Set the Pace Spring 2019 - Issue 83 by mo hall

CONTENTS A Word from the Editor Warm Welcomes ICEY Friends Location Map - May 2019 Brave Pants Cup Achievements & Opportunities Agility Endurance Gaited Competitions - Summer Tölt Series Jumping – A growing interest? Foreign Breed Showing Young Riders & Leaders – Spring Update

3 4 7 8 9 9 12 14 17 18 19

A Glimpse into History

Youth Camp in Iceland – How times have changed… Epsom-Fettes Iceland Expedition July 1963

27 29

Catching up What’s on

44 48

Banter in the Haunted Old Hills Barn - April 2019

Summer Fun deadline 23rd June 2019 Front Cover: Publicity poster courtesy of Horses of Iceland. Back Cover: Day of the Icelandic Horse REPRODUCTION PERMITTED WITH PERMISSION OF ARTICLE AUTHOR/PHOTOGRAPHER

Remember anything that is blue and underlined is a live link, click on it for more information (right click or equivalent if you want the link to open in another window on your browser or use the menu facility on your phone to open it in the browser). NEW – if you would like the emagazine delivered direct to your kindle let SetthePace have its email address via PM. 2

A Word from the Editor Spring has sprung and as the magazine is published we are on the final preparations for our Spring Show. The last couple of months have felt very strange, my focus has been on tying up the ends of Oakfield-as-a-business, making a website, organising and hosting courses and planning for the rest of the year. We have had three really great courses already, two with Mic Rushen (Oval Track Training) and one with Mary Concannon (positive reinforcement – clicker training).

It’s a very different pace of life to the previous one. Today, 1st May, and over the next few days & weeks people will be holding special events to Celebrate the International Day of the Icelandic Horse, a relatively recent innovation by Horses of Iceland, an Icelandic business and government joint venture to promote Iceland which we love supporting. Unfortunately we had to cancel our Day of the Icelandic horse demo/celebration at Oakfield last weekend due to the weather but the Halfkey Icelandic Horse group took on the challenge in March this year to dig out their favourite memories and I have produced a memory book for us all. This year our theme was Fjolhaefur which means “versatile” in Icelandic. I hope you enjoy this year’s memory book and if you would like a professionally printed copy you can order it for £13. It comes with 32 postcards of the images as a bonus. If you want a laser printed copy of the magazine its £3.00 and with a laser printed copy of the supplement £6.00 As always there is so much going on (isn’t it great) that I can’t cover it all. Sometimes I toy with doing a monthly magazine but I like cherry picking the best bits so we will stay bi-monthly for now. We will be hosting a tramp and camp here in August but we are still planning that so watch out for details…. 3

Warm Welcomes Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s been a busy couple of months on the chat group. Lovely to see people joining in, introducing themselves and getting involved as the year moves on into better weather, thankfully, and we can get outside and do things with the horses. Amazingly there are two new people local to us this month so we look forward to meeting Lilly soon & lovely to catch up with Kirsty again and to know that she is looking for an Icelandic now! That will be exciting. We send our condolences to those who have lost horses over the last couple of months. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s been a hard time for you but what a lovely supportive group we have. Love & Mugs from us (soon.)

Since the last issue, we welcome a mixture of old friends and first timers in order of joining, most recent first: Laura Stb Parry, Julie Lennox, Rose Wickens, Amy Louise Crisp, Kathy Riekie, Hrafnhildur Helga Guðmundsdóttir, Lisa Toomer, Eeva Ilama, Wessex sweet itch, Pat Rérolle, Devon Tonkin, Louise Thomson, Stefan Knauser, Leigh Freeman Nèe Shayle, Lizzy Campbell, Pamela Brown, Alicen Geddes, Marjana Bahar, Chris Craig Jones, Catriona Mack, Moritz Kebschull, Donna Pringle, Charlotte Taylor, Kate Knowles, Ben Saunders, Kirsty Finch, Stacey Morgan, Miriam Main, Tone Kolnes, Lilly Wirthmann, Hilmar Sigurðsson, Maja Elisabeth Redfern, Helgi Baldursson, Vibeke Johansen Birkebekk, Robert Rosendal, Sic Parvis Magna, Sofia Howland, Lynn Jarvis, Corinne Bäumler, Em Silvester, Magnús Lárusson, Bridget Kacey, Lena Kraft, Catriona Jeffrey, Amy Dell, Susan Haine, Carol Clarke.

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One very special welcome this edition as well for Trudy Gatt and Guri. It is an introduction that might not have happened! What a nightmare beginning for Trudy in her long awaited Icelandic love affair. I have been doing introductions over on Tölt.Club this month and Trudy was one of the people who I felt have been truly amazing in the few months Tölt.Club has been up and running. You can read her story here. I think we all hope that never happens again to anyone! As you can see we are very widespread in the UK, literally from Land’s End to north of John O’ Groats with 30 + horses in Shetland and one new member on Orkney (not on the map yet). You can add yourself to the map: (PC, Mac & ipad only, you can view and edit on a phone but not add yourself.)    

Click here Enter your postcode in the search bar Click add to map Click on the edit icon (pencil icon) change postcode to your name, add details you want in the box below (add photos with the camera icon) click save.

You don’t need to do any more than that but if you want to change your icon from a teardrop to a horse or something more interesting you can do that by clicking the paint pot. If you get stuck, just drop me a PM and I will help you out. Back to Contents

ICEY Friends Location Map - May 2019

Brave Pants Cup Helena has kindly allowed us to use her Brave Pants cartoon to make a Set the Pace Brave Pants Cup. Actually, it’s a personalised mug, more practical, but cup sounds more trophy like. We award brave pants mugs for each issue to the people the editorial team thinks has stepped out of their comfort zone. (Editorial team are Mic, Lu & Mo) You have to be in it to win it which means talking about your challenges on the chat group or your personal or group pages (the ones we belong to or are friends with). 4 cups awarded for this issue. I did toy with the idea of going over to chocolate medals to encourage you all to keep on expanding your comfort zone but haven’t worked out how to foil them yet. I will consult with Harriet when she is here at the weekend and see if I can do something different to encourage you all (not sure you need it – do comment on the fb group if you read this and have an idea/opinion).    

