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Here we go again! Another ride with the herd back to Skalakot. Now that we have done the ride in one direction, we know exactly what is in store for us. The wind is blowing hard. We now have rain gear that was brought to us from Skalakot so at least it'll protect us from the wind, I hope.
The horses are being herded back to the paddock. At this point, I see the same little girl from yesterday feeding the horses with her bucket and some guy picks her up and puts her in a saddle for a walking ride. I don’t think you could find a happier kid at that point. She is grinning from ear to ear and having the time of her life!
Before we head out, we have to pack up our stuff and get everything into the trailer. This is a pain since the place is small, our suitcases have exploded and there is stuff everywhere. Tammy and I stepped out and let Tim and Dar pack up first as it would have been a nightmare for all four of us to be in there trying to get our stuff together. They left and we grabbed our stuff and jammed it into our suitcases as best as we could. At this point, neatness was not foremost on our minds! We did a quick cleanup and sweep of the cabin and we are ready to go.
The first section of the ride involves crossing the deep river, which, quite honestly, I am looking forward to. A little fear every now and then is good for the soul! We get to the river crossing and the wind is blowing hard. I get half way across the river with my horse walking sideways when I catch a strong gust of wind. So strong, it almost blew me off the horse and into the ice cold water! Luckily, I grabbed the edge of the saddle and stayed on. This is glacial melt water so I know that if I go in, I am not going to enjoy the sensation!
In my opinion, the first and last sections of the ride are the best. The first section because of the river crossing and the last because the horses are anxious to get home so the pace picks up and you get to canter a lot.
Geri opted out of the ride today and took a ride in the van back to Skalakot ahead of us. Mummi, who is driving the van, said that if any of us want to opt out, we could at one of the other stops. My shoulder and hip were bothering me so I said I might have to opt out at some point myself but I definitely wanted to be on the first leg of this run! Siri told us we would be moving at a quick pace since the horses know they are going home but the horses should pretty much stay together making it easier to run them there. Well, she was wrong because the horses broke into groups and we had to chase them down constantly and most of the ride back we ran as two groups because one group of horses just wouldn’t join the rest of the herd. I had to chase a few around a hill at one point and couldn’t tell where they went till Lee spotted them and said they were headed back down the hill to the group.
Again, I got to ride mostly in back, which seemed more fun to me. Here you yell at the horses that stop to get them going and chase strays. In front, you also chase strays but you gotta keep watching the ones that want to go down every gate and road and you have to act quickly because if one horse goes, others will follow. In front, you also have to be good enough to stop the horses when they need to be stopped and redirected to one of our stops.
We reached the first stop and I chose to take the van to the next stop. At this point, my shoulder was really bothering me from riding the rough terrain of the first section. I rode back with Mummi and one of the ladies where I would get a ride with the lunch wagon back to the next stop. Along the way he told us more about what it takes to raise horses here and how hardy the horses are living off the land and such. I get to Skalakot and the lunch wagon is ready to go. I hop in and we head to the next stop. We had to wait a while as the herd took longer than we expected but they got there and let the horses graze as we enjoyed some sandwiches, drinks, and cookies. We again made a human paddock and saddled up the horses. I am back in for the rest of the ride!
Back onto the highway with less tourists then before but still plenty of cameras. I have to say that Icelandic people have to be the nicest, most patient people I have ever seen because no one ever honks their horn or appears to get road rage. That is except for one guy Arnold had an encounter with. There was this tourist in a Mercedes Benz right behind Arnold that kept making a fist and motioning to get the horses off the road. The guy was a real jerk. Arnold turned around and motioned to him that he was "number one", if you know what I mean. We all agreed that this was the appropriate response to this jerk.
We made the last two legs of the trip pretty quickly and took a shortcut through the field at the end which allowed us to cantor for a bit which is always fun. We found out later that we did have one potentially dangerous incident on this run. Nancy’s horse Hekla stumbled coming down a small embankment and went down face first. Nancy took a hard fall face first into the volcanic rocks. She ended up with a black eye and pretty serious looking scratches on her cheek. Ever the optimistic and cheerful person, she made no big deal of it and got right back on the horse and finished the ride. Had it been me, I think I would be done! Call the hearse and notify my next of kin! Turns out the horse got it even worse than she did. The horse’s face was cut up too and then she went lame so she is out of commission for a while.
We made it back to Skalakot beat tired but everyone was smiling ear to ear or at least that’s how I remember it. Showers, another great feeding, and off to bed!
Details on the photos:
Pic 1 - Breakfast
Keeping it healthy and simple!
Pic 2 - Massage Hut
Laughing at the guides' stories of their massages. The truck had to parked there last night because the wind almost blew the tent away. I heard the guy was outside literally trying to hold it down!
Pic 3 -Directions Anyone
Tammy and I at the directional arrows trying to pick a direction to ride! Just kidding.
Pic 4 - Round Them Up
The horses being rounded up for our ride back to Thorsmork.
Pic 5 - At the Paddock
Pic 6 - Long Road
It's gonna be a long ride back to Skalakot!
Pic 7 - Loading up
The van is here for anyone wanting to opt out of part of the ride.
Pic 8 - Everybody Ready
I opted out of the second leg of the run due to sore shoulder. One small break and I am back on!
Pic 9 - Thumbs Up
Karolina giving her official thumbs up that she is ready to go!
Pic 10 - Following the Herd
We followed the herd for a short way and then headed back to Skalakot to bring the lunch to the next stop.
Pic 11 - Following the Herd
Pic 12 - Following the Herd
Pic 13 - Waiting for the Herd
Made it back to Skalakot with Mummi and then back with Ingrid and Anders with lunch for everyone.
Pic 14 - Water, Water, Everywhere
No shortage of water here.
Pic 15 - The Herd Arrives
At long last (about 15 minutes) after we arrive back, the herd pulls in.
Pic 16 - Horse Lunch
Even the horse get lunch but they have to eat it off the ground. All the grass you want!
Pic 17 - Tired
Saddles off and time for a much deserved break. That's Tatiana, Elaine, and Tammy.
Pic 18 - Not so Tired
I guess not all the young guides are as tired as I thought. That's Karolina, Siri, and Tatiana. Well, I am rested, the shoulder feels better; so, I am back in for the next two legs of the run!
Pic 19 - Stretch
At our next stop for a stretch break and some of Lee's flask full of rum! That's Lee, Arnold, and Tim.
Pic 20 - Horse Inspection
That's Tammy and Monica watching Tatiana amongst the horses.
Pic 21 - Dinner
Mummi outdid himself this time with a barbequed lamb, potatoes, and cabbage. There were veggies but who needs them when you have this?
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