Visiting the wonderful Sólvangur Icelandic Horse Center

Sólvangur Icelandic Horse Center is about as authentic an experience as you can get while seeing Icelandic horses. This is a serious horse breeding and training facility, run by a mother and daughter, Elsa Magnúsdóttir and Sigríður (Sigga) Pjetursdóttir. After meeting them, my guess is that Elsa and Sigga are some of the most knowledgeable people about Icelandic horses in the world.

Local Icelanders come to train with Elsa and Sigga. And the farm trains some of the best Icelandic horses to enter international competitions. But the championship training process here is heartbreaking. To keep the Icelandic breed pure, no horses are allowed to be imported into Iceland. This has been a rule since the year 982. That’s not a typo: The rule has been in effect for over 1,000 years.

Because of this, the world championships for Icelandic horses are not held in Iceland. They are in Germany. Sólvangur often trains and sends horses to compete. They send an Icelandic horse to Germany to compete … which means the horse can never come back to Iceland! Every year they send a horse, and every year the horse is then sold to someone else, and never comes back to Iceland. I find this incredible.

The horse Sólvangur sent in 2019 finished first after the preliminary round, but faded a bit in the finals to finish 5th. (Note the name of the horse in first place at that link: Flaumur frá Sólvangi. Sólvangi, Sólvangur.)

Hopefully I’ve convinced you that this is not your typical tourist attraction. But within the last few years, Sólvangur has opened up their facility to tourists. You can tour the stables, get a riding lesson, or just hang out and have a piece of cake. You can even stay overnight in their new apartments. Let’s take a look at the options.

Sólvangur Iceland Stable Tour

First, the stable tour. Here’s your chance to get up close and personal with Icelandic horses, and also ask Sigga all the questions you have.

You’ll always see horses in there, or out in the pasture. Usually you’ll see lots of calm horses that you can pet:

… but once in a while there may be a flurry of activity when the horses are let outside.

The price for a stable tour is 2000 ISK for adults, and 1500 ISK for kids 3-15; kids under 3 are free. Stable tours are private tours– it will just be you and Sigga. Come with lots of questions!

Sólvangur Iceland Horse Riding Lessons

Kids 3-15 years old can get a 20 minute riding lesson, which includes time to groom the horse and time to ride. This is a great opportunity for younger children to get to ride– most horse riding tours in Iceland have a minimum age of 6 or higher. The cost is 4000 ISK, and again you’re getting a private lesson just for kids in your group.

Adults 16 and older can also take a riding lesson. This is not a tourist trail ride– this is a serious lesson from a certified riding instructor. If you’re inexperienced, you’ll learn about getting on the horse, holding the reins, and maintaining balance. You might also get to try a tölt, which is a gait unique to Icelandic horses. More experienced riders can get a lesson more suited to their abilities.

Lessons for kids are 4000 ISK. Adult lessons are 10500 or 12000 for a 40 or 50 minute lesson respectively.

You can book a stable tour and/or riding lessons by e-mailing them at icelandichorsecenter@gmail.com.

Staying overnight at Sólvangur

You can also stay overnight here; I enjoyed staying here surrounded by the calm quiet countryside. If you’re here during a long summer night, you can walk out and see the horses relaxing outside late at night.

I also don’t think you’ll find a better price for accommodations in an apartment for 4 people anywhere in this part of Iceland. (Some of those people are likely on a sofa bed, though.)

In the apartments, you can play the game of counting how many horse-themed objects you can find! See this page for the booking details; you may get a better rate if you avoid booking through AirBNB and contact them directly?

Sólvangur gift shop and café

Even if you just want to stop by and have a cup of coffee or a piece of cake, you should send an e-mail to make sure they are around and open. Remember that the main business here is still horse training! But it’s fun to stop by and chat and visit the cute café and gift shop. And maybe learn a little bit about Icelandic horses too.

Coffees and hot chocolate range from 450 to 700 ISK, and cakes are around 900 ISK.

The Sólvangur Icelandic Horse Center is probably not on your way on your itinerary, but it also shouldn’t be too far out of your way. Their address is Selfoss, but they are really 10 or 15 minutes south of the main part of Selfoss, right next to Eyrarbakki on the southern shore of Iceland. You’re only adding about 15 minutes each way to a Ring Road trip, or about an extra 25 minutes to a Golden Circle day from Reykjavik.

If you just want to see and pet Icelandic horses, there are other options (though this is still a good option!) See our post about Icelandic Horses in Iceland. But if you want to see an authentic Icelandic horse training center, and you want to learn as much as you can about Icelandic horses, Sólvangur is tough to beat.