Navigation
Hauptseite
Aktuelles
Letzte Änderungen
Bedeutende Zuchtpferde
Zufälliges Pferd
Wunschpferd
Über Stormhestar
Suche
Verkaufspferde
Neue Pferde
TOP 10
Pferd suchen
Pferd anbieten
Datenbank
Pferd suchen
Pferd eintragen
Kontakt suchen
Kontakt eintragen
Veranstaltung suchen
Veranstaltung eintragen
Bild suchen
Bild eintragen
Mein Konto
Konto eröffnen
Login
Sprachen
Deutsch
English
|
 |
Anmerkungen
IS1974286107 - Terna frá Kirkjubć (2)
 |
| Datum/Autor |
Text |
| 12.08.2008 22:45:48, freyja05 |
.
|
| 20.11.2007 13:36:52, karl |
Excerpt from article about Terna that appeared in Eidfaxi International No. 6, 1998
Interview: ”Would love a few dozen offspring”
Terna from Kirkjubaer – in close-up
Terna from Kirkjubćr is one of those major mares in Icelandic horse breeding. There is no doubt about this, even though she is not counted among the BLUP-giants such as the sisters whose names all begin with ”Ţ”, from Hólar in Hjaltadalur. Her sons are in great demand for stud, and the gelding Huginn from Kjartansstađir has done Iceland proud by becoming both World and Nordic Champion in 5-gaits. The owner of Terna, and also the one who bred all her offspring, is Ţorvaldur Sveinsson at Kjartansstađir in Flói, someone who’s well-known for his taste and strict demands regarding horses and riding.
One beautiful, cold autumn day in October, Eiđfaxi visited Ţorvaldur and the first question was how he became the owner of Terma. ”As a boy, I went to the 1974 Landsmót at Vindheimamelar, where I saw a horse that completely charmed me. It was Hylur from Kirkjubćr. When I came home I called Sigurđur in Kirkjubćr and asked him whether he could sell me a horse just like Hylur. He sent me a foal, which he chose himself. It was a mare by Hlynur 865 and out of Pálma-Skjóna. The foal was given the name Terna. Hlynur went north to Skagafjörđur, and I think he died there.” Some well-known horses out of Pálma-Skjóna are, among others, Vćngur, owned by Friđrik from the shop Kápan, and Bróđir, who was best known when he was ridden by Sigurđur Matthíasson and his siblings. These were both famous contest horses, and Vćngur came 2nd in the 4-Gait Riding Horse Event at the 1982 Landsmót at Vindheimamelar. ”In fact, I should thank Friđrik for the fact that Stígur was born. It was during our first summer here at Kjartansstađir, when he came and asked us for help – he had problems with a horse that had got hurt. I helped him with the horse and he asked, ´What can I do for you instead?´ At the time, Terna was 5 years old, and I dreamed of having her served by Náttfari, who was the top stallion then. But it never occurred to me that an unknown guy such as I would have any chance to bring his mare to such a famous stallion. But it turned out that Friđrik had some influence and he arranged for Terna to be served by him. Stígur was born the next spring, and a year later Huginn, who is also by Náttfari. That´s how it happened.”
MORE THAN I WAS USED TO
Terna wasn´t judged until she was 9 years old, when she had already had 2 foals. She scored quite well compared to what was common at the time for 4-gaited mares, and as a result she drew some attention. But what kind of horse is Terna? ”I noticed right away when she was a foal that she was something more than I had been used to. She had a long and aristocratic neck, and there was something in her expression and movements that was different from what I had ever seen. We lived at Skammbeinsstađir in Holtir then. I remember that Terna was outside one day during the winter, to get some fresh air, when one of my neighbor’s horses, a 2-year-old uncastrated colt, got away. The colt ran straight for the foal and chased it around the meadow. Terna went in tölt, and the colt in gallop. I had some bad luck with Terna and it took a long time to break her in. Not because she was so difficult, but because she fell into a ditch during our first autumn here at Kjartansstađir. She never recovered fully from that accident. There were some people who were working on the telephone line who noticed her. It was freezing and she was paralyzed from the cold, so she never got her full strength back. She was friendly and easy to break in, with great leg action and only trot to begin with. Unfortunately, I wasn´t enough of a horseman at the time to deal with such a horse. Things were developing very swiftly in riding and shoeing during those years, and people continuously found out new tricks. I made many mistakes with Terna, but she always recovered. Her character is such that she always tries to please her rider, and she gives everything she has.”
