Further Information

The purpose of this teaching site is to increase and improve users access to teaching material and information about the Icelandic horse, nature of horses and riding. On it they will be able to find information about teachers and read about their focus and approach to teaching.
The website will hopefully continue to grow and it is our wish that more instructors will provide content and interesting information for publication on it.

The content of this website is primarily based on material, ideas and values of Reynir Aðalsteinsson, a legend within the world of Icelandic horsemanship.

The website can be used in connection with courses and seminars, the curriculum is level based and organized.
Information about courses and venues can be found, what will be taught and contact information of organizers.

Communication between man and horse
We want to learn about the nature of horses and how they interact with each other and take advantage of that to communicate with them.
Our desire is that we can through positive interaction with the horses learn, grow and become better riders, equestrians and people.
We have in our possession material from Reynir Aðalsteinsson which has never been released, both text and video, and we would like to share this with you.

The ideology
The ideology behind the material that will be placed on this web site is basically to use horse-friendly methods in training and in contact with horses, precision and accuracy in methods and in all contact with horses and to always consider the horses perception and nature when working with them. We will seek to take advantage of ancient knowledge and traditions mixed with modern knowledge about the nature and perception of horses. Utilizing the best of old and new, learn more and strive to improve the relationship between man and horse.

The foundation if this website is based on level based curriculum which was developed and written by Reynir Aðalsteinsson along with his family and colleagues over the years.
This material has been used for teaching for a long time, both on courses around the world and later on at Hvanneyri for several years as the basis for Reiðmaðurinn (The Rider), which is the equestrian department at the University of Agriculture at Hvanneyri in Iceland, founded by Reynir.

Reynir Aðalsteinsson 1944-2012
Reynir Aðalsteinsson was one of the main pioneers of Icelandic horsemanship. He is remembered with love and respect as scholar and mentor, not just here in Iceland but also around the world where he worked tirelessly teaching and promoting the Icelandic horses all his working life.
He along with friends and family took initiatives which later have proven successful and served Icelandic horse community well. He was one of the founders of the Association of Horse Trainers, one of the first riding courses and the first equestrian sports event in Iceland were held at his and Jónína Hlíðars, his wife, home at Hvítárbakki in Borgarfjörður and he was the first to take the Master Trainer exam.

Much more could be said about some of the first steps that were taken in the infant years of modern horsemanship in Iceland and the group of visionary men and women who took them, but we will not go further into it here.
But we can still learn from Reynir Aðalsteinsson and seek inspiration from him and we can strive to follow the path he laid which is based on respect and friendship with our horse.
We the fans of the Icelandic horse can pick up the thread and share these ideals as he himself would have done if he were still with us.

Reynir was always focused on acquiring knowledge and studying different trends in riding.
He sought knowledge from everywhere both abroad as well as in Iceland, from those who came before him as well as from his contemporaries. He read about other breeds and about various traditions in riding and sought to find a practical way to integrate this knowledge into Icelandic horsemanship in a way that suits our Icelandic horse.

There is still material by Reynir Aðalsteinsson which has never been published, both written text and instructional videos. The intention was always to publish this and we began planning the publication in the summer of 2011, but fate did not allow us to finish the task at that time.
Now, however, the project has been taken up again and is well on the way.

The website is almost ready but now we mainly need to finish preparing the material for publication.
The project is huge and so that it may become a powerful tool and deliver the results that we want to achieve we now seek your help.
Thanks in advance for your support and encouragement. :)