Ambassador Horses: A Legacy
While we love and appreciate all of our horses, there are always some that seem to attach themselves deeper into our hearts. Some are true "hooves on" ambassadors who have carried countless riders for their first joyful rounds of tölt; others have just been done everything go anywhere horses or are just characters with unforgettable horse personalities. The following horses are a few of those amazing horses that remind us why we fell in love with this breed in the first place.
Borkur fra Alfholar | Valur fra Gamla Hraun | Skrekkur fra Vindheimar |
Valur fra Kufholi | Lettir fra Ey | Fraendi fra Buth | Sleipnir fra Lysuhol
Fraendi fra Buth
born 1983
[Note! See more photos in gallery below.]
Imported from Iceland in 1989, Fraendi was originally chosen as a horse for Phil. Unfortunately for Phil, once Fraendi’s true talent became apparent, he had little chance to ride the incredible "pace monster".
Initially considered a fairly average horse, Fraendi was used in clinics his first years at the farm. He hid his talents for a pretty brilliant flying pace behind his somewhat "pet like" nature on the ground. However, a good flying pace has some very addictive qualities to it and Christine soon snatched him up as her favorite demonstration and competition horse. His first really big demonstration was Equitana in Kentucky in the late 90’s. He had enjoyed a summer of good grass and taken his mane out by eating through the fence. Arriving in the humid mid-summer climate of Kentucky after a 4 day trailer ride, he looked more like a backyard pony than the fierce pace-monster he would soon be nicknamed. Two top trainers from Iceland, Sigurbjorn Bardarsson and Balvin Gudmundsson were in charge of selecting the horses for this very important demo who had gathered from all over the US and Canada. When Christine asked to try out for the pace section and also checked to see if it was okay to pass the horse in front of her, she received a somewhat pitying smile from the trainers. However, Fraendi knew just when to turn it on and shot past the other horses in his cannon like pace and earned himself a spot as lead horse in the pace section.
From then on Fraendi and Christine spent many years wowing audiences with the streak of fur they would resemble when shooting down the arena. Not particularly blessed conformationally, Fraendi’s shortish legs seemed to have extra RPM’s to make him as fast as any horse he raced against. This particularly humorous appearance would provide at least one memorable moment and his heart was always in the right place.
Today Fraendi is enjoying his retirement at the farm, receiving 3 soft meals a day, demanding the next almost as soon as he is finished the first. He enjoys his role as farm greeter, and is comical in how much trouble he gets into, if anyone is foolish enough to leave the gate open for just a moment. Fraendi is 26 this year and seems to love the excellent service he is receiving.