4-GAITERS WITH PACE
How are her offspring? ”Most of them have inherited the mare’s character, but usually their willingness is more than hers was, which doesn´t surprise me because I think she never got her full strength back after her accident. Stígur and Huginn are very special horses. Neither of them was considered interesting for stud. I got a horse-breeding advisor to have a look at them when they were 2 and 3 years old. He thought there would be some chance for Stígur, but not for Huginn. Later, Stígur was sent to Gunnarsholt, but he was taken out of the herd of mares because people thought his legs had too much of a ”Sörli” twist. After this I haven´t asked any horse-breeding advisor for assistance. ”I would call these two brothers 4- gaiters with pace. Their trot is so clear, and their pace is never really noticeable until you ask for it when at full speed in gallop. For a while, I trained Huginn only as a 4-gaiter, and he reached very good results as such. He scored almost 100 points in tölt at the Icelandic Championships at Víđidalur. But his pace had never been better than it was then. He has quite some temper, but he is always the same. Stígur has an easier character he is very pleasant and loveable, with a good willingness, not hard. Trostan is different from them. He couldn´t really be trained in pace, his tölt lost so very much when it was tried. His tölt was great when he was broken in, but it became flatter as soon as he was tried in pace. But his offspring have a lot of leg-action, which is where you see Terna again; she becomes very noticeable in his offspring, because her leg-action is so strong. Tara, a daughter of Höfđa-Gustur, will probably take over from the old mare. She has a lovely neck and is a very aristocratic mare, something that her offspring inherit strongly. She is a very nice riding horse, very sensitive and rather quick in her reactions, but she plays with the reins and yields to the side without having particularly learned these things. She didn´t do very well when she was judged; her overall score was just below 8.0. She doesn´t like the traffic and noise of a horse show, and doesn´t give as much as she does here at home. Her sister, Tjáning, who is by Angi from Laugarvatn, is a good, beautiful horse, but I´m not too pleased with her character, which is not the kind of character I want in the horses I breed. Other people like it quite a lot, though. It´s all a matter of taste. The next offspring is Tandri, by Ylur from Bjarnastađir. Ernir Snorrason bought that horse from me, and he keeps him as a stallion. Tývar is the nicest of all the siblings, the best riding horse of all the ones that have been broken in so far. He is more like his mother than the others are as far as leg-actions, movements and suppleness are concerned. He has a great willingness, which became clear right away when he was 4 years old. Magnús Svavarsson has broken him in very professionally, and he did well at the show at Gunnarsholt as a 4-year-old. He did even better at the Landsmót this summer: scored 9.5 for tölt and beauty under saddle, ridden by Sigurđur Matthíasson. The next one to be broken in is Tvífari. I started to work with him a little bit this winter, and he did very nicely. He is by his brother, Trostan. I´m experimenting a little bit with in-breeding. I realize there are some risks, but what I have tried looks good. I have, for example, a 2-year-old colt out of Terna and by Óđur from Brún, who is by Stígur. It was a very unusual foal, with movements that were quite unbelievable.”
TRUCKWHEELS UNDER A SPORTS CAR
Terna´s offspring have scored rather badly for their legs, and Tývar got only 6.5 for his legs when he was 4 years old, although he scored 7.0 this summer. Do these horses have weak legs? ”No, that´s not my experience, on the contrary. It´s nothing to be proud of, but in earlier years, when I thought I was a tough guy, I often rode Terna very much and very badly. I often went to Selfoss on her, which is a total of 20 km, after which I often accompanied my friends to their homes. I rode on the asphalt because it was such fun to hear the rhythm of the tölt. Regardless of this bad treatment, her legs never had any problems, and they are still very good now, when she is 24 years old. People should go and review these scores for the legs. Everybody can see that the lightly built horses that we are trying to breed nowadays have slimmer and lighter feet than large, coarsely built horses. A horse should be harmonious. You don´t put truck wheels under a light sports car! Experience has taught me that the scores of 7.0 or 8.0 don´t tell you anything about which of these horses have the better legs. Only one of Terna´s offspring has received 8.0 for its legs, and it´s not the horse with the best legs. I think it is quite dangerous to value the strength of the legs only by the way they look. There are so many more factors that play a part. In this, as in other matters, experience doesn´t lie, and in order to find out the truth, the horses must be used.”
WORST LANDSMÓT SO FAR
What´s your opinion about the policy and the results of our horse breeding in general? ”I have been at all Landsmót shows since 1974, and I think we can assume that they are the best place to measure the results of our horse breeding. I was disappointed at Melgerđismelar this summer. I think it was the worst Landsmót so far, as far as the breeding horses go. Perhaps this is because you expect more when progress speeds up. Who knows? But I thought that the type of horses that were most noticeable there were not the type we have been trying to aim for. I would have liked to see more light, athletic horses with correct gaits. There are too many horses in which it´s difficult to distinguish tölt from pace and vice versa. Statistics don´t matter in this respect. If the gaits aren´t valued correctly, then there is no computer that can correct the mistake. Two times three can never become four.” - Are you pleased with the results of your own breeding? ”Everybody likes his own best. Terna and her offspring are the type of horses that appeal most to me. They have long legs, are elliptical and have a long neck. They have beautiful leg action with wide steps and a lot of suppleness. I didn´t create all that myself. I was lucky to get a good mare to begin with. A long time ago I decided on a certain policy and I will stick to it. Only time will tell whether I will succeed.”
