When you are an Icelandic horse sports fanatic and seen a lot of riders and horses enter the track, you know which riders and horses you like and don’t. At a big competition like a WC, MEM or Nordic championships, you see so many combinations ride the same test and only a few or just one stick to your mind. This happens with everyone and that’s why we made a selection of the nicest videos of test we really liked and remembered well. Of course, it also depends on personal preferences, but these horses are hard to dislike…
Josefine’s choice:
Martin Rønnestad and Yggdrasil frá Midtlund V1 WC 2017
Most of the people know Martin as a combination with the stallion Svartur vom Hochwald, although martin rode a lot of nice talented horses. In 2017 he got the ride the Svartur son Yggdrasil, they became a great team. And the thing that really stands out for me in this combination is the correct collection of Yggdrasil at an age of only eight years old! Yggdrasil really carries himself around the track. Martin is riding the young stallion correct, but with a natural flow that is really fairytale-like! If I would ever ride such a correctly ridden test like this in my life I would be grateful till in eternity.
Johanna Tryggvason and Fönix frá Syðra-Holti T2 WC 2017
If I think of a horse with big movements I think of some horses, with Fönix in particular. Mar that leg action! Fönix is an exceptional horse because he is big, with wide movements but he stays collected enough to become T2 world champion. He is a horse you can hardly forget in my opinion…
Frauke Schenzel and Teigur vom Kronshof at the F1 DIM in 2010 scoring 7,43
Frauke is one of the most successful Icelandic horse riders from this era, the combination of good breeding and riding is a real success on the competition track. That’s why there were several World champions with the last name Vom Kronshof. But one has to start somewhere. Teigur was one of the first really good stallions that were bred at Kronshof and came in second place on the WC 2011 in the class of the older stallions. The amount of energy that this horse shows in the track is really the eye-catching component of this test, and of course his gaits. Frauke makes it look so easy to ride a horse with the temperament of Teigur.
Jóhnann Rúnar Skúlason and Hvinur frá Holtsmula T1 WC 2007
This video is old but gold! We all Hvinur and Jói became world champion in T1 in 2005. This test is from 2007, when Hvinur unfortunately lost a shoe in the final. I think that this is one of the most controlled yet energetic tests I have ever seen. The moment of the tempo changes when Hvinur switches to a higher tempo it’s remarkable, but it’s even more interesting that Jóhann can ride this horse back to complete collection in a matter of seconds. And the high tempo is just amazing…
Nils-Christian Larsen and Reyr frá Dalbæ
Nils-Christian and Reyr were a very successful combination, they were on the German championships, Mid-European and World championships, and all with good results. Reyr is a very good fourgaiter that can show off an amazing slow tölr with a lot of rhythm, energy and precision and that’s just amazing to watch. The other gaits are amazing as well. The cool thing about this test is that the music is chosen so well that the beating of the steps in slow tölt matches the beat of the music. Because of his white coat, Reyr looks like a horse from fairy tail, he could be one of the last unicorns…
Pauls choice:
Jolly Schrenk and Glæsir von Gut Wertheim in T2 at the WC 2017
Jolly has been World Champion a few times over the years and her experience is visible. She became World Champion once again in Fourgait on the WC in 2017 with the impressive chestnut stallion Glæsir von Gut Wertheim. There she also rode a very impressive T2. The Energy in Glæsir is visible in every part of the test and the horse is shown with a remarkable collection and form throughout. In the loose reins part he does not loose a bit of his charisma and movements. It was surely a very memorable ride.
Bernhard Podlech and Keila vom Maischeiderland in T1 at the WC 2019
Bernhard and Keila were one of the most noticed newcomer combinations on the WC 2019 in Berlin. In T1 as well as in V1 and the combination they did splendidly with two silver medals and one bronze medal. They showed a wonderful test in T1 with a very collected slow tempo, precise and light-speed changes and an exceptional fast tölt. Overall it was visible how good and harmonious the connection between horse and rider is and how well they worked together. This was surely why Bernhard was awarded the Feather Prize together with world champion Johann Skúlason.
Bergur Jonsson and Katla fra Ketilsstöðum
Bergur and Katla have been successful in T1 and V1 over several years. She is an expressive mare with very big movements. This particular test is from Meistaradeild 2017. You can see that Katla is very supple and collected in Tölt, while carrying herself lightly, in slow as well as in fast tempo. They also show trot with wide movements and a lot of suspension and an impressive uphill canter, which makes clear why this performance was judged with a total of 7.80.
Jakob Svavar Sigurðsson and Gloría frá Skúfslæk at the WC 2017 T1
Gloria and Jakob were World Champions in Töltprize in 2017 and when you watch this video you can clearly see why. She is very light in slow Tölt and Jakob rides flawless and precise transitions from slow to fast tölt and back. The fast tölt is impressive and with big steps and good speed. Truly a combination which amazed people.
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