Icelandics in Dressage--How Sweden Sees It

Occassionally, some of Blessi's videos on Youtube experience a jump in viewer activity. Youtube enables you to track the traffic source. This month there was a jump in viewing from Bukefalos, an equine discussion forum in Sweden. The topic of this posting is how well can Icelandics compete in dressage. Videos by several US owners, myself included, are featured--which is amusing.

The on-line translator functions well enough that you can follow the discussion at a high level. Some of the "babelfish" translation is hysterical. For example, one of the horse events forums is translated as "dressage and dressage around the crotch."

http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=sv&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bukef\
alos.com%2Ff%2Fforumdisplay.php%3Fs%3Dc705b9737f29d8fa670f1090174f8887%26f%3D71%\
26order%3Ddesc%26page%3D6

 Use the link as listed. Make sure that you set the translator at the top of the menu to "from Swedish to English" or whatever your preferred language is.

- In the top pull down menu, select "Event Branches"
- In the list of forum topics, select "Dressage: Over and under the crotch dressage."
- On the selection "Page 1 of 320", select page 2 (at least as of tonight).
- Select the topic "Dressage m Icelandic"
- Go to page 3 of the discussion to see the videos listed.
I have to admit that I was a bit taken aback by one contributor who made the following comment about Blessi: "I have never seen a fatter Island to film two. Gosh .... " Gosh, I really hope that she used the Swedish word for "gross" meaning large but the on-line translator took it as "gross" for obese. Blessi and I both struggle with our weight but he was in fairly good shape at the time of this video. ;-)

If you have the time, it is interesting to read what some folks in Sweden think about Icelandics and dressage. Some of the posters insisted on comparing these Icelandics and their riders dabbling in dressage to warm bloods (translated as half breeds) competing at the top dressage levels. I agree with kryddelydd who posted "...No, I see no need to say that Icelandic horses can do the same as a
normal "half-breed". However, I think it's a shame that they often lack the imagination to see that even the Icelandic horses work for dressage work at a reasonable level...My Icelandic horses are a variety of reasons hardly what you could call dressyrridna, although I use the schools in the training, in order to get better control of such rate in all gaits and to obtain all gaits...My point with this post is long - if anyone managed to read so far - that certain, some Icelandic horses trained in dressage "for real" but many have physical limitations. " My pardon to kryddelydd who probably expressed this very elegantly in Swedish but the on-line translator did an uneven job of translating.