Liz Tilly Dodd for braving a new route. Monika Rudin-Burgess – read her post and the responses. Caroline Roberts for getting up and on again after this little setback. Charlie Day for completing a whole lap of the arena in canter on Glowie. She said “In all honesty I never thought I’d canter her again after she was lame - so very happy - also canter is my bete noir as I fractured across L4 about 10 years ago when my saddle slipped in canter - so need my brave pants pulled right up !! “

Well done all. Fancy colour changing brave pants cups on the way or new posh porcelain ones if you prefer.… We search for “Brave Pants” in your posts as well as just taking an interest as we usually do, so tell us about your adventures. Back to Contents

Achievements & Opportunities We like to celebrate all the achievements people on the chat group share with us. Some are nationally and internationally significant; others only mean anything to the people involved. Regardless of their wider significance, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s great to share them and celebrate them within our Icelandic horse Community, most of them are related to our horse activities but a few are significant in other ways. It also helps for you to know what there is out there to join in with â&#x20AC;&#x201C; so we put the opportunities to join in up as we come across them too.

Agility Congratulations to Lucy Eades and Lady in this edition too. Lucy entered her first Agility competition in Adlington and won! She wrote about her challenges on the blog.

Tolt.Club Online Agility Monthly Challenge This is a new online challenge but its proving to be popular. As we go to press the April Showers competition is being marked with 18 entries. March was the first month and the winners were:

Issy Day & Orvar Ridden

Alison Webb & Stali Liberty

Kathy Cole & Sprett In hand

Dressage

Luan Crawford

So latest news (many of you will already know)Merkur and I won Gold for Iceland in prelim for the online Olympics with E-riders and Fi won silver with Radius in intro for Norway, this was great fun and such a brilliant focusing tool in our training, it started back in November where we had to get a qualifying score to continue then placings each month after, to the finals, the prizes were phenomenal along with the biggest frillies I started January with the diamond league in E-riders too where we get points for placings in our classes, I decided to try novice level with Merkur and Prelim open with Florrie this time, over 4 months we have to accumulate our points, Merkur was leading in novice until last month where we didn’t get a placing I felt the test was good maybe not amazing but at least in the top 10, the judge obviously didn’t, dressage is weird, you can do a test that feels rubbish and get an amazing score, or a test that feels lovely and do rubbish, I guess it’s because it’s ‘judged’ everyone likes and looks for different things, anyway I still have my April test to film and enter so fingers crossed we can recoup our loss, it’s all part of the fun and challenge. Florrie has managed to get a placing each month so hopefully she will this time too…..

March was a busy month for us, Merkur did a fun novice test for cancer research, Bjort won her fun ‘sponsored by Luma hi viz’ intro class with a brilliant score, we had Jackie Alexander and her list 1 judge friend Judith, come to play icelandics, Judith loved how positive and forward Bjort is, and challenged herself to ride all gaits with Merkur, the horses were so good, Judith went home determined to get her big horse walking out better… I entered area dressage qualifiers for Malvern riding club in novice, we were at a totally new venue in an indoor spooky school, the warm up was outside and very busy with big horses prancing about all over the place, I had a lot of people looking at me like they hadn’t seen a ‘pony’ there all day, Merkur was very lookie in the test but we managed a great score and got an individual placing 6th out of 32! Ha!”………… Icelandics rule (only 3 of us out of the 5 teams of 4 for the club got individual placings) my team didn’t get through but I scored the best score in it…. I also went out to do my first BD My Quest (top 5 scores between Dec/aug count) we got a very respectable score and an individual 2nd that day, I wasn’t expecting that as the previous week we did the same test at the same venue and ended up jumping over sunshine and doing the cha cha with a score reflecting the non dressage moves 11

Last weekend I took Merkur and my Spanish dude to a local un affiliated show, Merkur smashed the novice with a huge 77.1% PB 1st place and an Easter egg…. That test I did come out really pleased with how supple and listening he was. Some of the novice tests are easier for him than others, the last few have been the easier ones, now to practice the tricky moves more, (counter canter) I’m off next week to another My Quest then to Oakfield for some Icelandic fun on the oval track, to blow the tolting cobwebs away……….

Endurance #Hack 1000 Miles Challenge - 2019 is all new again. We had 5 promotional copies of Your Horse magazine and the tracker to give away a couple of weeks ago when they were published and they were claimed within 24 hours. Currently we have 8 people doing the challenge and two of them are on the April Wall of Fame. Fiona Tyson and Lesley Dellar the bottom two left hand pictures, well done ladies. Its not too late to join in, the link is above, its free, fun and a fantastically supportive online community! If you don’t want to commit to 1000miles (its only 3 miles a day) Lu Crawford runs a friendly endurance (long distance) challenge over on Halfkey Icelandics. Back to Contents

Gaited Competitions - Summer Tölt Series After the success of the Multi-Centre Multi Event Winter Tölt Series various centres have got together to join in with Shona Stewart’s proposal of a combined online and in-person Multi-Centre, Multi Event Summer Tölt Series. As the Icelandic Horse Community in the UK continues to grow, we are really fortunate in the UK now to have a wide range of active event organisers. (see list – I hope I haven’t missed anyone.) As with the Winter Tölt Series, Set the Pace will be administering a monthly leader board for the Summer Tölt Series for Non-FIPO events (Have-AGo shows, fun shows, Tolt Online, Tölt.Club and VIHc online competitions) the results will also be summarised on the IHSGB website and contribute to a GB ranking whether you are a member of the IHSGB or not. OR you can borrow an Oval Track and someone will help you film (dates will be advertised later) – or mow one yourself in a field and get together with some friends and film it, submit it to whichever online judge suits best (unless you invite one to your event, Mic & Fi are both happy for people to pass on their scores from the have-a-go show qualifiers if they wish to.), get it marked and submit them individually to the Summer Tölt Series via Shona or me– did we miss anyone? Hopefully we can give everyone in the UK who would like to be part of gaited competitions an opportunity to join in and a chance for some friendly competition – the more you enter, the more likely you are to win.

