A special trip to Iceland for horses buyer

Your "dream horses" in Iceland

We had a good trip for some horse buyer in April this year. We are going to make a new trip in October this year and in May next year. If your are interested, please contact our.

Would you like to go to Iceland to buy your dream horse. I can offer you a special in October this year and in May next year. The flight to Iceland, bed and breakfast, dinner every night and almost everything in Iceland will be include in the price. You will have a lot of fun and you can make many good contact in Iceland. You will test a lot of horses and see part of our beautiful country.

If you are interest please read this:::
and feel free to contact us at: mao@centrum.is


I know many people in the United States and many Icelandic horse lovers have been thinking about a trip to Iceland to buy a horse or horses.

Some of you would not travel alone and want to be in a small group where somebody takes care of almost everything. Someone who can show to you your "dream horse" and you can buy it.

In the past two years, many from the U.S. have asked me to organize a trip for those who would like to visit Iceland and buy a horse

I have done it and the plan for next two trips are like this:

I will meet the visitors at Keflavik airport early in the morning when the planes arrive from the U.S. The Iceland-bound plane flies out of New York, Baltimore, Boston, Minneapolis or Orlando.

I like to have 4 - 10 people in the group, maybe 15 - 20. If they are so many I must split the group some days in the trip.

People can come from different parts of the U.S. but I hope we can make a good group together and everyone will have a lot of fun.

I will have a car or a small bus for the group.
It is about a two and a half hour drive to my area.

I think people would like to rest the afternoon on the first day in Iceland after the long overnight flight from the states.

Maybe we would take a short ride riding in the afternoon, or maybe we get several trainers together with horses and theirs show you the horses, which theirs have for sale.

The next morning we'll ride for several hours, trying many different horses and learning how to ride Icelandic horses in Iceland.

In the afternoon we we'll visit other farmers and horse breeders.

They will show you their horses and let you ride them if you'd like.

If we have a large group we might split up so that not too many people are at each farm.

If you see a horse you might be interested in buying, we can get that horse to my farm so you can continue to evaluate it the next few days. We can also make a return trip for any who want to return to one of the farms to try a horse, again, the next day.

The next days we will do the same: ride many different horses, visit some horses breeders, try to find your dream horse and help you to get as much experience riding Icelandic horses as possible.

And of course we want to have a lot of fun.

We'll take a trail ride in the Icelandic nature or we'll ride in a riding hall.

Maybe if people are interest we make a trip to visit the agricultural school, Holar, where they mostly teach riding and the training of horses.

In the October trip we are going to take part in a horse round up in Iceland. We will ride in group of about 100 rider and drive around 800 horses from the mountain to the valley. That is so great fun.
Maybe there will be a small competition when you are in my area, where you can see some good trainers ride tolt in a riding hall.

From my farm it's only 1 mile to next farm and if we ride 4 miles we can visit 2 or 3 other horse breeders.

There are a lot of horse breeders and trainers in my area, so you can have high hopes of finding your dream horse. We will meet many of them. If you do not find your dream horse in this trip, maybe you have got a contact in Iceland to help you later to find your dream horse.

The dates for this trip are Tuesday, October 2nd, through Monday, October 9th.

It means people from the U.S. must depart on Monday, October 1st, and fly overnight to Iceland.

The return flight leaves Iceland in the afternoon so we would be in Reykjavik on Monday morning, October 9th , and will have several hours for shopping in one or two horse stores.
The dates for the May trip 2002 is May 6th from the US to May 13th


I am going to offer this 7 days trip to Iceland in very low price. Only US $ 1.090 and the flight ticket include.


Include: Round trip transportation on Icelandair, bed and breakfast, dinner every night, transfer from the south to my area and return, trip to many horse breeders, riding different horses, and a lot of fun.
Conditions: Airport taxes and personal insurance are not included. Lunch or something else to eat in the midday are not include every day. Also if you want something else to drink than water, milk, tea or coffee.

A trip such as this would make it possible for a person to buy a horse directly from the breeder, and it is possible to make good contact to horse breeders and trainers in Iceland.

