ‘Sunday’ is more laid-back – and the ‘Saturday’ lies somewhere in between. As you might expect, most of us play it safe and say ‘Saturday’. Nevertheless, Nadine and Lina get a good sense of which horse to assign to whom on the first day of riding. Here, horse and rider are paired anew every day – which is as unusual as it is clever. It sharpens the focus of both rider and horse, is exciting, and allows us to experience the Icelandic horse’s unique gait – the tölt – on several different animals. The tölt is genetically determined and intrigues riders worldwide. It is described as supremely comfortable, almost shock-free and soft to sit in. For the horse, this gait is comparatively labour-intensive. The legs are lifted very high, but unlike in the canter, for example, there is no ‘suspension phase’. One hoof is always on the ground, no matter how fast the tölt gets. And it does get fast! On the very first day, ‘Eldjarn’ taught me that a rider doesn’t tölt just because their horse can. My valiant attempts – tightening the reins, ‘collecting’ the horse’s head, sitting a little ‘lower’ in the saddle – fail to impress the latte-coloured gelding in the slightest. The rascal turns into a rattling sewing machine and shakes me about, whilst I, on mountain paths buffeted by wind and rain, call upon the Norse gods for a ‘vibration-free’ gait. I should have asked Nadine straight away. No sooner are we back on the plain than there’s enough space to ride side by side, and Nadine takes me under her wing. After a few attempts, the first few metres of tölt go smoothly. What a difference! Much more comfortable in the saddle, but also requiring more strength (for me) to keep the horse’s head and reins close to me.

What Lina and Nadine do for us as riding guides is brilliant. Priceless: the tip to buy a ‘fly veil’ for your own head – a mosquito net for your helmet and face. The two young ladies were endlessly patient with us (just like the horses), incredibly kind (just like the horses), experienced and always in good spirits (just like the horses). They rearranged the star-shaped day rides so that the Icelandic weather itself became an adventure. Who can say they’ve saddled an Icelandic horse in the pouring rain next to a steaming geothermal power station and then, glowing neon orange in their rain gear, ridden into a setting straight out of a fantasy film? Our riding group can now!



On the first day, we made our way up to Marardalur, the ‘Valley of the Horses’, along mountain paths, through streams and rocky gorges. We stopped for lunch on this plateau, standing in the rain, utterly captivated. In days gone by, the Icelanders used to let their herds graze here because the surrounding rocky ridges act as natural fences. We, too, are captivated. Rock formations and caves, as if made for dragons. No wonder some scenes from ‘Game of Thrones’ were filmed in Iceland. In any case, I’d already pictured myself flying back as a dragon rider. The harsh reality – a sewing machine instead of a tölt on ‘Eldjarn’ – then made me laugh at myself. But still: doesn’t his name sound like that of an elven king? You can’t say the same about “Hilling”. But on the second day, the piebald mare trotted wonderfully with me! Reinvigorated by good food and an equally restful night’s sleep in the comfortable hotel, today’s ride takes us towards steaming fumaroles. The geothermal area around the Hengill volcano offers hot bathing spots right in the middle of the mountains. Even if it’s only 15 degrees outside – it’s well worth slipping into your bikini! Never again will you emerge from a hot-hot-hot spring looking so splendidly steamed and at least try to look graceful whilst doing so – because, after all, you simply can’t do without a selfie in fairy-tale land.



By now, everyone in the group has got the hang of the tölt, which we celebrate on our third day in Pingvellir National Park. Before that, we were quite amazed when Nadine and Lina showed us how to groom Icelandic horses wonderfully well without plastic brushes: using the air-bubble-filled stones that lie all over the ground. The horses love it, and so does the environment! The fact that Nadine is an amateur ornithologist really pays off in the national park with its beautiful lake – just as it does the next day by the sea, where we cover endless stretches at a gallop across the dark lava sand and finally ride into the Ölfusa river delta. There, barely a few metres away from us, a mighty white-tailed eagle takes flight, and for a few heartbeats we are allowed to ride beneath its majestic wings.

Just to be on the safe side, let’s warn everyone back home against asking the question: ‘What was the best bit?’ The answer took four days. A Swedish trio spanning three generations – grandmother, mother and daughter – fulfilled a lifelong dream with this ride; a young Danish woman, after a long period of emotional distress, experienced her first anxiety-free holiday in years whilst riding these deeply relaxed animals; we all got a glimpse into another world, and our ‘token man’, Jan, was named ‘Lady of Honour’. And we all fell in love too – with the Icelandic horses.

You'll find this tour here: Icelands Natural Wonders