Advent Meditation
Advent Meditation
I have spent most of my life in horse riding, horses were top of my mind right from the time I was a child. This magnificent animal was top of my mind and I spent many hours drawing horses from photographs I saw somewhere, in a newspaper or book. I grew up in the center of Reykjavík and there were no animals there, neither horses nor dogs. When my parents took my siblings camping on the weekends, I saw some horses out the car window and was fascinated. Today, after decades of experience as a riding instructor, I know that I was not unique. I have heard my student tell a similar story several times and I find it remarkable. "Horse love" simply seems to creep up on the most unlikely places,...in the most unlikely people. For this I am grateful.
Much later
I was at the 2024 Icelandic Horseman’s Championship (Landsmót) in Víðidalur/Reykjavík. I went there full of anticipation,...looking forward to seeing and "evaluating" the position of us Icelanders in breeding our horses and riding and training horses. My visit last year to the 2023 World Championships in the Netherlands had given me the impression that we Icelanders are in a good position compared to other countries, which can be attributed to the great and good education of horse people in this country and when you mark progress on one occasion, you become "expectant" and want to mark them again, again and…… Now I'm in the deep seat, and am digesting the "experience", ...going through and reviewing,...looking at pictures and videos, and chatting with people. My feelings are very mixed, I can't help but try to answer the nagging questions that came to me at the event when I met many good and old friends, people who breed and ride their Icelandic horses in their homeland and then flew in from Europe or America to enjoy Landsmót. Many of these friends of mine were disappointed with one thing and/or another.
Horsemanship in the world is in trouble. There has been a lot of negative discussion about the "idea" of people sitting on a horse and letting it show exercises and gaits in competitions, often working harder than is healthy for the horse. Fortunately, animal welfare is increasingly in the discussion and, for example, there is a lot of discussion about bullfighting, circuses with animals, ....horse racing, ....competitions in Dressage or Jumping where there have been cases of abuse recorded on video or phone by trainers in their "jobs".
The Icelandic Horse is primarily "marketed" as a wonderful riding horse for all ages and all kinds of people. It is endowed with diverse abilities and probably has a "better" version than most others as a "family horse", both strong and good-natured. It also offers "fun" possibilities as a show and competition horse, but that is precisely where we must be well aware of the horse's welfare and well-being.
Be a role model
We have this "natural wonder", this strong, versatile and good-natured horse that offers such beautiful shows and competitions,....if care is taken to educate the riders and train the horses,....horse people dedicate themselves to preparing and training the horse so that it feels good under the control and guidance of the rider, but is that still not enough?
The other end of this philosophy is then the assessment that the horse/rider goes on when it reaches the competition arena. How can we ensure that all those who judge the competition are up to the task? What does a person need to experience in order to be able to assess.....not just "rhythm", "speed", "beauty of movement"....but also "the comfort of rider and horse", the interaction and the quality of riding? What/how much education is necessary and what experience does a judge need to have? It is unnecessary for everyone to always be reinventing the wheel.
Can we perhaps look for examples in the systems of equestrian competitions abroad?
In a Dressage competition abroad, the judge must have personally ridden the event and quality group he/she is judging at least 5 times, ....and achieved a certain predetermined result, or 65%, which would be 6.5 in our sport. This is their way of trying to ensure the judges’ qualifications.
Changes
Changing policy or adapting policy to changing circumstances always takes a while. People sometimes have to adapt their thinking to the changing spirit of the times and the emphases of society. It is called "development". One might assume that most of the time it is for progress, ... at least it is always in the minds of those who hold the reins.
As mentioned earlier in this column, the image of "horsemanship" is in trouble. Of course, everything has "developed" and changed, but perhaps not in the right direction if assessed with "modern" thinking about animal welfare.
If a horse is a "tool" in the mind of the rider, certain "concepts" that, in the opinion of many "good" riders, are necessary for riding to be called an "art" are given way.
The creation of regulations
The creation of rules and regulations is in the hands of a "limited" group that meets at the annual meetings of the organisation and "committees" that work on behalf of the organisation throughout the year. Often it is a small or poorly paid job that people do simply because of their love of the sport / hobby, and like most riders, gratitude is foremost in my mind when there is a discussion about the work of these people. These people are of course all or almost all "immersed in horsemanship", as is often said of those who own riding horses and ride a lot for pleasure. Some of them are "professionals" in some aspects of this industry, breeders, trainers, riding instructors and/or competition riders, but many of them are simply equestrian enthusiasts who practice the "sport" for pleasure with full-time jobs in some other sector of society. These people sacrifice both time and money to carry out their social activities and fortunately, social activities are the "passion" of many who get great pleasure from these jobs, meeting people, traveling, attending meetings and organising.
When it comes to shaping the part of equestrianism that receives the most attention, which is the exhibitions of breeding horses and competition horses or equestrian competitions, it is necessary to ensure that the emphasis are correct so the image of Icelandic Horse riding is correct. Particular care must be taken that the "riding horse characteristics", that is, that slow and intermediate gaits are an important part, it is precisely at slower gaits that the biomechanics, communication, well-being and trust are most tested. Let's not forget those old terms,.... "to throw a top" and “dancing"
Dear readers, enjoy riding.
I have spent most of my life in horse riding, horses were top of my mind right from the time I was a child. This magnificent animal was top of my mind and I spent many hours drawing horses from photographs I saw somewhere, in a newspaper or book. I grew up in the center of Reykjavík and there were no animals there, neither horses nor dogs. When my parents took my siblings camping on the weekends, I saw some horses out the car window and was fascinated. Today, after decades of experience as a riding instructor, I know that I was not unique. I have heard my student tell a similar story several times and I find it remarkable. "Horse love" simply seems to creep up on the most unlikely places,...in the most unlikely people. For this I am grateful.
