>>>> Good one, Anna. Calling it "Icelandic-style" has been one thing that has really put me off over the years.
The people from Iceland are "Icelanders." I've never heard anyone call it "Icelander-style". The horses have the descriptive adjective "Icelandic" in their breed name. Unless we change the name of the breed, I don't see how to make a clearly defining term that won't insult someone. No other breed is shown the same way as we see Icelandic's so how can you clarify it as the unique style we see in the World Championships, at Landsmott, etc. We're not talking about QH horse style showing, or Arab showing, or dressage showing, and it's not even the same Saddlebred or TWH showing...and Saddlebreds and TWH ARE at least shown in versatility classes. We ARE talking about the way the official international and national Icelandic breed associations promote. As long as the international and national breed associations promote this type of riding, and no other type of riding, it IS "Icelandic style" to me. The only generic name I can think of would be "Five-Gaited Show Style Riding." I don't think there's any such thing as a five-gaited horse, and I think the forced gaited is at the core of what we see. And, the only other breed people that use the term "five-gaited" are the Saddlebred people, and frankly, I don't like the way they show either. It's all about force and flash. When we go back in history to the 1960's, don't we know that the Germans who imported the first Icelandic's turned to American Saddlebred trainers for help, right in the heyday of Big Lick escalation. Isn't that the common thread - the forced-gait style of riding, that isn't practical and isn't natural, but is all about flash in the show ring? How about "five-gaited style" or maybe better, "Forced-Gait Show Style Riding." It wouldn't bother me at all to include any and all nationalities and breeds that ridie that way. That takes ALL human nationalities out of the picture, and would include only the guilty parties, wherever they live, wherever they were born, and whatever breed they ride. Karen Thomas, NC [EMAIL PROTECTED] No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG. Version: 7.5.519 / Virus Database: 269.22.1/1350 - Release Date: 3/30/2008 12:32 PM ------------------------------------ IceHorses Community for Photos and Videos: http://kickapps.com/icehorses "The greatest enemy of the truth very often is not the lie- deliberate, contrived and dishonest -- but the myth -- persistent, persuasive and unrealistic." "All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident." ~ Arthur Schopenhauer [] Lee Ziegler http://leeziegler.com [] Liz Graves http://lizgraves.com [] Lee's Book Easy Gaited Horses http://tinyurl.com/7vyjo [] IceHorses Map http://www.frappr.com/IceHorses Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/IceHorses/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/IceHorses/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
