>>>> Well, for us in the UK, it got 1200 people to see Icelandics who otherwise >>>> would not have. We've held British championships every year for a couple >>>> of >>>> decades and rarely get more than 50 or 60 spectators at best. .... So - >>>> the spectacle of it got people to come and watch, people who may well go >>>> on >>>> to become Icelandic horse owners. It was advertised primarily in the >>>> equestrian press, so a large majority of them were horse people.
Great. All I can say is that if spectators are dumb enough to think that ice tolts are a cool thing to do with horses, I'd prefer that they NOT become involved with Icelandic's. I talked with another person recently who'd seen the typcial zooming-around demo at one of the expo's. That wasn't at all what she wanted in the horse. She'd talked to a friend who had been to one of the Equine Affair type deals, and her friend had told her that Icelandic's are hot and wild and don't have brakes. Of course Icelandic's have brakes - if they are encouraged to use them. And that didn't even involve claims of rewriting the laws of physics... Karen Thomas, NC
