Icelandic Pace Horses
&
Riding Pace in
A few summers ago I rode
a pace horse in
thing
that I have ever done. I was being
hosted
in
my visit to
and
his family. I had arrived a month before
their
national
horse show, The Landsmot when my
host
along with his father and brother were well in the
middle
of the process of conditioning and training
horses
for the qualifications prior to Landsmot.
In their stables
they keep about 45
horses
in for training, about 15 of them stallions
being
worked with for presentation at breeding
shows. Innocent to the matter as I first arrived, it
turns
out that these are several of the highest
evaluated
and qualified horses in
My host, Baddi is very
methodical and
dedicated
in his riding. During my visit, I tagged
along
with him and I would just go through the
daily
work with him of riding horses. With
great
clarity
of mind and purpose, Baddi along with
the
help of his family and others systematically
ride
through the horses they keep in for training.
At that point in
the summer the work
load
was divided such that Baddi exclusively
attended
to the riding of the so-called Landsmot
horses
of the stable and the rest of us would ride
the
other horses accordingly. Everyone in
this
stable
work deferred to Baddi's
mastery as rider
and
trainer with the Landsmot horses being his
especial
prerogative.
In addition to the daily routine of
schooling
and riding, twice or three times a week
all
the horses of the stable except the stallions were taken out for
schooling
rides through the countryside where all
the
horses were driven freely in a herd along the
way. For these rides, the horses of the stable
where
gathered together as we all would prepare
our
riding mounts. Then off we would all go
driving
the group of 20 or 25 horses down the
road
and then off on the trail-ways which run all over
At one point on
one of these rides, I
was
issued one of Baddi's pace horses to ride. I
was
told to work the horse by varying its gaits with
trot
as we went along. We skirted around town
by
trail-ways, dropped down into the valley
and
then
crossed a river with the herd. Eventually
the
track
we were riding on left the bank of the river
and
climbed the walls of the valley we were in.
Riding along we all worked to keep the loose
herd
moving along together. As riders we were
split.
Some of us riding out in front
of the lead horses of the herd
and
others riding behind cowboy-ing the main body
of the herd keeping any
stragglers from sneaking off.
At one point the trail traversed a mountainside
pasture
that had sheep and other loose horses in
it. At that point, things exploded for us with
some
of
our herd boiling down the mountain to check
out
the other loose herd of horses in the pasture.
As riders we
all
split with some of us continuing along with
some
of our herd up the trail to use the remaining herd as a magnet to draw our
other horses along from the field.
Behind us, Baddi and
his
brother Heimer charged down the mountain
ala
"Man from
shouting
wildly to split our horses off from the
other
loose horses of the pasture.
We all eventually re-gathered our herd on the trail
at
the far end of that mountain pasture where we let
them
out through the gate there.
Quickly as riders, we
divided
who
would lead the herd out and then who would drive
from
behind. I knew the horse I had was
reliable
and
would stand with me as I closed up the gate
behind
the herd, as it left. So I stayed behind
with the gate. We split up and off the
herd
moved
up along the trail.
I had hopped down from my horse and
went
to closing up the gate while off the herd and
everyone
else went, as I fiddled with the gate.
Once the gate was closed up
and
when I turned around they were all entirely
gone. Gone!
Anyone who knows the necessity of the
herd
instinct knows the compelling situation I was left
in,
standing there with my horse watching the end
of
our herd disappear.
I took and turned my horse towards the
gate
I had just closed, gathered up my reins
and
mounted
quickly as I could with both feet hitting
the
stirrups and my seat in the saddle.
Carefully I
wheeled
my horse around and started off after
the
tail of the herd which was fast disappearing
about
a mile in my front. I bolted along
trotting a
bit
and then took to cantering for a few strides
after
the herd, where I then downshifted my horse,
converting
over to a pace where we rocketed, in
warp
drive, up that trail after the herd.
The pace in that horse was blazingly
fast.
My beard had split in the wind and was flapping
back
we were going so fast! Tearing along on
this mountain trail, eyes tearing from the speed,
I had the clear distinct thought going in my
mind, "I am most
certainly
going to die right here pacing
break
neck with speed across this mountain!"
However; then again, it
was so fluid, so fast and smooth that I
next
came to my senses in a moment and realized that
this pace indeed will be
the way to heaven!
We closed on that herd in about a
nanno-second
and then it was over. I then sat
there
disappointed that the ride was over!
I learned that pacing like that on a horse like that sets
a standard that is hard to beat.
It has become an acquired
taste of life that some day I will go back for!
Doug Hamilton