The Horses
Rán from Siamber Wen born 1997
Rán with Tim - April 2002
Riddari frá Sandhólaferju born 1992 imported 1996
4-Gait competition 2000
Riddari giving a public display at Kelso in 2002
(Photo by Rona Frame)
British Championship Show 2003
Riddari is a five-gaited black gelding, however I ride him as a four-gaited horse and have not tried to produce his pace. He is a complicated character who has taught us a great deal about patience. He is extremely talented, however he is not a pushover and it has taken years to nurture him to encourage his talent without blowing his mind. Riddari represented Great Britain at the World Championships for Icelandic Horses in Denmark in 2003. He is now retired from competition work and now helps to teach people how to ride a sensitive and responsive horse.
Mona frá Sandhólaferju born 1993 imported 1996
Mona (right) with Freya fra Stora-Borg on the left
Mona (b. 1993) is a black, five-gaited mare. She has bred four foals, though sadly the first one was born dead. Her three surviving offspring were also colts and are all very special horses: Flytir b. 1998 and Fleygur, b. 1999. Fleygur has been gelded and Flytir has been kept entire and has been judged. See more about Flytir on his own page.
Flytir from Siamber Wen
born 1998
. Flytir as a 3 year old in 2001
One of Flytir's offspring: Freki from Siamber Wen, born 2003
Mona with Feykir, by Skuggi
Mona in her early riding days
Mona is herself a very special horse. She has a bold character and she does not suffer fools gladly. She is extremely loving and biddable and was one of the easiest horses I have come across when it comes to training. It is a privilege to know and work with her. She is also extremely well-balanced and talented and never mixes her gaits or loses balance. Also, in common with many very good Icelandic Horses, Mona is not much more than 13H.
Lotta frá Sandholaferju born 1993 imported 1996
Lotta with Tryggur, 1999
Lotta is a smoky black five-gaited mare. She was picked for her temperament and also was extremely easy to back and train. Not as bold as Mona, she nonetheless is loving and biddable and rides out with ease. She has already produced a colt who has inherited his mother's loving temperament. We have called him Tryggur, which means Trusty or Faithful, because that is his nature.
Lína frá Siamber Wen, 2001
Lotta's second foal was a filly by Stefnir frá Sandhólaferju. He was the highest judged four gaited stallion ever with a mark of 8.61 for rideability. Lina from Siamber Wen was born at 11 pm on Monday 7 May 2001 under a bright full moon. Her name is the name of a Goddess and is the name of her grandmother too. Here she is less than 12 hours old and already tölting clearly. Lotta's foal in 2002 was a colt by Flytir. He is a strongly built fellow with a lovely temperament and he is another rare buckskin just like his older sister, Lina. Here he is 22 hours old!
Trausti from Siamber Wen, 2002
Im 2003 Lotta produced another light coloured foal. This time a gorgeous palomino filly. Trust Lotta to be well organised as she has alternate colts and fillies and this time it was her turn to have a filly. Here is the lovely Létt at around 12 hours old. Létt is named after her palomino grandmother. Her father is Flytir.
Létt from Siamber Wen, 2003
Buckskin is an outstanding and unusual colour. It is the rarest of the Icelandic horse colours with only 1% of horses who are buckskin. So where did this lovely colour come from when Lotta is 'brown' and Stefnir and Flytir are both bay? The answer lies in the cream factor that Lotta carries and passes on to some of her offspring. Lotta is actually not brown at all but smoky black. That is a sort of mink colour and comes from the action of the cream factor on black. Lotta's Mother was Létt frá Sandhólaferju and she was palomino. Palomino arises when the cream factor acts on the chestnut gene. When the cream factor affects bay it makes it into buckskin. Lotta has bred three of these beautiful buckskins. Read their pedigree showing the colour of their ancestors.
Lotta (background) with Lina and Trausti - September 2002
Tryggur from Siamber Wen (right) as a 3 year old
Líf frá Halikot born 1995 imported 2002
An exciting addition to our herd is a mare born in 1995 in Iceland. Líf frá Halikot is a blue dun and she is very sweet natured. She had done a little in Iceland and was slowly and carefully started. In the years since leaving Iceland Lif has competed successfully at many shows first in four gait classes and then in five gait. She took the British Dressage Championship title in 2005 and again in 2007. Lif now has a son called Ifli by Flytir. He was born in 2006 and he is very like his talented mother. Lif is in foal to Grettir so she should have a dun skewbald foal this year (2008).
Grettir frá Laekjamot
Our exciting venture to Iceland in 2006 brought us home with a new colt. Grettir is a son of Þristur frá Feti and out of Toppa frá Laekjamot. So, both of his parents are Tobiano. Tobiano is the colour pattern that he shows. Grettir has been DNA tested and certified as homozygous for the tobiano colouring. This means that all of his foals will be coloured. An exciting prospect. He also has a beautifully laid back and calm temperament and this was proven in the manner in which he travelled from Iceland and calmly led off the lorry and up to his new field on a Cumbrian hillside. We are very pleased with him and he is expecting three foals in 2008.