Maybe you know Valeska already, and maybe you don’t. She is one of the most influential riders on Instagram at the moment. and that’s not without a reason, because she is a good rider. Her and Kolbakur vom Heesberg scored up to 7.63 in T2! Kolbakur, a.k.a. Kolbi, isn’t her only riding horse, she also owns Fifill frá Brendstrup. And about these horses she makes her content on her account, and we all love the sweet photos of her wild stallions. If you haven’t read part 1, check it out here!
Who trained you and Kolbakur? And why is that person such a good match with you and Kolbakur?
For the longest time, I have been training Kolbakur for myself. Since the end of 2017 I started training with Martin Rønnestad. He simply is the perfect match for Kolbi and me as his main goal also is to keep the horse in the flow, to keep them light and supple. Martin is super positive and also very helpful when it comes to my own insecurities in riding. For example when I get super nervous or insecure before competitions. And training with Martin is always fun, even when it’s super exhausting. I could see a big change in both Kolbi and me since we started training with Martin and I am looking forward to that’s still coming.
Fifill is only shown at breeding shows and futurity fourgait, why not enter the regular competition track with him already?
Like I said before it took me quite some time to “figure him out”. He was trained for breeding shows and only 5 years old when I bought him. Of course, he knew some stuff already, but some of it wasn’t the way I wanted them to be. Also, I am not a man, so I had to adjust Fífill’s way of reacting to the aids to my own body. I kind of had to personalize him to me. That takes some time and like with Kolbi I want Fífill and me to have all the time we need. His big gaits need a lot of energy and body strength from the two of us and that’s what we are focusing on right now. I don’t feel any rush with him and I want to show him on the track when I feel that we’re ready.
What is the most precious thing you learned from your horses?
Patience. Big things take a long time to grow and especially when working with animals you can’t expect them to perform the same way every day. I always put a lot of pressure on myself, also when I am riding and I always want to give a 300%. During the time I am working with horses I learned that it is okay to not expect the best of the best from yourself in every training. That it is okay to have a bad day, just like your horse sometimes has. And to give things time. It will turn out just fine eventually.
How do you see the future in the Icelandic horse sport?
I sometimes get a little scared when I see pictures where it seems more important that the horse has high front leg actions instead of good hind legs, a good back carriage or a relaxed mouth. For me a harmonious ride on my horse is always the biggest goal. Sure, there can be little arguments here and there, but in the end the whole picture should be “in the horse’s favour”. Of course, we have a lot of very beautiful horse-rider-combinations, but we also have the opposite. And when I see pictures of the world championship where bits are halfway outside the horses mouth without anyone bothering, I wonder if our sport is going the right way.
What do you think your future will look like as it comes to horses?
I think I will forever be a “horse girl”. I couldn’t imagine my life without riding in general.
But during this year that Kolbi has been injured I also learned (or had to learn) that for me riding is not about competing. I love to compete, I love to show our training results on the track, but it’s not the most important part for me anymore. So of course I will probably be competing with both my boys when I feel like it, but it’s not my main focus. I will also keep on teaching whenever there is the time. I have a regular job beside the horses, so that always takes a lot of my time as well. But I love teaching, so I don’t want to give up on that.
You also give riding lessons, do you have any planned classes coming up?
That’s right. I do give riding lessons around the area where I live.
And I recently just started planning small clinics. The first is even taking place this year at the end of November in the south of Germany.
We can say that you are a real Icelandic horse celebrity on Instagram, how do you feel about that?
I wouldn’t call myself a ‘celebrity’ at all. I simply feel like one of all the other horse girls sharing their horse life with others. In fact, I always get really happy when one of my followers is actually messaging me, telling me they like my posts or stories. It makes me really happy to hear that.
One time someone was messaging me that she saw me on a competition and didn’t dare to talk to me- that felt very weird because I don’t see myself as someone ‘special’ at all. I am kind of a shy person when I am around people so that’s why it is even more of a nearly weird feeling for me that someone would be too shy to talk to me. But it is kind of cute of course.
Do you have some tips and tricks you want to share with the readers?
Take your time. That is actually the tip I give to my students all the time. Don’t compare yourself to others when it comes to riding skills, competition results and impressive pictures. There will always be someone you think is greater than you, but that doesn’t make your achievements any less important or big. And don’t let others push you into doing things you don’t feel ready for. Listen to yourself and to your horse. You’re always just riding for yourself and for no one else.
And- never stop chasing after your dreams.
TheIcehorseBlog 