Team Spirit
The magic lies in the hands
of the riders by Anna Gréta Oddsdóttir Photos: Heiða Helgadóttir
The
Icelandic Horse World Champi onship 2013 will take place August 4-11, 2013, in Berlin. The idea is to bring the Icelandic horse to the people of Berlin and at the same time bring the fans of the Icelandic horse there. Iceland has the largest team at the World Championship with 15 participants in sport horses and 6 in breeding horses. This year, the team also has a higher number of young riders than ever before with 5 of the riders, aged under 21. Three team members are current world champions and the team consists of both men and women. Hafliði Halldórsson, the leader of the Icelandic National team is a fly fishing enthusiast, and a
former handball player but most importantly a great rider. His role is to pick the best Icelandic riders and he is clearly aiming for gold. “My job is to choose the best riders and horses and prepare the team both mentally and physically. The team is selected in a very democratic way. We have a qualifying where the riders work themselves into the team. The rest is chosen by my associates and I” Do you get a lot of criticism about whom you choose? “Yes I do, everybody has an opinion about the Icelandic team, but I need to follow my convict ions to get the best results. Fortunately, I have great associates
like Sigurður Sæmundsson former team leader for many years and Rúna Einarsdóttir, multiple world champion to help me with the selection” How do you prepare for a competition like this? “We have been preparing all winter with, for example, lectur es from well-known winning team leaders like Guðmundur Guðmundsson a former handball national team coach and currently the coach of the German team Rhein-Neckar Löwen. Now the most important things are to let the horses rest, have them examined by a vet and make special programs for each rider and build a team spirit. We want the team to be both fresh and hungry for victory. The competi tion lasts for days and we have to prepare ourselves and the horses for the heat and the strain.
perience and know their horses really well.” Do we have any main opponents? “Not in particular. All nations are our main opponents.” What is it that makes the Icelandic horse so popular? “The Icelandic horse is actually more popular than people realize. Diverse groups of people use the Icelandic horse, from toddlers to old people. It has adjusted so well to the harsh environment, it’s an easy keeper but above all, I think it is the wonderful temperament. He is so lovable, seeking friendship, and of course, the magical five gaits.”
And the strength of the Ice landic national team? “That’s easy! We have a strong team, with a lot of diversity and enormous width. The key to reaching peak performance at the precise time is a combination of skills, a good horse, luck and the right motivation. The magic lies in the hands of the riders. The riders have great ex-
“My job is to choose the best riders and horses and prepare the team both mentally and physically.”
94 ı WOW is in the air