Seeing a bit of brennivin, a signature Icelandic liquor, being passed around with a bag of dry fish is a very common sight here. It’s quite an insight to the Icelandic people’s lives to see them participate in this – some come over with their horses, some with empty trailers ready for their wild horses, some are here just to watch and others to sell coffee and kleinur, the Icelandic doughnut. I would recommend to get there a bit before that – 10:45am has been working really well for me – then you can secure yourself a good spot next to the fence or the corral to get the best view of everything. Saturday is when the real deal happens – the riders start riding out to the wilderness at dawn, chase and round up the horses and then bring them back, usually around 11:30 am. At the show, local farmers and breeders entertain visitors by showing off their most stunning horses, and there is music with some locals start getting merry already. It all starts on Friday with a horse show in a riding hall called Svaðastaðir, located just on the outskirts of Sauðárkrókur. The weekend is filled with laughter and merry times, lots of action by bringing the horses back and sorting them out, with a big dance party afterwards to celebrate the successful round up. People travel far to come and witness this and it doesn’t come as a surprise – not only is it one of the main events of the year in Northwest Iceland, it really is a spectacular sight to see all of those hundreds of beautiful horses running down the hill and back home from the wilderness.ĭuring the weekend farmers, horse breeders and other horse loving locals who are up for a bit of an adventure, join together to bring these horses back from the mountains. The event attracts around 3000 guests and not only the curious tourist – it’s a very popular event amongst the Icelanders as well. It takes place every year during the last weekend of September in Hjaltadalur, a valley in Northwest Iceland close to Sauðárkrókur town. Laufskálarétt is the biggest horse round up in Iceland. Iceland has a long history with its horses - these furry friends represent the country and culture well. The unique Icelandic horse has 4–5 gaits and can come in 40 different colours. They are smaller than most horse breeds, but surprisingly, they are as strong as some big horses - in fact, they can carry a Viking man with no trouble. The magnificent Icelandic horse has been pure bred for more than 1000 years.
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