Weekend report

[jennyaxe]

I've recently begun to take horseriding lessons on Thursdays, in a group of ten people. A while ago, one of the women in the group that the group might do something together, like riding out and having a picnic or something. So this weekend, five of us went to a farm some thirty kilometres away.

We arrived at Övergrans jordbruk between 4 and 5 pm. We settled into three double rooms, and I managed to get the smallest room, which meant I had it to myself. After that, we went down to do some beer sampling - they brew their own beer there, and those who wanted got to taste the four different kinds they made. Since my painkillers make it unwise to have more than minuscule amounts of alcohol, and there was standing room only, I only stayed long enough to have some of the food they served.

When the beer-drinkers returned, we started making dinner. Two of us prepared the potato gratin and the salad. When they were done, we three who had spent the time chatting in the TV-room went down to cook the meat (pork fillet) and lay the table. The meal turned out to be quite OK, even though I'd been in charge of the meat, and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. Dawn, an Englishwoman who's lived in Sweden for several years, had us in stitches telling us about all the things she'd done - parachuting, paragliding, going down difficult rivers, etc. The amusing part is that she's terrified of heights and of drowning... It should come as no surprise that she's frightened of horses but goes horseriding at least once a week. And she calls herself a coward - to my mind, conquering your fear is not the hallmark of a coward... We asked if she ever does anything that she's not afraid of, but I don't recall any answer.

After dinner, three of us went to have a bath in a beer vat. Apparently it was filled with water at the time. Marlene and I stayed at the house and talked awhile before going to bed.

Breakfast the next day was at 8.45. At 9.30 we were down at the stables, where five Iceland ponies waited for us. The one I got was called Embla, but there was no Ask, so she must have been a bit lonely... We brushed them and cleaned out their hoofs, then saddled and bridled them. The bridle was different from the one we're used to - so was the saddle, come to that, but at least it had the same kind of straps as the ones at our own stable. We had two guides; Johanna, who owns the horses (and who is the niece of the farm owner), and a girl who helps out in the stables. Johanna took us across the road and some way out on the small unpaved roads. Then she taught us how to get the ponies to "tölt", one of the "extra" paces that Iceland ponies have. ("Ordinary" horses have walking pace, trot and gallop/canter; Iceland ponies also have "tölt" and "amble". I may have gotten the terms wrong here.)

Tölt is a very comfortable pace - the horse can go as slow as walking pace or almost as fast as when galloping, but the gait is very even and non-bouncy. The problem is to know how to make the horse tölt instead of trot. Still, Embla had a fairly comfortable trot as well - I generally can't sit down in the saddle when the horse trots, as the bounciness makes it rather painful, but it worked out OK with Embla.

After a while we tried out a gallop. You wouldn't think those tiny horses could run that fast! They're incredible - like shot from a cannon, they move so fast it's almost scary. Johanna told me that she'd raced one of the Iceland ponies against both a "nordsvensk" and a quarterhorse, and none of them could keep up with the pony. They're also very strong, and can carry more than some "real" horses. They're also quite affectionate and companionable; they like it best when they've got their nose about an inch from the tail of the horse in front.

After two hours, we were back at the stables, unsaddled and tended the horses. When we'd brought them in to the food, we all went up to the house and made coffee. By then we all needed something hot! Fortunately there were some cakes left over from the day before, so we got enough energy for the drive home.

Once I got home, I spent most of the afternoon on the sofa or in the bath. I was completely knackered - I fell asleep shortly after ten o'clock; I can't remember when I last did that.

All in all, it was a great weekend. I think the most impressive part was that we five women, who usually talk for at most half an hour a week, who've never met outside the stables, managed to spend almost 24 hours together without a single note of irritation. Everything worked smoothly, everything that needed doing was done without fuss and with everyone helping out.

I'm already looking forward to what Marlene will come up with for our next outing, whenever that is...

Comments

[pinkdormouse.livejournal.com]

I was promised a ride on an Icelandic a couple of years ago but then the friend in question moved away. Pity as it's a fair few years since I rode anything and they look about the same size and build as Aimee, the Highland-cross I had as a teenager.

Gina