Much later
I was at the 2024 Icelandic Horseman’s Championship (Landsmót) in Víðidalur/Reykjavík. I went there full of anticipation,...looking forward to seeing and "evaluating" the position of us Icelanders in breeding our horses and riding and training horses. My visit last year to the 2023 World Championships in the Netherlands had given me the impression that we Icelanders are in a good position compared to other countries, which can be attributed to the great and good education of horse people in this country and when you mark progress on one occasion, you become "expectant" and want to mark them again, again and…… Now I'm in the deep seat, and am digesting the "experience", ...going through and reviewing,...looking at pictures and videos, and chatting with people. My feelings are very mixed, I can't help but try to answer the nagging questions that came to me at the event when I met many good and old friends, people who breed and ride their Icelandic horses in their homeland and then flew in from Europe or America to enjoy Landsmót. Many of these friends of mine were disappointed with one thing and/or another.
- The questions included these issues:
- How did "pace racing" become "gallop racing"
- In this country, pace racing has been practiced for so long that the countries experience should be starting to yield good results,...we should know this?
- Did the staff at the starting stalls have the experience to be able to read the position and alignment of the horses,...why did so many horses come out of the stalls on “cross gallop"?
- How did "pace racing" become "gallop racing"
- How is it that the spectators who sit and watch the "highlight" of the Landsmót, the results of the Gæðingakeppeni in all classes, which should be something magnificent and enjoyable to watch, are all full of anticipation? What became apparent, however, was that a "large" portion of the riders in the field "blatantly" had poor preparation and posture. Horses running out of control at the wrong gait, that is to say....far too many of the riders had trouble getting their horses to trot. This was honestly "embarrassing". How could this happen,....what happened to all the "progress" that is talked about?
- Another question is: The debate about the Horsemanship Competition often arises, ...whether the competition format itself needs to be reviewed and possibly changes made, especially to the results...or is it just okay to sell people tickets so that they can witness our riders being made to "half-give up" many of the horses with too much stress,...just speculation?
Horsemanship in the world is in trouble. There has been a lot of negative discussion about the "idea" of people sitting on a horse and letting it show exercises and gaits in competitions, often working harder than is healthy for the horse. Fortunately, animal welfare is increasingly in the discussion and, for example, there is a lot of discussion about bullfighting, circuses with animals, ....horse racing, ....competitions in Dressage or Jumping where there have been cases of abuse recorded on video or phone by trainers in their "jobs".
The Icelandic Horse is primarily "marketed" as a wonderful riding horse for all ages and all kinds of people. It is endowed with diverse abilities and probably has a "better" version than most others as a "family horse", both strong and good-natured. It also offers "fun" possibilities as a show and competition horse, but that is precisely where we must be well aware of the horse's welfare and well-being.
Be a role model
We have this "natural wonder", this strong, versatile and good-natured horse that offers such beautiful shows and competitions,....if care is taken to educate the riders and train the horses,....horse people dedicate themselves to preparing and training the horse so that it feels good under the control and guidance of the rider, but is that still not enough?
The other end of this philosophy is then the assessment that the horse/rider goes on when it reaches the competition arena. How can we ensure that all those who judge the competition are up to the task? What does a person need to experience in order to be able to assess.....not just "rhythm", "speed", "beauty of movement"....but also "the comfort of rider and horse", the interaction and the quality of riding? What/how much education is necessary and what experience does a judge need to have? It is unnecessary for everyone to always be reinventing the wheel.
Can we perhaps look for examples in the systems of equestrian competitions abroad?
In a Dressage competition abroad, the judge must have personally ridden the event and quality group he/she is judging at least 5 times, ....and achieved a certain predetermined result, or 65%, which would be 6.5 in our sport. This is their way of trying to ensure the judges’ qualifications.
Changes
Changing policy or adapting policy to changing circumstances always takes a while. People sometimes have to adapt their thinking to the changing spirit of the times and the emphases of society. It is called "development". One might assume that most of the time it is for progress, ... at least it is always in the minds of those who hold the reins.
As mentioned earlier in this column, the image of "horsemanship" is in trouble. Of course, everything has "developed" and changed, but perhaps not in the right direction if assessed with "modern" thinking about animal welfare.
If a horse is a "tool" in the mind of the rider, certain "concepts" that, in the opinion of many "good" riders, are necessary for riding to be called an "art" are given way.
The creation of regulations
The creation of rules and regulations is in the hands of a "limited" group that meets at the annual meetings of the organisation and "committees" that work on behalf of the organisation throughout the year. Often it is a small or poorly paid job that people do simply because of their love of the sport / hobby, and like most riders, gratitude is foremost in my mind when there is a discussion about the work of these people. These people are of course all or almost all "immersed in horsemanship", as is often said of those who own riding horses and ride a lot for pleasure. Some of them are "professionals" in some aspects of this industry, breeders, trainers, riding instructors and/or competition riders, but many of them are simply equestrian enthusiasts who practice the "sport" for pleasure with full-time jobs in some other sector of society. These people sacrifice both time and money to carry out their social activities and fortunately, social activities are the "passion" of many who get great pleasure from these jobs, meeting people, traveling, attending meetings and organising.
When it comes to shaping the part of equestrianism that receives the most attention, which is the exhibitions of breeding horses and competition horses or equestrian competitions, it is necessary to ensure that the emphasis are correct so the image of Icelandic Horse riding is correct. Particular care must be taken that the "riding horse characteristics", that is, that slow and intermediate gaits are an important part, it is precisely at slower gaits that the biomechanics, communication, well-being and trust are most tested. Let's not forget those old terms,.... "to throw a top" and “dancing"
Dear readers, enjoy riding.