Our Winter Riding Course offers a combination of riding education, both theoretical and practical in our modern riding hall, along with half day riding tours in scenic surroundings, optional visits of horse events and/or sightseeing. Participants enjoy the comfort of Hotel Eldhestar or at Guesthouse Eldhestar as well as Icelandic specialities at our restaurant and the possibility to relax in the hotel´s hot tubs. Evenings can also be spent at the local geothermal pool in Hveragerdi or watching a movie about Icelandic horses.
The course is suited for riders of all levels, participants will be divided into small groups according to their riding skills. Riders who are used to Icelandic horses can develop their riding skills on different, well-trained horses. Riders who are used to other breeds learn how to ride Icelandic horses, focusing on riding the special, smooth gait “tölt” correctly and understanding the differences to riding “big” horses. If you would like to include a visit to the famous Geysir, Gullfoss waterfall and Thingvellir National Park you could do sightseeing on the last afternoon instead of riding. Please note that this activity is not included in the tour’s package. Each day includes riding in the morning and afternoon, either lessons or 2-3 hour trail rides with some instructions on the way. We would like to be flexible with regard to the schedule, to be able to create an individual program for each course depending on the season and number of participants.
Teachers are Hróðmar Bjarnason, an experienced licensed riding instructor and Ida Thorborg, who attended 3 years at the Hólar University, Department for Equine Sciences. Ida has been responsible for training young horses at Eldhestar since 2014 and was in charge of training two of our mares who scored high at breeding shows in 2017. The course includes a demonstration of insight into her daily training.
Teaching languages are English and Scandinavian languages. Instruction in German is possible on request, please contact us.
