Lokaathöfn heimsmeistaramóts íslenska hestsins í Hollandi, 15. ágúst 2007

Dear friends,

I want to thank you all for the time we have spent together here at the World Championships in Oirschot. The World Championships, along with the Icelandic Landsmót National Shows, have become a great gathering of friends and lovers of the Icelandic horse worldwide, and it is a great pleasure to us Icelanders to share our beloved horse with you all.

I know that all of us here share the opinion that the Icelandic horse is unique. It has lived with the Icelandic nation since the settlement and for centuries it was called the most useful servant. When the horse’s working role changed the need for a good riding horse remained and those who enjoyed riding had great ambition for a versatile sport horse and lively Icelandic “gæðingar.”

The Icelandic horse has been bred systematically for a hundred years. The breeding effort has been scientific and focused and Icelanders have used all the latest developments in breeding science for that purpose. The results are that the Icelandic horse is now an established part of the international equine world and has a reputation as a great sport horse, which we have indeed witnessed here. At the same time it is also in the nature of the stock to be a kind and gentle family horse, a riding horse everyone can enjoy. The Icelandic horse is actually capable of playing any role we might want – it all depends on what we ask of it.

Here at these World Championships a pageant of elegant show horses has been displayed, along with true “gæðingar” where in some cases highly strung powerful horses have been professionally trained to perform magnificently on a tight oval track. At its peak the training has reached a level of artistry and for that I am thankful. Horsemanship at its peak is a necessary part in showing our national treasure, the Icelandic horse. One should also mention the breeding horses that have been shown here, they are the fathers and mothers of future stars which will carry us even further down this road.

One thing is extremely important – and that is the general interest in horsemanship and riding, the multitude of people who enjoy the company of the horse and love to ride and travel on horseback. The horse is their friend and their main goal is to enjoy riding and caring for their horses.

Recently an old farmer in Skagafjörður in Iceland passed away. Many of you may have heard of him, his name was Björn Runólfsson at Hofsstaðir, called Bjössi á Hofsstöðum. He once said in an interview that “One’s life happiness depends on how clearly you say YES TO LIFE!”

There is a lot of wisdom in that, the individual who says yes to life wants to live life fully, not only for a short while, and in order for that to happen it is not enough to just take and consume – one must also give and inspire. Horsemanship and horse breeding is ideal for those who wish to live by this motto. Training and mastering a horse is a good example of such a life effort and horse breeding no less. Being a horseman and breeder definitely means saying yes to life. Horse people take on a challenging task which requires discipline; it enriches their lives and teaches them to accept any resistance in a calm and stable manner. That is how horsemanship enriches and improves our lives.

The Icelandic horse is the only horse breed in Iceland as you know. Therefore it plays a special role and horse lovers come from all classes of society. In my opinion that is very important and should remain so. In a way I can put this in perspective with the Icelandic society. We do place great emphasis on cooperation between different social classes and in Iceland there is a general conception that there should be no class distinction. The Icelandic horse plays important role in promoting this and all classes of society enjoy the Icelandic horse. To top that off the Icelandic horse has fans and benefactors all over the world. Horsemanship in itself is fortunately not political in its nature, except for the so-called horse-politics, which can of course be very tough. Horsemanship is simply based on the capability and dignity of the individuals who take part in it.

Dear friends, I do not intend to bore you with long speeches and in the end I would like to say this: Horse breeding and horsemanship is intertwined with Icelandic culture and agriculture and has been from the beginning. For the last two decades or so a transformation has taken place in Icelandic horse breeding and riding with incredible development and improvement. The foundation for this change was laid in the years and decades before, through hard work and endless ambition. But there is still room for improvement. The Icelandic government has increasingly focused on the horse industry and supported it – but one must not forget that there has been government support for a long time. However, there has been less financial support on behalf of the government to the horse industry, compared to other agricultural sectors. I believe that this has been good for the horse industry in Iceland; it has amplified free enterprise and individual marketing efforts. It is my goal, as Minister of Agriculture, to lift the Icelandic horse to an even higher place. The best way to do so is for you, who love the horse and know how to treat it, to get as much space and opportunity to do your job well and I want to be a part of creating those conditions.

I wish you all the best and a safe journey home.

Thank you for listening.