NO DANGER OF OVERPRODUCING GOOD HORSES
A last question: What do you think about embryo transplants, which have now become a realistic choice here in Iceland? ”I think it´s quite good. The last two years Terna hasn´t had foals. She does conceive, but it seems some kind of infection develops in the foals and she aborts. I would love to get some embryos from her and implant them in other mares. I wouldn´t mind having a few dozen of her offspring here in my meadow. People shouldn´t be afraid of modem techniques if it can help you in your work. We still have such a long way to go in our breeding, that I think it will be a long time before we need to worry about the overproduction of good horses.”
VALUABLE GAITS
Finally, it seems good to get some comments from riders who know these interesting horses. We start with Magnús Svavarsson, who broke in two horses out of Terna: Tandri and Tývar. ”In a way they were very different: Tývar was very willing right away, Tandri was quieter. But the characteristics of Terna´s offspring are their movements, which are different from other top horses today. Their gaits are so correct and they have a great trot, with lots of action. Tývar learned very quickly; he had become quite a tölter after only six weeks, before I really tried to make any demands. His movements are very special and I think he could improve the stock in any herd of mares. We should put more value on this type of gaits. I can mention Óđur from Brún, by Stígur, as an example. He has these gaits too. Terna is a magnificent mare, one of 10 the most valuable in the country. The only criticism I could make is about the way they carry their heads, which is a bit forward, but that gets better with the years. But they are elliptical and beautiful horses with long legs, and I can only say good things about them.”
IT´S THE TOP
Sigurđur Matthíasson has come to know Terma´s offspring quite well. He was World Champion in 5-Gaits with Huginn, he presented Tývar at the 1998 Landsmót, he owned Trostan for a while and trained Tara at the same time. ”They are unique horses, among the best I´ve dealt with. Huginn, of course, is very special. He is the type of horse the advisors are always talking about: a trotter with tölt, which you then ride at full speed in gallop and then down to pace - it´s a dream horse. Tývar is also very good; he´s still young but his tölt is great, with large movements and superb suppleness. Tara was much like Huginn in many ways, but she is a bit more elegant and sensitive. I often rode her together with my friends and they thought I was riding Huginn. I didn´t correct them. But the hallmark of Terna´s offspring is that they are superb riding and show horses. No discussion is needed. They are always fun, no matter whether you ride out in nature or on an oval field. Their willingness is great and they are so light that they seem to walk on air.”
SOLD BY SUBSCRIPTION
Albert Jónsson at Strandarhöfđa rode Stígur and Huginn for a while, since they are both sons of Náttfari, which connects them in a way to Albert. He gives them the following scores. ”Of course I am very positive about Stígur. I got to know him very well as a riding horse, and I have ridden his offspring too. He is used every year at Stóra-Hof and his offspring are sold by subscription, so to speak. Stígur and Huginn both have enormous gaits, which are really correct. They don´t have a broken trot or a 4-beat pace, as so many of the horses that people are promoting nowadays. Terna has done very well. She has produced horses that are in great demand, which is exactly what horse breeding is all about: people want to own the horses that we are breeding.”
74.2.86-107 Terna from Kirkjubćr
Conformation: 7.5 - 8.5 - 8 - 8 - 7.5 - 7 - 7.5 - 7.80
Rideability: 8.5 - 8.5 - 7 -7.5- 8.5 – 8 - 8.5 - 8. 16
Overall score: 7.98
List of offspring
80.1.87-340 Stígur from Kjartansstađir, jet- black
81.1.87-O15 Huginn from Kjartansstađir, black
86. 1 .87-O19 Trostan from Kjartansstađir, chestnut with blaze
88.2.87-336 Tara from Kjartansstađir, black
90.2.87-336 Tjáning from Kjartansstađir, chestnut with blaze
91.1.87-336 Tandri from Kjartansstađir, bay with star
93.1.87-336 Tývar from Kjartansstađir, dark chestnut with star
94.I.87-336 Tvífari from Kjartansstađir, chestnut with star and snipe
95.2.87-338 Tryggveig from Kjartansstađir,.chestnut with blaze and flaxen mane
96.1.87-336 Töfri from Kjartansstađir, black with small star and small snipe. Breeding value prediction: 117 points offspring deviation 11+
Quelle: Terna´s article:
terna@terna.is
|
|
|
|
|
