Creators’ Trip to Iceland Reaches Five Million Views

What started as a small idea — to bring international creators to Iceland and let them experience the Icelandic horse for themselves — turned into one of Horses of Iceland’s most successful projects to date.

The project's first content creator trip, held in October, has already surpassed expectations, generating over five million views across 40+ videos and four platforms.

Four equestrian creators took part in the trip: Annchen Augustine and Lena Wagner from Germany, Kristin Connors (Derdismero), originally from Germany but now based in the United States, and Ebba Nilsson from Sweden but based in Spain. Each of them came with their own equestrian background, experience, and follower base, but all of them shared the same excitement about discovering the Icelandic horse when we reached out to them.

The idea for the trip came from a simple question: how could Horses of Iceland strengthen its digital presence and reach new audiences in a way that felt authentic? The answer was to invite riders who already communicate daily with large communities online — and let them tell the story in their own voices.

Over the course of five days, the creators trained and rode at

Hjarðartún

,

Hvoll

, and

Sunnuhvoll

. Their task was clear: to learn to

tölt

.

Under the guidance of experienced trainers — Kristin with Glódís Rún Sigurðardóttir, Ebba with Árný Oddbjörg Oddsdóttir, Tine with Haukur Tryggvason, and Lena with Hans Þór Hilmarsson and Arnhildur Helgadóttir — each day brought small breakthroughs. They worked on feeling the four beats of tölt and using their body to ride the gait but not against it, as many first-timers naturally do when discovering the gait. The process took ambition, work and trust both in the horses and the trainers. But, at the end of the week, after many hours in the saddle spent in the arenas, on oval tracks and on hacks in Iceland's nature, the difference in both horses and riders was easy to see.

On top of their riding, the group got to experience the other side of Iceland — the vastness, the weather, and the quiet that follows a long day in the saddle. They soaked in

Hvammsvík

, drove the Golden Circle, explored the

Lava Centre

and the

Caves of Hella

, and ended the week driving buggies up to the hot river in Reykjadalur, where the steam rose against the autumn sky.

Meals became part of the experience too — from roadside cafés and bakeries to a memorable dinner at

Hótel Rangá

, where the group was joined by the hotel manager, also a co-owner of

Fákaland Export

. Good food and conversation quickly blurred the lines between work and friendship.

The week also included visits to

Árbakki

and

Kjarr

, two well-known breeding farms. At Árbakki, Hulda Gústafsdóttir shared stories of her family’s long experience with breeding and exporting Icelandic horses. At Kjarr, Larissa told the group how she came to Iceland for the horses and ended up becoming part of an Icelandic family and community.

On Saturday, the trip concluded with a friendly T8 competition at Hvoll. But it wasn’t about scores or ribbons — just a chance for everyone to show what they had learned and for us to give the girls an insight into yet another aspect of the Icelandic way of doing things.

Watching the riders tölt on the track after only four days of training said everything about their effort, the patience of their trainers, and the generosity of the horses themselves. We could not have been more proud of and touched by everyone's positive, can do mindset.

When it was time to leave, no one was in a hurry. The group stayed in the stable a little longer, saying quiet goodbyes and promising to return. And maybe the biggest compliment of all, is that all four girls said they could imagine the Icelandic horse playing some sort of role in their future. Kristin summed it up best:

“This is a trip I’ll be telling my grandkids about.”

The success of the project reflected something that has always defined the Icelandic horse community — genuine belief in what we have. The Icelandic horse is unique not just for its five gaits, but for its character: friendly and calm, but also hard-working and full of power.

Horses of Iceland would like to thank everyone who made this project possible — the trainers, farm owners, partners (Top Reiter, Eques and Hrímnir especially as well as HorseDay and Hestakofi), and everyone who welcomed the group with warmth and enthusiasm.

We also thank Eiðfaxi TV, whose team followed us over part of the week. A feature about the trip will air on their channel in December and we can't wait to get cosy and relive the experience over the holidays.

For those of you who want to see more, here are a list of channels where you'll discover part of the trip we took the girls on:

• Horses of Iceland Instagram

  (reels and Highlight called 'Girls trip')

• Lena Wagner's Instagram

• Lena Wagner's TikTok

• Lena Wagner's Youtube channel

  (watch the first of two videos below)

• Kristin's Instagram

• Kristin's other Instagram

  (more to do with lifestyle but you'll find some great moments in Iceland there)

• Kristin's TikTok

• Kristin's podcast episode about the trip

  (Spotify link)

• Annchen Augustine's Instagram