Celebrating the Icelandic Horse 2018

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Acknowledgements Please contact photo owner for permission to use photos.

Front Cover

Minning from Pentland Hills Photo: Henry Szwinto used with permission - Jane Wildish Back Cover Sveninn from Solva Photo: Mic Rushen Contents page Siður & Soli with Kate Jackson Photo: Lesley Dellar Page 5 Teddy Grey with Eldur from Alnwick Hill Photo: Mic Rushen – Source unknown Page 6 Forth Ferry 1964 Photo: Pat Proctor Page 7 Æg, Jackie Elias & Princess Anne Photo: Jules Elias Page 7 Æg & Jackie, Mic & Fjóla 1985 at Lake Farm Photo: Nick Foot Page 8 Addlestone Rock, Isle of Purbeck 1998 Photo: Nick Foot Page 9 Unknown Horse near Hvalfjörður Photo: Maria Freestone Page 10 Hrímnir fra Frodholti beside Tantallon Castle Photo: Pat Proctor Page 11 Rispa on holiday in Cumbria Photo: Rona Frame Page 12 Róði & Róbert playing in the snow Photo: Ginny Williams Page 13 Kára in the sunshine Photo: Faye Litherland Page 14 Lyfting from Solva Photo: Mic Rushen Page 15 Sölvi enjoying a Scratch at the Spring Show Photo: Nick Foot Page 16 HESTFEST Old Hills Summer Camp 2016 Photo: Katrine Lisbygd Nielsen Page 18 Playing Vikings Photo: Bradley Stringfellow Page 19 Kára the warrior horse Rockingham 2017 Photo: Faye Litherland Page 20 Carole Rose, Round Shetland Ride December 2015 Photo: Lee Mott Page 21 Íðunn fra Normark Photo: Jackie Alexander Page 22 Solva gang riding in the Preseli Hills Photo: Mic Rushen Page 22 Oakfield New Year’s Day ride2016 Photo: Nick Foot Page 23 Roger Bax & LVH taking it easy after the show Photo: Mo Hall Page 23 Mic Rushen & Kvika enjoying the sun Photo: Maria Wright Page 24 Róbert enjoying a roll in the sand Photo: Ginny Williams

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Riding on Europe's finest tombolo

Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29

Jan & John enjoying the beach at Whitesands Photo: Mic Rushen Ómi on top of High Street Photo: Alison Fiddler Mic Rushen & Bob having a paddle Photo: Jan Payne Snulla being photogenic Photo: Jackie Alexander Rachel & Lyskra Photo: Yvonne Maclean Photograpy Used with permission – Frances Jimack Daisy making much of her horse Photo: Nicola Guenigault The girls at Brawdy Photo: Nick Foot Kristina Christof with Aska Photo: Mic Rushen

Page 30 Page 30 Page 31

Photo: Chris Neild

Layout & Design – Mo Hall All photographs used with permission.

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Contents Acknowledgements Contents Introduction A beginning…

Getting to know you…

Living free…

In the snow…

In the sunshine….

Enjoying a scratch…

Having fun with friends…

Playing Vikings…

Dressing up…

In the wet...

At rest…

At the beach…

On the hills…

In the sea…

Celebrating….

Our future…

Siður & Soli with Kate Jackson

2 3 4 5 9 10 11 13 15 16 18 20 21 23 24 26 27 28 29

Photo: Lesley Dellar

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Introduction

Nick Foot & Mo Hall

For Nick Icelandic horses have been a part of his life for over 30 years. I am a relative newcomer to their generally good nature and particularly to the quirky and interesting people that choose to own and admire this most unusual breed of horse in the UK. Until recently I edited the official Icelandic Horse Society of Great Britain magazine and Nick hosts two Icelandic horse shows and other Icelandic riding and training events throughout the year from his farm in Dorset.