Mostly its a way to make training and exercise fun if you are an amateur competitor and to support and cheer each other on in a fun social way whether we can get together in person or not. We will be awarding monthly rosettes and an overall prize at the end of the season (after the Oakfield September Show unless there are events planned later than that, online October is the last qualifying month before we are back to Winter Tölt again). Your scores at both online and in-person events will count and it’s a great way to get more from your entry fees . So get entering…. Subscribed in-person events so far: Pinchbeck Easter Eggstravaganza (April 20th – Lincolnshire) Oakfield Spring Show (4th – 5th May – Dorset) Have-a-go show Devon with Mic Rushen (11th – 12th May) Oakfield Summer Fun Course with Mic Rushen (12th July – Dorset) Ingleby Hall Icelandic Summer Camp with Rebekah Spowage (28th July Lincolnshire) There are more events in the pipeline and you can take part online every month…. Devon & Cornwall Icelandics (Harriet Vincent) Dragon Riders (Mic Rushen – Wales) Houlls Horses & Hounds , (Dorothy Sales – Shetland Isles) Halfkey Icelandic Horses (Lu Crawford – online covers whole country) Ice Dragons Equestrian (Peter and Kath Heathcote) Icelandic Horses in Scotland (Lothians)-IHSGB Affiliated (Delia Marriott) Icelandic Horse Society of Great Britan (FEIF registered body for governance of UK Sport Competitions & Breeding) Ingleby Hall Livery (Rebekah Spowage ) Oakfield Farm – Verwood Dorset (Nick Foot- Mo Hall, Verwood, Dorset) Old Hills Icelandics (Ian & Fi Pugh- Malvern, Worcester) South Central Icelandic Horse (Barry Laker/Thalia Colyer, covers Hampshire, IOW, West Sussex, Surrey, East Dorset, Wiltshire & Berkshire.) Take it Isi (Gundula Sharman, Shona Stewart) Tölting Angles (Dave & Ann Savage – Pinchbeck Icelandic Horses, Lincolnshire) Tölt.Club (Mo Hall, Shona Stewart, online hub for coaching & competition, worldwide) Viking Horses of Yorkshire – IHSGB Affiliated (Bethany AF) 15

Introducing….

“Stepping Stones” SUMMER TOLT SERIES 2019 in Association with IHSGB Toltonline August, September and October All your entries are Stepping Stones and marks in any class will be added toward the competition totals and updated on the Scoreboard - like Top Gear ! The highest scoring riders in each test and highest scoring group will be announced at the end of the competition period. There will also be lots of other awards . The series will run in August, September and October 2019.

How to take partChoose a tolt test and gaited test from the those available on toltonline in the IHSGB website You have all month to practice - all entries to be submitted by the last day of the month Get someone, or better still if you can arrange a few of you, to film each other and make it an event . Submit your entries following the instructions on Toltonline and mark your tests Summer and which Region you are entering from. You will receive your marks and feedback directly and watch your progress on the monthly scoreboard. IMPORTANT you must remember to email your scores to shonastewart@aol.com to have your scores added .

Your marks from Tolt.Online will also give you a British Ranking

Jumping – A growing interest? We know that Pippa is a great fan of Cross country and jumping and Mylie Freestone, one of our young riders is also quite keen. You can see both of the young bouncy ones having fun jumping here and here. (neither of these on Icelandics, mind you - you might need to FB friend them to view the videos). For Fiona T though, it’s a bit different. When I asked her if I could share her post she wrote: “It was a kind of accidental success story - I thought it was just going to be poles (on the ground) and maybe a small crosspole at the end, and we ended up doing a course of ten or so jumps! “ We look forward to more of these accidental successes, they are the best sort.

Foreign Breed Showing Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a bit early yet for the Foreign Breed classes and shows so no news or achievements here yet that I have heard about, but lots of opportunities around. HOPE Spring, Summer & Championship Shows - dates to be confirmed. Warwickshire/Rugby Area. Email: hironsuade@talktalk.net 5th May - APHS Kent Foreign Breed Festival Willow Farm, Faversham, Kent. http://Lynnusauk.wixsite.com/londoncounties 26th May - USA-UK May Festival Show: Moreton Morrell College, Warwickshire. www.american-saddlebred.co.uk 29th May - 1st June June Royal Bath & West Show Somerset (Iberian Classes) www.bathandwest.com 2nd June - Iberian & Foreign Breed Festival: Pachesham EC, Surrey. www.pachesham.com 6th - 8th June - Royal Cornwall Show: Wadebridge, Cornwall. www.royalcornwallshow.org 18th & 19th June - Cheshire County Show: Knutsford, Cheshire. 2018 FBS Qualifying show. www.cheshirecountyshow.org.uk 26th & 27th June - Royal Norfolk Show www.royalnorfolkshow.rnaa.org.uk 21st July - APHS London Counties Horse Show. Pachesham EC,Surrey. http://lynnusauk.wixsite.com/londoncounties 19th - 21st July - Royal Lancashire Show www.royallancashireshow.co.uk 24th - 26th July - New Forest Counties Show: Brokenhurst, Hampshire. 2018 FBS Qualifying show. www.newforestshow.co.uk 1st September - Equifest - USA-UK World Breeds Ring. East of England Showground, Peterborough.www.equifest.org.uk

Young Riders & Leaders – Spring Update FEIF Youth Camp Iceland 7th – 14th July 2019

What a busy few weeks we have had. We have 8 young riders (possibly 9) and 4 young leaders going away to camp this year and two of them are going to both camps! Four of the girls are lucky enough to be going to the FEIF camp in Iceland. Libby and Issy Day secured some spare places this week so are madly raising funds to catch up with Mylie Freestone and Pippa Phillips.

Libby, Mylie & Issy will be at the Oakfield show this weekend poo picking and water carrying to raise funds – so far there are 15 takers! Its going to be a busy weekend for them. Pippa is up in Scotland helping out with the lambing – I am not sure which is preferable myself! Libby & Issy have been working hard at the courses here as well over the last few months and have raised £160 so far. It was originally for the Four Nations camp, they have a double whammy of fund raising to do now! Four Nations Young Riders Camp – Ingleby Hall, Lincoln 25th – 29th July 2019

The other four 13-17 year olds who are coming to the Four Nations camp at Ingleby Hall are also raising funds and doing pretty well in general.

