The Icelanders and their Strong Horses

Iceland, the island of longing in the North. The biggest volcanic island in the world is known for its grandiose landscape, for its geysers and glaciers. But it is even more famous for its horses. Icelandic horses are considered the liveliest horses in the whole of Europe with the greatest stamina. They tölt over mossy banks and lava rock unfazed by rivers, glaciers and scree slopes.
In Nordic mythology the steed are never far behind the warriors. Where would Siefgried be without his horse Grani, or Odin without Sleipnir. Even the sun wouldn’t rise or set if “awake early” and “very quick” weren’t pulling their chariot. From the beginning of colonisation, the Icelanders had the kind of close relationship with their horses usually only seen among the horse-riding peoples of Central Asia. And something of this love for horses still exists today.

Life without horses would be unthinkable for Haukur Goroarsson, too. The 34-year old lives with his family in Vatnsdalur, a fertile valley in the North four hours by car from the capital city, Reykjavik. For him Icelandic horses are “a sort of Viking on four legs”. The settlement of this inhospitable island on the Arctic Circle would not have been possible without the animals. The stone deserts in the country’s interior are too vast to be crossed on foot.

Haukur Goroarsson breeds horses and offers riding excursions for guests from all round the world. This summer he has concocted a daring plan - a horse ride from the eternal ice of the glaciers to the coast. In order to do so Haukur wants to try out a connecting road to Vatnsdalur that has become forgotten – maybe he will be able to offer it to riding guests later. His 13-year-old son Haukur Marian, himself an enthusiastic rider, wishes for nothing more than to take part in this horse ride.

The film, which belongs to the series “Under the Spell of Horses”, contains spectacular images of life on the edge of the Arctic Circle and portrays the family Goroarsson and their work with horses. The filming starts in summer, when the days neither begin nor end because it never gets dark. Every year in July Haukur drives most of the horses up to the highland pastures. This is a tradition that goes back centuries. The animals spend three months up there in absolute freedom. They stay up there until autumn, when snow is often already lying in the valley, before “rettir”, when they are driven down again. The animals are then brought together again, counted and returned to their stables.

But Haukur has a lot to do before then. Director Lisa Eder accompanies him and his family as they make their way through the thinly populated island to Myvatn, a lake area in the north. He wants to buy a horse for his son there, one that is perhaps suitable for the great horse ride.
The camera team is also there as Haukur Marian takes part in a tournament and as he practices for the highlight of the year, the ride to the glacier.
Enormous, ice-covered shield volcanoes rise up into the clouds. Three quarters of Iceland’s landscape is desert. The central highlands are made up of endless lava and scree fields interwoven with crevices and gorges.
Will Haukur Marian be able to take part in the great horse ride?

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