It also makes it possible to try many different horses and compare them with each other to try to find the best one.

When a person comes alone to Iceland and rents a car to drive from one farm to other the car will cost from $ 80 pr. day and the food is expensive in Iceland, so I hope people do not feel this cost I am talking about is too high.

I will have a good guest house for the visitors. If you or somebody you know would like to take part in this trip please contact me at:mao@centrum.is

Please tell me what kind of horse or horses you are looking for.

I have only got few flight tickets, in the good price, so you must contact me quickly so you can take part in this trip. Please let me know what airport is best for you to flight from. Icelandair flies out of New York, Baltimore, Boston, Minneapolis or Orlando. Please tell me if it is possible for you to go from other airport if the flight is full booked from your nearest airport. I will tell you how you will book your flight to Iceland and more informations if you need.


Best regards from Iceland
Magnus

<<<<<<
Magnus Olafsson
Sveinsstadir
541 Blonduos
Iceland

Email:mao@centrum.is
tel. ++ 354 452 4495
Fax: ++ 354 452 4029

An interview from Eidfaxi internationl


AT SVEINSSTAÐIR
-An interview with Magnús Ólafsson and Björg Þorgilsdóttir

Herdís Reynisdóttir

During the last few months the topic of marketing in America has been very popular as well as discussions on whether Icelandic horses really stand a chance there in competition with various other breeds that are both taller and more elegant than our little Icelandic horses, and are even gaited in some instances. A few years ago, people held great hopes and had ambitious expectations that the American market was opening up. But it seems people are now discussing this a bit more realistically as they see that the States was not built in a day, any more than ancient Rome. Even though some people are pessimistic, most agree that there are lots of opportunities for the Icelandic horse in America, which we should try to exploit.
But even though many people really believe in these opportunities, not many have actually gone and tried their luck in marketing Icelandic horses in the States. Most people turn to those already in the business, who are professionals and know their stuff, because they think these people are in the best position, and perhaps the only ones who know how to do the job. Fortunately, more and more people are entering this market under various conditions. One of the people who recently started exporting horses to the "promised land" is Magnús Ólafsson, a farmer in Húnavatnssýsla, who in a short time has managed to make contacts with many interested Americans. He has been successful in selling horses for himself as well for his neighbours. Since May 1999 he has exported 30 horses to America.

AMERICA BROUGHT THE NET
Magnús Ólafsson and Björg Þorgilsdóttir are by now well known among many Americans interested in Icelandic horses. They have four children and live at Sveinsstaðir, in Eastern Húnavatnssýsla County, where Magnús' family has lived for more than 150 years making a living off farming. As a child and youngster, Magnús rode quite a lot, but when he became an adult he rode less and less. However, during the last few years he has become much more active again.
Björg was raised in Reykjavík, but for a while she lived in Borgarfjörður. She brought one mare from Hestur in Borgafjörður when she moved to Sveinsstaðir. Magnús and Björg say that their breeding is still very young. They have had one or two foals yearly until a few years ago when they started to increase their herd. Last winter, they cooperated with two of their neighbours and hired professional trainers.
Their sons have been interested in horses as well, and the oldest of them worked for a while in Germany, but the youngest one wanted to go to a country where English was spoken, so his father started looking on the Internet to see if he could find some information. Magnús made contact with people in the Midwest of the US who offered the boy the opportunity to come and stay. As it turned out, these people first came to Iceland to look at horses, and on their return home they took the boy and five horses with them.

GOT THE NET AND LEARNED ENGLISH
-But how did it happen that Magnús started to surf the Net?
"We have been connected to the Internet for two years now, but in the beginning I could not write any English to speak of; I only managed to communicate in some sort of babble, like so many other Icelanders. In the autumn of 1998 I went to a language school in England for three weeks, and when I came home it became clear that all this learning would not be much use if I did not maintain it. What better way to do this than chatting on the Net?
"When my son wanted to go abroad, I thought I would check the opportunities myself, since it is necessary to know something about the people before you send your son all the way over the ocean into something you are not familiar with. And then things started to develop. A personal contact was made and we started to write to people, and little by little I made contact with more and more people. Perhaps there are not many farmers of my generation who realise what kind of a revolution the Internet is. Actually, the Net changes a lot for us who live out in the country, because on the Net distances do not matter."