Part of the principle of the camps is to get our young riders to begin to take responsibility for paying their own way where they can, especially as many of them do not have parents who are involved in the horse world. Set the Pace is match funding what the young riders raise from the Young Riders fund for the FEIF camp which is made up from the surplus which the marvellous catering crews at our courses, riding weekends, camps and shows hand over plus other donations we receive from time to time. We are paying transport and chaperone costs for the Ingleby Hall camp as two of the girls are travelling from Shetland, one from Scotland(chaperone) and two from Yorkshire. The catering crews are amazing at what they do for so little without affecting the quality they provide. It’s a good job we have another busy show this weekend with about 55 for supper and more than 100 lunches being served to hungry people though. Liz Phillips has stepped in as the Country Leader at the last minute and we have received donations of £175 towards her and Maria Freestone’s unexpected extra expenses. This is separate from the Young Riders fund. Links for the young riders fundraising pages FEIF ICELAND CAMP: Mylie Freestone Libby Day Issy Day Pippa Phillips FOUR NATIONS CAMP Emily Mathieson Freya Masson Rhiannon Taylor Alisha Taylor Huge thanks to Rebekah Spowage for hosting us alongside her adults and for the adults allowing us to come too. Also to Dorothy Sales for all the efforts she has been putting in to organise her end and to everyone who has liked, sent encouraging comments and donated for our young people who want to be involved in the Icelandic horse community. They are our future and it pays for us to invest in them. 20

Musical lot our Ingleby campers: Alisha Taylor Hi I’m Alisha I’m 17 years old I play the violin, piano and drums I love horse riding I have been horse riding since I was 8 I have been riding Icelandic’s since October 2017. I love Icelandic’s because they are kind, gentle and calm. I also do gymnastics.

Rhiannon Taylor I’m Rhiannon I’m 14 turning 15 this year. I play piano,violin and flute. I have been horse ridding since I was 6 and have been ridding Icelandic’s since October 2017. I also go to Houlls Horses & Hounds.

Freya Masson I'm Freya, I'm 14. I play fiddle mandolin and bass guitar. I have been ridding since I was 6 and have been riding Icelandic horses since October 2017. I also go to hulles horses & hounds. I am also a competitive swimmer and I do archery as well.

Emily Mathieson I’m Emily. I go to Houlls Horses and Hounds and I’m 16, turning 17 this year. I’ve been horse riding on and off for many years. I also enjoy playing piano and guitar. I’ve been riding Icelandic horses since 2016 and it’s been a really great experience for me so far! X

Mylie Freestone Hi, I have met a few of you. I’m 15. I have ridden Icelandic horses in Iceland and Slovenia, Parker on many occasions and very luckily a couple at Pete & Kathryn’s place in Wales. Thanks for the welcome into the group, I hope I meet more of you at the show in May

Libby Day Ok so I’m Libby I’m 14 and I sing (I’m really into musical theatre) and I’ve been riding since I was 2 (started having lessons at 4) I’ve own and Icelandic who’s in training at the minute and ride my mums but I’ve been into Icelandic’s in 2016 and I haven’t looked back since xx Libby was poster child for FEIF February as well. 21

Isabel Day Of all our young riders, Isabel (and Pippa) have been the ones to really get to grips with the publicity machine. Issy wrote (before she knew she was going to Iceland too): Hi all I’m Issy and I am 14 years old. A few weeks ago I went on a course with Mic and I learnt so much on how to sustain tölt how to push it forward and how to have the right seat. I have been on three courses with Mic and every time I come back having learnt something and having something to work on. In the time between the courses I go home and work on the homework Mic has given me. I am very lucky to have an old railway track for hacking, which means that I can work on tölt on a straight line and push as far as I can without hurting Orvar’s feet too much. Örvar has grown and changed since we got him and he has got a lot more muscle than he used to have and he has got a completely different outlook on work. He used to be a happy-go-lucky horse, just whatever he could do to get an easy life. Now Örvar is walking up to me and asking me to do work and that’s why I love him a lot. Örvar now is almost not recognisable because he has changed so much. At the moment me and Libby and a lot of youth are fundraising for the Four Nations camp in July. If you are coming to the show please feel free to come up to me and ask me to poo pick or feed or anything you would like as I would like to reach my fund raising goal. Please do note though that me and my sister are still also competing so we do need some time to tack up and groom and just having quality time with them. It will cost us about £200 for one of us to go as we are taking our own ponies but a lot of people can’t take their ponies so it will cost them more. However, if me and Libby raise more then we need we will be giving the extra money to the people who aren’t doing as well. I am really excited for the show and the camp in July. I am looking forward to the future. 22

Aidan Carson I caught up with Aidan online after his very successful weekend. This was his second event of the year after the one earlier in March (pictured right). He wrote: My training has been going well over the winter. I’ve been able to put a lot of work in with all three of my competition horses for this year which is really nice and gives me a lot of confidence going forward to the start of the season. The weather here has been really up and down. We had a few cold spells over the winter with a lot of snow but towards the start of spring it really started to dry up. We had the first rain in almost 2 months on the 2 days I was competing at the weekend, which was a bit sorry but needed. I was competing Blíða at the weekend at the Kjarni double WR (27-28 April). It was a really strong start to the season for us gaining qualification to the Swedish Championships in the first competition. We got 6,13 in our first F1 together and Blíða’s first outdoor competition getting up to 7 for Pace. We also rode in PP1 but we still have some training to do with the transition from Canter to Pace but it was still a good overall performance with up to 7 for Pace quality again. I am really pleased with her and how she has progressed over the winter and how the training has gone. Now we are going to go back and train more before RDFestival 22-26 May. My next competition is the Southern Swedish Championships on 10-12 May with Óðinn (Jimmy) which I am now really looking forward to kicking off his season with hopefully some steady times.

