{"id":16863,"date":"2026-01-29T14:52:03","date_gmt":"2026-01-29T12:52:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/helsinkihorseshow.fi\/?p=16863"},"modified":"2026-01-29T14:52:04","modified_gmt":"2026-01-29T12:52:04","slug":"the-icelandic-horse-is-a-versatile-and-cheerful-riding-horse","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/helsinkihorseshow.fi\/en\/news\/the-icelandic-horse-is-a-versatile-and-cheerful-riding-horse\/","title":{"rendered":"The Icelandic Horse is a versatile and cheerful riding horse"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Come to the Helsinki Horse Show to meet one of the world\u2019s oldest horse breeds \u2013 the happy Icelandic horse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Icelandic horse is a small, strong, and cooperative riding horse. In addition to the basic gaits\u2014walk, trot, and canter\u2014it has one or two special gaits: t\u00f6lt and flying pace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the two-day invitational competition held at Messukeskus, you will see four gaits and t\u00f6lt at two different speeds in the four-gait class V1. In the t\u00f6lt class T1, t\u00f6lt is shown at two speeds as well as with speed transitions. There are three age categories: seniors, young riders, and juniors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The six best seniors and the six best young riders and juniors from the first competition day will advance to the Saturday finals. The competitions feature the very best riders in the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Three judges\u2014one of whom arrives from Sweden\u2014evaluate the performances from the center of the arena, awarding scores for different sections on a scale of 0\u201310. The judging takes into account factors such as gait quality, speed, rhythm, the horse\u2019s frame and self-carriage, and the use of the rider\u2019s aids. In the final, all six horse-and-rider combinations perform in the arena at the same time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Kultajousi Arena at the Helsinki International Horse Show offers a diverse overview of fascinating equestrian disciplines, without forgetting our other beloved four-legged friends\u2014dogs. Children will also, for the first time at the Helsinki Horse Show, have the opportunity to try pony lead-rein riding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

27 Feb \u2013 1 Mar<\/strong>
Kultajousi Arena, Messukeskus<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Icelandic Horse Gait Riding<\/strong>
Friday 27 Feb at 7:20 pm \u2013 Icelandic Horse Gait Competition
Saturday 28 Feb at 7:20 pm \u2013 Icelandic Horse Gait Competition<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Western Riding<\/strong>
Saturday 28 Feb at 3:00 pm \u2013 Western Ranch Trail Competition<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Paws at Full Speed \u2013 Hakunilan Seudun Koiraharrastajat ry<\/strong>
Saturday 28 Feb at 4:30 pm
Sunday 1 Mar at 12:50 pm<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lead-Rein Riding<\/strong>
Saturday 28 Feb at 2:00 pm \u2013 Pony lead-rein riding
Sunday 1 Mar from 1:30 pm to 2:30 pm \u2013 Pony lead-rein riding<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Please note that the schedule is subject to change. The times listed here are estimated starting times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The program and schedules can be found here:
https:\/\/helsinkihorseshow.fi\/kavijalle\/ohjelma\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Come to the Helsinki Horse Show to meet one of the world\u2019s oldest horse breeds \u2013 the happy Icelandic horse. The Icelandic horse is a small, strong, and cooperative riding horse. In addition to the basic gaits\u2014walk, trot, and canter\u2014it has one or two special gaits: t\u00f6lt and flying pace. At the two-day invitational competition […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":16858,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[74],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16863","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/helsinkihorseshow.fi\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16863","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/helsinkihorseshow.fi\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/helsinkihorseshow.fi\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/helsinkihorseshow.fi\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/helsinkihorseshow.fi\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16863"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/helsinkihorseshow.fi\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16863\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16864,"href":"https:\/\/helsinkihorseshow.fi\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16863\/revisions\/16864"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/helsinkihorseshow.fi\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16858"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/helsinkihorseshow.fi\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16863"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/helsinkihorseshow.fi\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16863"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/helsinkihorseshow.fi\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16863"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}