These events along with the facebook group where approximately 800 Icelandic horse admirers from the UK and around the world share our interest enrich our lives and enjoyment of these hairy beasts. Nick has been digitising his 30 year archive of negatives over the last two winters and the magazine and facebook group have provided a wealth of interesting activities and amazing photographs as well.

To celebrate the day of the Icelandic Horse 2018, (May 1ST ) I have pulled together a few of these amazing resources with the kind permission of the photograph owners to tell a little of the story of the Icelandic Horse in the UK over the last 50 plus years and how we enjoy them today.

It’s a huge story and necessarily this can only scratch the surface of the wealth of adventures that people have shared with us over all these years. Hopefully this will be the first of a series of “Minning� Memory books celebrating some of those adventures and sharing some of the amazing photographs that go with them.

Mo Hall 1st May 2018

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A beginning‌ Stuart McIntosh Imported Eldur in utero with his dam, Raudka fra Svignaskardi.

As far as we know Eldur was the first Icelandic Stallion born in the UK. He had 22 registered offspring but probably many more unregistered as there was no centralised registry at the time with each breeder keeping their own records.

Eldur is Grandsire and Great Grandsire to 34 registered Icelandic horses in the UK and many more Great, Great offspring. (Data provided by Dr Kim Middel PhD) Teddy ran the business at Gary Gualach with his wife Liz and played a large part in creating the current interest in the Icelandic Horse in the UK. Teddy, Pat Proctor and a small group of others met and founded the IHSGB in 1986 with one of its aims to create a central breeding registry.

Teddy Grey with Eldur from Alnwick Hill

Photo: Mic Rushen – Unknown Source

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In the late 1950’s and early 60’s there were 3 trekking stables in Scotland using Icelandic horses.

Pat Proctor told me: “Stuart McIntosh had 60 or more Icelandic horses at Alnwickhill Stables beside the Braid Hills in Edinburgh in the late 1950’s running a trekking centre there. In the early 60’s there was a group of six of us who spent our weekends and holidays volunteering with taking riders out on the hills as well as the chores of filling haynets, mucking out etc.

The Aberfeldy expedition (pictured below) happened a few times, the 64 one including Gennie Burton, daughter of Cedric and Dorothy who ran Woodhouselea Stables until 1979 when I 'inherited' Brunka, first Icelandic of my own !”

Pat Proctor was part of the group that took 6 Icelandic horses from Edinburgh to Aberfeldy (by ferry, road, drove road and hill) to take part in the agricultural show there.

Pat says, “Here we are crossing the Firth of Forth on the ferry. Behind you can see the 'new' road bridge, which opened a few weeks later. Now there is a second road bridge which really is new!”

Photo: Pat Proctor 6

Æg, Jackie and Princess Anne, approximately 1988 taken at a charity garden party at Deans Court.

Photo by Jules Elias, supplied by Mic Rushen

Jackie Elias was another significant figure in the founding of the IHSGB and the spread of Icelandic horses throughout the UK. Mic says, “Her husband Jules was Belgian, and Jackie met a cousin over there called Anneke de Lannoy who was involved with Icelandics. Jackie rode them in Belgium and fell in love, but at the time there were, so far as I know, none in England, and certainly none for sale.

Jackie eventually managed to buy her mare, Æg from Woodhouselee, from John Holman and brought her down to Dorset in the 70's. I met her at Lake Farm in about 1985 where we both kept our horses and the rest is history.

Æg & Jackie, Fjóla &Mic at Lake Farm Photo: Nick Foot 7

From those small beginnings and through many amazing coincidences I have spent much of my leisure time organising and taking part in leisure riding events and competitions in the UK and around the world. I am very pleased to share a few of the thousands of photographs I have taken in that time and have enjoyed again scanning and digitising over the last couple of winters. I hope this is the first of many more opportunities to share some of our amazing adventures with Icelandic horses. The picture below was from a weekend Ride at Agglestone rock in the Purbecks around 1998 Photo: Nick Foot