Crissie Edwards wrote: Since getting back to riding I have really been working hard to get Kvika back to full fitness and training ready for the show and in between this Linnie asked me to ride Fjola or ‘Carrot’ her 6 year old to ‘get some miles on her clock’ which has been great! She’s a joy to ride happy to do anything but still curious which is nice! She has shown us all gaits and is just great to work with and everyone loves her she’s got such a sweet and friendly character..... even Kvika likes her and that’s rare although Kvika is Fjolas grandma which is quite cool! I also went to Robyn’s not so long ago for a weekend of riding and fun where we rode in the forest on day 1 and a hack and schooling session on day 2 which was lovely! We can’t wait for the show and can’t wait to see everyone there!

Pippa Phillips

- has been held up as she is helping with the lambing – I will do a second issue before we print to catch up with Pippa’s news. (I did only ask her last night at 10.30pm!)

Malte Cook has been having the most fantastic time competing and setting records already. In case you missed Charlotteâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s proud post at the weekend..

Rachel MacKinnon is also managing to have firsts even if she is working 50+ hour weeks. In my normal roundup I felt very sorry for Rachel and remembered what it was like! Rachel wrote: Hey Mo! Not really up to much Icelandic wise this summer, I’m going to do the lessons at West Tarf in September and that’s about it! Was going to do the Fi Pugh have a go show this weekend but there were a few date changes and I decided I’d pass on it. I would love to be closer to you and joining in but unfortunately it’s just not possible I am working 50+ hour weeks at work so working hard but making sure I ride 5/6 times a week too and doing lots of tölting on our hacks out and trying to do a couple dressage tests a month so I’ve got something to focus on. If you are under 27 (or a parent or sponsor) and are interested in telling us about your adventures with your Icelandic horse, whatever it is and wherever you are, please do get in touch. Back to Contents

A GLIMPSE INTO HISTORY Youth Camp in Iceland – How times have changed… Four of our girls are off to the FEIF camp in Iceland in July, this is their itinerary…

I thought it was a good moment to share another early chapter in the Icelandic Horses in the UK book which I am working on. The story that follows comes directly from some of the boys involved and this expedition was a follow up to the pivotal Epsom College expedition in 1960 where Stuart McIntosh drowned. I am hoping to have some personal recollections from some of these Old boys in the future.

Paul Sievers (Forest 1952-57), Robin Norman (Fayrer 195661), John Snelling (Fayrer 1955-60), Tim Collett, Robert Tate (Forest 1952-57), Nicholas Irish (Forest 1956-61), Richard Snelling (Fayrer 19581963), James Walsh, Richard Paice (Crawfurd 1954-1961), Ian Forster (H-S/Carr 1958-63), John Owen-Davies (Forest 1955-60), David Birt (Forest 1956-61), Robert Knight (Crawfurd 1956-61), David Bryce (Forest 1957-62) Many of those who took part in the ill-fated Scouting expedition to Iceland in 1960 attended a London gathering hosted by Richard Paice. Early on in the expedition a teacher, Stuart McIntosh drowned while crossing the River Bruara. Despite the tragedy, Master in charge, Cedric Burton continued on. Richard Paice commented, "Their imagination and determination to take us on that journey marked all our lives forever." Retrieved from Epsom College Old Boys Website. In my researches I discovered, but Pat Proctor already knew, that the death of Stuart McIntosh changed so many lives and the direction of the Icelandic horse in the UK. Cedric Burton took early retirement at a financial loss from Epsom College where he was a very respected and loved house master and took over the running of the stables from Stuart McIntosh with Moreton Elliott as head groom and Rev. George Buchanan Smith who was a much loved house master from Fettes College in Edinburgh married Stuart McIntoshâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s widow and became a central figure in the Icelandic Horse community in Scotland. More stories to be researched and told there but for now, this is the story of how they used to do youth camps in Iceland. Amazing to me that they did it again after the death of Stuart McIntosh. Those of a nervous disposition might want to cover their eyes or have a strong drink to hand whilst reading (Liz Phillips â&#x20AC;&#x201C; letting Pippa on a solo hack has nothing on this).

Epsom-Fettes Iceland Expedition July 1963 From the Fettes College Newsletter kindly sent by Mr CW Marshall the Archivist at Fettes College, Edinburgh Last summer holidays a joint party from Epsom College and Fettes made an expedition to Iceland covering some 350 miles on horseback in the Northern regions of the island. The leader was Mr C T H Burton, an Epsom Housemaster who had led a similar expedition in 1960. The two parties flew from London and Renfrew respectively on July 30th to land at Reykjavik. The Fettes party in the charge of the Rev G A Buchanan-Smith consisted of M. Currie, M.S Johnston-Stewart, F F McIntosh, J D MacRae, N.J. Macdonald and M B Winney. Mr J.D.A Henshaw, a surgeon at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary acted as Medical officer and Moreton Elliott, head groom at the Stables of Icelandic Horses near Edinburgh came to help with the actual riding. In addition to Mr Burton, the Epsom party included Mr Potter and Mr Goldstraw, assistant Masters and twenty-three boys.

Day 1 Reykjavik The first two nights were spent on the floor of a gym in a very modern Primary School. Reykjavik is a curious city with a population of about 80, 000. It is spread over a wide area intermittently occupied by fields and houses. The main street is narrow though it makes little difference to the speed of American cars and German buses which probably outnumber British models. 29

Day 2 Varmahlid On the second day we journeyed by bus over the lava-dust roads to our starting point on the north coast at the little hamlet of Varmahlid. Our first camp site was on the banks of a river which rises in the Ice Cap of the Hofs Jokull far away to the south. That evening we were to enjoy one of our frequent swims in the local, naturally heated, swimming-pool.

Darkness fell to the sound of hoof beats from our horses which were still being gathered by our Icelandic guides.

Day 3 - 5 from Varmahlid to Akureyri

The first three days were spent riding towards Akureyri, through glaciated country, during which we slowly became accustomed to our horses and got to know our Icelandic guides. Pal Sigurdsson was in charge and although he owned many of the horses he did not do much riding but drove the Bedford truck which carried our equipment.

