>>>> Well said, Skye. I think there's also a tremendous difference in trainers even in exactly the same discipline, and it's a rare trainer who can or will train the horse as you ask rather than to his/her own personal philosophy of what's good/right.
One difference...and it's a BIG one. We, in the USA, don't have access to just any Icelandic farmer, one who MIGHT be doing things differently. What we DO have access to...and what has been pushed down our throats by the middle-aged-plus American women who dominate the USIHC and other "traditional" venues, are the young, "certified" Holar graduate trainers. Iceland has one riding/training program - Holar. I can bring up posts where USIHC members/officers have written that we should ONLY use certified trainers - Holar graduates. But, what is Holar teaching? I suspect that the curriculum is influenced strongly by its head instructor, who, last I heard is Jolli. Go to www.astund.is and Select "English." Then select "Catalogue", then "Books, Posters, and Videos", then scroll down a way until you see ""On Horseback" by Master Trainer Eyjólfur Ísólfsson on DVD" (Eyjolfur is Jolli's full name.) Or, after you select "English" on that site, simply go to http://tinyurl.com/27gfhs or http://astund.is/index.php?id=24&activemenu=24&prod_cat=73&catalog_item=1457 For a while, Jolli bragged about his mare in that picture doing a "Spanish Walk." That is NOT a Spanish Walk. That is NOT just a "bad moment in time" either. Nope, I'm sure he was pretty careful in selecting a picture himself to go on the front of his video. In fact, that one picture is like an accumulation of every "don't" possible with Spanish Walk. It's downright laughable - if it weren't so darned sad for that poor mare. That is an "Emperor is Wearing No Clothes" picture. I showed that picture to a couple of my friends who are serious about dressage, and asked them what they thought it was, and both thought it something related to Big Lick. So did Cary. I've called it the "Big Lick Spanglish Walk." (I always think of the Jeff Foxworthy book, "You might be a redneck if..." when I see that picture.) I bought just about every Icelandic video on horses and riding I could get my hands on...until that one. There's a limit to how much money I'll spend trying to find an Icelandic trainer that I like or support, and with that cover, I know that must be a laughable (or cryable from the horse's perspective) video. And that rider is the head of Holar...the school that produces Icelandic "certified" trainers that come to America... Egads. How gullible can some people be? Karen Thomas, NC No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.5.503 / Virus Database: 269.16.17/1177 - Release Date: 12/7/2007 1:11 PM IceHorses Community for Photos and Videos: http://kickapps.com/icehorses "The greatest enemy of the truth very often is not the lie- deliberate, contrived and dishonest -- but the myth -- persistent, persuasive and unrealistic." "All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident." ~ Arthur Schopenhauer [] Lee Ziegler http://leeziegler.com [] Liz Graves http://lizgraves.com [] Lee's Book Easy Gaited Horses http://tinyurl.com/7vyjo [] IceHorses Map http://www.frappr.com/IceHorses Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/IceHorses/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/IceHorses/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