LOTS OF INTEREST
LITTLE KNOWLEDGE
-What, in your opinion, is the position of horsemanship in the States?
"It is clear that a lot of education is needed there, and it is very important that we try to help out with that. It is very useful to send youngsters who can ride abroad, because they can assist a bit and train the horses that are already there, especially those that have become worse riding horses due to a lack of knowledge. If our boy had not gone abroad we would not have achieved as much as we have in introducing our business and us out there. Diligent and positive youngsters can help a lot, even though they cannot replace experienced teachers, plus they can also learn a lot themselves. After our son had been there for three months, we sent two other youngsters to the same place. Now our son is going again, and we have also hired another young man out there to train the horses and help the people.
"It is also necessary that riders from the States come to Iceland, so we can kindle their interest and show them how things are done here. Often, lack of knowledge leads to misunderstanding and the only thing needed to correct it is more knowledge. Many American buyers are complete beginners and they need reliable and well behaving horses. Usually they know far too little about Icelandic horses and not much about other horses either, so they need information about grooming, feeding and, not least, riding.
"My wife and I went over to America last April and it was a great experience. We went to a big horse show where 50,000 people gathered during a weekend. This trip confirmed my belief that it is important for people over there to understand how things are done in Iceland. It is such a different world, and the way of thinking in horsemanship is completely different too. It is not enough that Icelanders go abroad and teach people how to do things, understanding comes best with the American's own experience with Icelandic horses in Icelandic surroundings. Such knowledge is also quite a trump in marketing. Horses that are born and raised in Iceland are and will be special, so it is a good idea to advertise that. It is also very important to draw the attention of long-time horsemen to Icelandic horses. The best talents of our horses are not really used properly in the hands of beginners."

PERSONAL CONTACT IS IMPORTANT
-How do you think we can best market Icelandic horses in the United States?
"Personal contact is in my opinion very important, and we should give that great priority. If you keep in touch regularly via the Net, it is easy to follow up and provide assistance and advice, at least up to a certain point. We think it is best when people who plan to buy horses come over here and stay for a few days. People then get the chance to view some horses at ease, pick the ones they like best and try them out for a few days. In that way we think you can better ensure that the right horses go to the right owners. It is very important that you do not sell horses thinking that once they have gone abroad you never need to think about them again. On the contrary, we must realise that bad horses can destroy our chances and that the people who get them may never buy Icelandic horses again. That is very negative marketing.
While it is not wise to sell bad horses, the effect can be just as negative when a new owner has trouble with good horses. The horses need to be reliable, they must have good gaits and they must be well schooled. It is best if they have been ridden for two or three years, as such horses do not often get relapses due to the different circumstances and riding techniques. Of course a seller can make a bigger profit by selling young horses, but in the long run it is not suitable. We must think a bit further than only to the next month. We may not jeopardise future business possibilities by being shortsighted. We must take very good care of the buyers and follow up on each and every horse, for if we do this well there will be plenty of future opportunities.
In order to follow up on the horses we have sold to the States, my wife and I took another trip to the States last autumn. Some other people from Húnavatnssýsla, whom we have assisted in selling horses, came along with us. We went to the first breeding show of Icelandic horses that has been held in America. Five of the judged horses were exported with our assistance, which is quite a good percentage of the 32 horses in total that were judged at this show.
We were pleased that all "our" horses scored over 7.50, the old limit for entry in the studbook. In order to make most of our trip for introduction and marketing purposes, we also brought Icelandic food and we invited everybody who was there for a meal after the show, together with our local partners. This party was held in a stable and we managed to create a wonderful atmosphere, eating smoked lamb, dried fish, grilled trout and Icelandic cheeses, which we all washed down with Icelandic brennivín (schnapps). Our partners provided bread, ham, drinks and other things. It was a great party that lasted far into the night."