Our real guide and interpreter was Halli Snorrison, the sixteen year old son of one of Icelandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s surgeons. His youthful confidence and friendliness were qualities far in advance of most boys of his age. The two Icelanders who were directly responsible for the horses, which numbered about 80, were Bjarni Sigurdsson and Svenn Johannson: both were real characters in their own right. All these men were to gain our complete respect and prove their worth many times over in the difficult country the expedition was to cross. At Akureyri, Icelandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s second largest town with a population of 8,000, we spent our first rest day. Our plan was to ride for three days and then rest for one.

The camp at Akureyri was near the airfield and many of us were amazed by the number of aircraft which used it. Icelanders besides being the most literate race in Europe are also, probably, the most air-minded. 33

There was a small Lutheran Chapel at the farm where we were encamped and on the Sunday evening a short service was held. Chapels set amongst farm buildings are commonplace throughout the island.

Day 7 – 9 from Akureyri to Mývatn Leaving Akureyri we set off into more desolate and mountainous terrain. At this point in the trek several of us were allowed to help in the herding of spare horses – anything up to 35 in number. With the help of Bjarni and Svenn everyone who attempted it found it most enjoyable. The next three days took the party through rocky, boulder strewn hills and along dusty valleys with a different view at every turning. Iceland was already beginning to live up to its reputation for being a land of contrasts. On the sixth day of riding we reached our second rest-stop at Lake Mývatn – the “Lake of Midges”. The little inhabitants of the area greeted us in full force, but, fortunately, were not of a biting variety. Mývatn is a highly volcanic area and the shallow lake is surrounded by evil-looking mountains. Here we went swimming in an underground cavern which, like most pools, was warm.

Editors Note: You might recognise the Grjótagjá caves better in colour from the Game of Thrones (season 3, "Kissed by Fire" episode with the memorable quote “you know nothing Jon Snow”) 34

We visited the natural springs at Nรกmaskarรฐ where there were both pools of boiling mud and small craters emitting steam. The ground was warm and yellowish in colour with the sulphur deposits; the smell was overpowering. One member of the party described the area as like his conception of hell.

Another attraction was the grotesque lava formations beside the lake which covered a wide area not far from the camp site. 35

Of considerable interest too was the lava “wave” around the old church. When a volcano erupted almost two hundred years ago the villagers all crammed into the church expecting to die there. The lava, however, stopped just before reaching the church and miraculously all the people came out alive.

During the Krafla eruption of 1727, the Leirhnjúkur crater, 11km northeast of Reykjahlíð, kicked off a two-year period of volcanic activity, sending streams of lava along old glacial moraines towards the lakeshore. On 27 August 1729 the flow ploughed through the village, destroying farms and buildings, but amazingly (some would say miraculously) the wooden church was spared when the flow parted, missing the church by only metres. It was rebuilt on its original foundation in 1876, then again in 1962. (Illus. 1866)

Day 10 – Mývatn to Dettifoss The next day was the climax of the expedition; fifty miles of barren rocky desert had to be negotiated, passing the great waterfall of Dettifoss which is higher than Niagara. It was 5pm before the roar of Dettifoss was heard and the party enveloped by a thick mist which had fallen. Unbelievable as it may seem at this point, we described a half-circle and began to move due south in the direction from which we had come. Fortunately our mistake was fairly quickly realised and only about an hour was wasted. Nevertheless it was almost dark before we reached our camp site – very tired, dirty and wet. (Editor’s note: bear in mind this was 7th August and the sun doesn’t set in Iceland from May 21st until July 30th, so this was VERY late and temperatures in August in Iceland are rarely above 15 degrees C)

Day 11-13 Dettifoss to HĂşsavik Two days later we arrived near HĂşsavik, a small fishing port on the north coast. The farmer with whom we were staying had ridden out to meet our party and was to ride with us on the day we left. Such a gesture is a mark of welcome and was frequently accorded to us. It was typical of the warmth of Icelandic hospitality. At HĂşsavik it not only rained, it snowed and this same farmer insisted that we should spend the night in his home. How space for over 40 people was found in two small houses remains something of a mystery.

Where the glacier meets the sky, the land ceases to be earthly, and the earth becomes one with the heavens; no sorrows live there anymore, and therefore joy is not necessary; beauty alone reigns there, beyond all demands. (Laxness, World Light, [1937], p. 453 Glacier Langjoekull) 38

At HĂşsavik itself the president of the local cooperative (who had recently been well received on a visit to Scotland) opened the swimming baths to us and then took us on a tour of his dairy. He gave us limitless quantities of the national Icelandic food, Skyr, which is somewhat similar to yoghurt which should be taken with healthy quantities of sugar and cream.

When we left the area we saw a geyser in action prompted by the dropping of soap flakes into the bubbling pool which produces a fairly swift reaction.

Day 14 - 17 Húsavik to Grenjastaður On the return journey to Akureyri we visited the old Icelandic turf houses at Grenjastaður. This row of houses has been preserved as they were when they were last lived in, less than 50 years ago.

Day 18 - 19 Grenjastaður to Hallormsstaðaskógur On the last day but one the members of the expedition entered for a “race meeting”. While horse racing is the national sport in Iceland it bears little resemblance to anything known in this country. There is not much of the jockey in the sight of a 1st XV, second row forward careering into the onlookers on the back of a relatively small pony! Our last night was spent in Iceland’s only wood Hallormsstaðaskógur. The trees were at least 20 feet high! We then rode back to Akureyri where the following day our bus took us back to Reykjavik.

A word must be said about the horses which carried us, without faltering, over 350 miles of rough country. The Icelanders believe the old adage that “a good horse has no colour” and our mounts lived up to their reputation. All of them stood at about thirteen and a half hands and most of them moved at the “pace” or “tölt”. A lateral leg-action gait, which eliminates the need to post. The sight of wild horses or of our own horses running loose is not something easy to forget.