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Getting to know you…

There are no longer herds of Icelandic horses available for pony trekking in the UK and large scale single breed horse riding holidays are difficult to organise with few Icelandic owners living within easy reach of one another, so how do people in the UK encounter Icelandic horses for the first time today? With the development of cheap air fares and holidaying abroad becoming the norm for many people, a large proportion of Icelandic admirers first encounter Icelandic horses when they are on holiday in Iceland. Visiting this sparsely populated, dramatic and harshly beautiful country many people encounter some of the 80,000 Icelandic horses that live a half wild life, spending their summer in the highlands and they live without human care for months. One of the most exhilarating adventures that many of our group have experienced in Iceland and shared with us are the roundups held in September to bring the horses down from the highlands for the winter.

Photo: Maria Freestone – Unknown Horse near Hvalfjörður

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Living free…

Hrímnir fra Frodholti beside Tantallon Castle on a wintery day (1995) Photo: Pat Proctor

Although we don’t have huge numbers of Icelandic horses in the UK, many of our Icelandics are able to live free in wild parts of this country, doing well in rugged and remote areas of the UK where other breeds of horses may struggle to live out. This gives us the opportunity to take many stunning photos of our horses in all aspects of their lives and all weathers, in work and at play...…

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In the snow…

Rispa on holiday in Cumbria with Rona Frame’s Herd

Photo: Rona Frame 11

Róði & Róbert playing in the snow 12

Photo: Ginny Williams

In the sunshine‌.

KĂĄra in the sunshine

Photo: Faye Litherland 13

Lyfting from Solva 14

Photo: Mic Rushen

Enjoying a scratch…

Sölvi enjoying a Scratch at the Spring Show

Photo: Nick Foot 15

Having fun with friends…

HESTFEST Old Hills Summer Camp 2016 16

Photo: Katrine Lisbygd Nielsen

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Playing Vikings‌

The first settlers arrived in Iceland in the middle of the 9th century. The horses they brought with them were of Northern European stock, Viking warhorses, bred for their fearlessness in battle.

Today some Icelandic admirers recreate these fierce and exciting battles for fun!

Photo: Brinley Stringfellow

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Photo: Faye Litherland Kรกra the warrior horse Rockingham 2017

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Dressing up‌

Carole Rose, Round Shetland Ride December 2015 20

Photo: Lee Mott

In the wet...

Ă?Ă°unn fra Normark demonstrating Icelandics' calmness and ability to cope in all

weather!

Photo: Jackie Alexander 21

Solva gang riding in the Preseli hills

Oakfield New Year’s Day ride2016 22

Photo: Mic Rushen

Photo: Nick Foot

At rest‌

Roger Bax and Fleygur (LVH) taking it easy after the show at Oakfield Farm Photo: Mo Hall

Mic Rushen and Kvika taking a well earned rest.

Photo: Maria Wright 23

At the beach‌

RĂłbert enjoying a roll in the sand

Photo: Ginny Williams

Celebrating the Day of the Icelandic horse 2016 in Bigton, Shetland. Riding on Europe's finest tombolo which connects St Ninian's Isle to Mainland.

Photo: Chris Neild.

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Jan Payne & John Simpson enjoying the beach at Whitesands Photo: Mic Rushen

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On the hills‌

Ă“mi from Pentland Hills on the top of High Street in the Cumbrian Fells.

Photo: Alison Fiddler 26

In the sea…

Mic Rushen & Bob

Photo: Jan Payne 27

Celebrating‌.

Snulla being photogenic 28

Photo: Jackie Alexander

Our future‌

Rachel Mackinnon & Lyskra from Siamber Wen Photo: YvonneMaclean Photography 29

Daisy making much of her horse at the Oakfield Spring Show Photo: Nicola Guenigault

The girls demonstrating their confidence in their horses at Brawdy Photo: Nick Foot 30

Kristina Christof with Aska

Photo: Mic Rushen 31

Sveninn from Solva Photo: Mic Rushen 32