Riding - Riding tours
Sheep round up
To take part in a traditional sheep round up in Iceland is something you will never forget. It is difficult to find an adventure to compare with it. You will be among Icelandic farmers and experience the old tradition of collecting sheep in the highlands.
Sheep round up can involve riding with a couple of horses over rough terrain in not very comfortable weather conditions. On the main round up day you will sit many hours in the saddle and walk with your horses. That’s why you should have a proper and healthy condition. Beside the hard work you will begin to feel and understand the farmers joy when hundreds of sheep stream down the mountains……You will also experience the strength and patience of the Icelandic horse!
Program
Monday:
Guests arrive and go for a first short ride. Dinner and accommodation on Lýtingsstaðir.
Tuesday / Wednesday:
We will go for several rides and practice riding with a hand horse (we will pony our second horse during the round up) and try to learn the “sheep round up science”. Boarding and accommodation on Lýtingsstaðir.
Thursday:
We leave the farm and ride through the beautiful valley Gilhagidalur into the highlands. Every guest has two horses. While riding one the other horse has to be lead as a hand horse. We meet other farmers in the highlands and leave the horses at a fence. We drive back to the farm for dinner and accommodation. Ride lasts ca. 5 -6 hours.
Friday:
We leave the farm early in the morning, drive to our horses and saddle up. Everyone will be given a place in the chain of farmers. We will round up sheep on a wide area until the afternoon. The sheep are collected in a fence and driven down the valley Mælifellsdalur afterwards. This will take several hours. We bring the herd of ca. 1.000-2.000 sheep into the corral Mælifellsrétt. It is a great experience to see the sheep streaming down the valley like a flood. We will be exhausted at the end of the day and happy to come back to the farm at night time. The round up has often last for 10-12 hours! Dinner and accommodation on Lýtingsstaðir.
Saturday:
We will drive very early in the morning to the main corral Stafnsrétt just in the next valley. We may watch or even help to sort hundreds of sheep and celebrate the finished work with the farmers. We will go for a short ride in the afternoon and spend the last evening together with sharing the experiences and happenings of the past days. Dinner and accommodation on Lýtingsstaðir.
Sheepy impressions part 1
Sheepy impressions part 2
Sheepy impressions part 3
Sheeps flood 2008
Sunday:
The tour ends after breakfast and now we need to say “Good bye” to our wonderful and eager horses, our guides and hosts. Guests leave the farm.
Included
Accommodation on Lýtingsstaðir
Riding tour as outlined above.
Full board (breakfast, lunch, dinner)
Transfers from/to the nearest bus station (Varmahlið) to Lýtingsstaðir
Please bring
Riding helmet, windbreaker and rainwear, riding and walking boots
Warm clothes such as woollen pullovers and socks, scarf, gloves
Small camera for taking photographs during the riding tour
Please note
We reserve the right to alter any itinerary in the participants best interest or for reasons of safety.
It is advisable to have your own personal insurance when joining the riding tour. This tour is undertaken at the participants own risk. Riders must wear riding helmets.
Your riding clothes and boots must be disinfected before you arrive.
For this riding tour it is necessary to have previous riding experience.
This tour requires a minimum of 4 participants.