Halldor Laxness, the novelist has vividly described the movement “…. Lightning in every action, storm in every nerve, swinging their heads everywhere as if the front of their necks were made of elastic, gracefully flirting their tails… They charge away like storm incarnate over scree and bogs and landslides, dropping the tips of their toes for a fractional moment into the furnace that blazes beneath their hooves… “ The land of Iceland is indeed a furnace and to the uninitiated much of the ground we covered looked as though it was impossible for horses to cross over – especially at speed. Any doubt that may have been felt at the start of the expedition about the ability of these powerful, tireless, barrel-chested creatures had completely gone by the end.

Day 20 - 21 Reykjavik Once back in the capital, the last two days were bound to be something of an anti-climax. The day before leaving however, was spent visiting the island’s largest waterfall, Gullfoss and the Great Geyser.

The bus route also went past the ancient seat of the Althing, or Parliament at Thingvellir. In the evening we treated ourselves to an excellent meal at the “Naust”, Reykjavik’s oldest and most traditional restaurant. By midday on the 20th August, three weeks after leaving, the Fettes party landed from an aircraft of Icelandair at Renfrew. Thanks are due to many people who made the holiday possible and in particular to Mr Burton and Hr. Hjalti Palsson who made all the arrangements in Iceland. The contribution, at wholesale prices (or less) of many foodstuffs and of free medical supplies were quite invaluable. It is impossible to mention everyone who helped, but together they made possible an experience which will be stamped on the memories of all the members of the expedition for a very long time and which was enjoyed by all who took part in it. N.J.M and P.A.R

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CATCHING UP It’s that time of year, the events are starting to come more frequently and it’s hard to keep up! A couple of brief event summaries for those of us who couldn’t get there in person, first of all from the Pinchbeck Easter Eggstravaganza… As always Ann & Dave Savage did a bang up job hosting (reportedly – see below, I have been eavesdropping!). Dave has taken to catering and they have a clubhouse too! You can read all about it yourself! Hello sorry to bother you, Mo has asked me for a few words about the weekend for Set the Pace. I will send her photos of the winners of the Tolt Club sponsored rosettes and was thinking I could cheat a bit on the article and ask for 3 or 4 sentences from you that I can put in quotes. Highs, lows, magic moments, fun happenings etc, please Thank you

Message them and I’ll type them or you can email

Eldur

I should have put from you all in the hopes of getting at least 3 Helena

There were so many great moments though Jean going on the track with her v new horse and saying ‘Yeah he’s alright!’ Such a perfect horse for her! XX 1

It was so nice to chat with Jean and Lucy and get to know them Karen

“Fi is able to look through the confusion of the incorrect or imbalanced gaits given, and focus on the positive feedback and learning’s of the correct gaits given, even if infrequent during the test/class being ridden. Also the support, discussion and fun had by all who attend. Graham a deserved winner of best partnership, all the boys together”. Martine

Seeing others achieve so much, Catherine on her own, riding trot around the track on a horse that did not trot. Harriet managing to find canter on a horse that originally did not go forward, plus receiving 'Best Newcomer'. It would be rude not to mention Dave's soups, perfect support, camaraderie and encouragement from everyone. Catherine

Love the support that everyone gives. I was so touched to get the Most Improved rosette. I knew that Svipur and I had achieved our personal best, but of course everyone has their own achievements and progress, so it was still a lovely surprise. And I still can’t believe I go all four gaits! One day I may go for the fifth! Eldur

Thank you everyone Helena

Oh and the Great Fun we all had! XX I was v happy to try out Loose Rein Tolt and actually find that Bru can do it beautifully- I just need to stop interfering!

Karen

A wonderful, sunny weekend in the company of a great bunch of people riding a hovercraft with a sticky accelerator and a sense of humour stop wearing those electric

note to self, must

pants.... Boiiinngg

Helena

Karen

Oooh and I never knew until this weekend that I could turn a 4 gaited horse into at least a 6 gaited one. Must be those electric pants again..... 45

Karen

Or perhaps it is Fi Pugh’s' outstanding tuition that gave me temporary superhuman powers Donna

I am still smiling after my fab weekend filled with camaraderie and fun and the most excellent tuition and support from the lovely Fi. My thanks to Eldur and David for the invitation and kindness in letting me ride the wonderful Dimma after which I couldn't stop smiling! Oh and David’s soup was so delicious. I can't wait to join in as soon as I find my own Icelandic or my Icelandic finds me! ..... Fiona

I think the FEIF motto is (or used to be) "Fun and Friendship “and for me, that sums up the weekend perfectly. Enjoying the company of friends and our wonderful horses in the sunshine, I can't think of anything else I'd rather have done

Harriet

Bit late sorry but... As always Ann & Dave are fabulous hosts and had certainly booked the weather to reflect them, Fi has such a unique empathetic ability for both horse and rider that puts you at ease even when things aren't going to plan. The supportive atmosphere is just awesome it's like a cozy blanket of Icelandic love, because I've been to the majority of events supporting Mother I've seen the battles and improvements in everyone it's a pleasure to see equine partnerships grow, As much as the Maí bug is learning new things and gaining valuable experience she's still weird. Helena

Well said Harriet

The very pretty rosette photos are here if you want to go see and as you can tell they were very well deserved by the winners...

If you don’t follow Thalia’s blog, it’s worth a read; I thought her summary of this weekend’s Caro van der Wint course at Peter Heathcote's place was excellent. I have just grabbed a quick screenshot of the last day, I have been following Thalia’s progress (on the blog and in person) and what she writes here is really poignant to me. Thanks for sharing Thalia. See you at the weekend.

WHAT’S ON A new take on events – all hosted on the Set the Pace Facebook Page and shared weekly but as a roundup you can see them here, those that either are not events yet on Facebook or have not been shared with Set the Pace are shown in ordinary type (I haven’t made FB events of all of ours yet!). If you want to advertise an event that is open to Icelandic horses please share it to the Set the Pace Facebook page or make Setthe Pace (no space between Set and the) a co host. The link for all events is here. May 18-19 Have-a-go show Devon with Mic Rushen 26 Beach Ride, East Lothian

Contact: Debbie Ede Contact: Delia Marriott

June 8-10 Oakfield Clicker Clinic, Mary Concannon(full) 28 TREC Taster Event, Temple Farm, Midlothian

Contact: Nick Foot Contact: Delia Marriott

August 9-11 Tramp & Camp – Oakfield Summer explorers camp Contact: Nick Foot 24/26 Old Hills Summer Camp Contact: Fi Pugh 25-27 Viking Reenanctment, Rockingham Contact: Nick Foot 25 Oval Track Access & Filming – West Tarf Edinburgh Contact: Delia Marriott September 13 Oakfield Oval Track Familiarisation from 1pm 13 Oakfield Judges Q & A plus shared takeaway (6pm) 14-15 Oakfield September Show 27-28 Oakfield Oval track training course – Mic Rushen

Contact: Nick Foot Contact: Nick Foot Contact: Nick Foot Contact: Nick Foot

October 5-7 Oakfield Clicker Clinic, Mary Concannon Contact: Nick Foot 18-20 Oakfield Oval track training course – Mic Rushen Contact: Nick Foot 24 Happy Hacking at Pentland Hills – Edinburgh Contact: Delia Marriott November 2-4 Oakfield Clicker Clinic, Mary Concannon 48

Contact: Nick Foot

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Banter in the Haunted Old Hills Barn - April 2019 As overheard by Fi Pugh

Cartoon: Helena Leigh Levett Erró

Helgi, I heard her say it’s a year since Eldur was taken away – you know, the man came with the long needle and…

Helgi

Yeah, yeah, the falling down and never getting up again medicine. Well, maybe we could have a party to celebrate a year without Eldur. It’s been very peaceful. If we look extra cute we might get something especially good for a midnight feast. Apples would be nice. 51

Erró

But Helgi, are you SURE Eldur is never coming back? Because I heard someone talking about an orange horse with its skeleton on the outside. It was walking and running. But the only time the skeleton is on the outside, is when there isn’t an outside and the inside is outside – but it isn’t an inside any more. (Looks confused) I don’t really understand it…Do you think Eldur has come back after all? You know my good friend Sharon sent me some Stud Muffins for Easter and at Easter they’re always going on about coming back from the dead or something. Maybe Eldur smelt them from wherever he was, and opened the door - he always knew how to open anything or just break it down if opening didn’t work - and (becoming hysterical now) got his skeleton to climb out and carry him over here and…(Erró starts shaking) he’s going to try to get at my Stud Muffins and gobble them all at once, instead of just one at a time, and they’ll all be gone, and I’ll have to move out of my stable again …..it’s not fair….

Helgi

Erró, don’t be silly, just calm down. You can’t have your skeleton on the outside. The rain would get in, and you wouldn’t be waterproof any more.

Maron

Actually, you can have your skeleton on the outside. I did once; they took a photo, too. I looked really good. Maybe I’ll be like Dorian Gray, eternally young and good-looking while my picture just gets older and older.

Helgi

Who? What? Stop talking rubbish, Maron. Don’t listen, Erró, it’s ridiculous.

Radius

No it isn’t. I had my skeleton on the outside, too. I could see it, bones everywhere, all in the right places. My best friend, Barón, did as well. He had bones on one side and muscles on the other. It looked really cool. They took us away to a place which was full of really big and weird animals. They said they were horses but Barón reckoned they were just joking really. They had almost no mane and tail, hooves the size of dinner plates. Some of them were very rude, too. They thought we couldn’t understand them but we did.

Helgi

You’re weird. How did you put your skeleton on the outside then? I suppose you used “the Will and the Word”? Honestly, anything for a bit of attention.

Radius

It’s true. They woke us up really early and some lady called Gillian Insideout or something (though I didn’t see her skeleton on the outside) started painting on us. I think she forgot her paper. They don’t half do some strange things, these people we live with. We just humoured them and pretended we hadn’t noticed, carried on eating our hay. It was a bit tickly at first with the paintbrushes and that, but we got used to it after a bit. Gillian was really nice, though. She had carrots. We had to do Carrot Exercises. They were called something funny. Pirates or something. I thought Pirates lived in the Caribbean. It wasn’t the Caribbean where we went. It was cold and very windy.

Erró

What happened next? Were you dead? Did you see Eldur?

Radius

Well, all the horse skeletons walked along the seabed and there was some weird music that got louder and louder….and then the ghosts started to-

Helgi

For goodness sake, shut up, Radius. Look at Erró, he’s gone white, he’ll fall over in a minute

Maron

He’s almost white, anyway, in places. Old age, mate.

Radius

Sorry, Erró, only joking. No, of course we didn’t see Eldur. This was something very special and they only wanted the very best sort of Icelandic horses. (Smugly) Young ones, too, of course. There were loads of people watching us and we had to run around and show all our gaits, lift up our knees and everything. Barón was a right cleverclogs and showed walk, trot, tölt & canter on the lunge. I was ridden, too, and even had to pace. They were watching our bones move. The ones they could see on the outside. They were supposedly very important people, judges or something. They looked like judges – wore a lot of clothes and drank a lot of coffee. We were there all day, and the wind was blowing, the door was banging. It was a bit scary really, but Barón didn’t care and I got tired of jumping about for no reason. I had to jump over jumps. It was hard work.

Erró

So what happened next? How did they put your skeleton back inside? Did you die and come back to life? Like Eldur?

Radius

No,no. It wasn’t really on the outside, I told you, they just painted it on. The paint came off after a few days. Most of it, anyway. We got 53

some strange looks as we went round the village, I can tell you. It was a bit embarrassing really. Erró

So it was you, then, and not Eldur?

Radius

Of course. I’m famous! My photo was everywhere. I expect everyone’s seen it by now.

Helgi

There you are, Erró, you can relax now. Getting worked up about nothing. Cheer up, they’ll be out in a minute and you can have one of your Stud Muffins I expect.

Radius

Oh good, can I have one, Erró?

Erró

No, you can’t. They’re bad for orange horses. I’d give one to you, Helgi, but you don’t like them. Maybe you can have a nice bit of apple.

Maron

Apples are good. Party tonight then?

Helgi

Twelve peaceful months to celebrate without Eldur. Time flies. It’s OK Erró, you’re safe now. The stable is yours.

Erró

(slobbers over his Stud Muffin) nom nom, feeling better already. Maybe I could have another one just to be on the safe side.