MARKETING HORSES LIKE SALMON RIVERS
"America is bigger than most people comprehend, and there is massive horse culture there along with enormous interest. Many millions of people might end up buying an Icelandic horse in the future, but that doesn't happen in one day. People have talked a lot about opening the American market, just as if it would be the same as setting free the Icelandic farmers, as if the market would be limitless and you could send all kinds of horses over there for years to come.
We must not forget that there are already many horse breeds of all sizes and types in the States, and that most of them are cheaper than Icelandic horses. We must decide which market we want to work on because America is not just one market. We know that it is hopeless to compete with the prices of the many breeds that are for sale as leisure horses. We need to set ourselves a goal and decide what an Icelandic horse is, and whom it suits.
I think we should build up a certain image and focus on quality, as was done with the salmon rivers. We have the best salmon rivers in the world, and also the best horses in the world. In our marketing of the salmon rivers abroad, we have put emphasis on offering first and foremost the best rivers, with first-class service and good guides. Some people have tried to sell poor rivers in this market, but that has very soon proven to be a mistake. People do not return there, while the same people return year after year to the best rivers.
We also need to very carefully select the horses that we sell to the States. Horses that do not suit their buyers destroy marketing potential, in the same way that a good horse in good hands can bring us many new customers. The Icelandic horse is a unique riding breed, but it also costs a lot to produce and start them if they are to suit this market well, and we must not forget that.
In any case, we do not have any chance of getting a big slice of the American market because our horse stock simply is not large enough to produce the numbers we would need. The advantage that salmon fishing has over our horses is that salmon fishing is international. Our salmon is no different from that in other countries, they can be caught on the same beautiful fly. Knowledge about the product "The Icelandic horse" is not available out there, a fact we need to change. We must teach people to enjoy their unique qualities, and we must help them to set up an educational as well as social system. That is one of the most important aspects of our marketing work."

HORSES, FISHING,
WHALE WATCHING AND GLACIER TRIPS
"It is very important to get the Americans to visit Iceland. The travel business and the marketing of horses are related items that support each other. It could be practical to market many things at the same time, such as salmon fishing, trout fishing, riding tours, glacier tours and whale watching. In this respect we who live in the countryside have the advantage. Usually, we know our own area well and can guide the people who visit us. Since I am the chairman of the local fishing club, I have some insight into fishing. People have come to visit, viewed horses for a while, fished for a day or so and then even gone on a jeep tour as well. In this way we could probably reach a larger group of people who like adventure, or of families where each member has his own interest to pursue on the same holiday."

IT DOESN'T HAPPEN BY ITSELF
"Many people think that marketing should not cost much. If you think like that you achieve nothing. Powerful marketing is the basis on which horse breeding could become a profitable career. It does not do to sit around and wait for other people to open up the market for us horse breeders. What is valid elsewhere is valid here, if you do not do things yourself, nothing will happen, and there is no reason to expect otherwise. We should use all the energy possible in introducing our horses there: if we want to do it right it is a time consuming and complicated job that demands the input of idealists. As the situation is today, you need to put a lot of work in the selling of each and every horse. The Americans simply are not in a hurry. They need a long time to contemplate, gather information, chat and speculate, and finally view, before they possibly buy a horse."

THE SAME AS OUR CHILDREN
"It costs over ,000 to transport a horse from Iceland to New York. After that you have to add a lot more to get the horse to the Midwest where I most of my customers are located. Almost half of this is the cost of quarantine as there are no import taxes in the States. It is a lot of money, which often makes up a large percentage of the final price of the horse. Often, people want to buy the cheapest horses and simply do not understand the great difference in price. This is understandable since people have nothing to compare the horses to; they do not know how a good horse differs from a hag, until they have tried it for themselves. At the courses that are held abroad, where people bring their own horses, they sometimes notice the difference in quality, and little by little they start to long for a better horse. That is why I usually try to explain to the people that it is better to buy a horse that is a bit more expensive, and thereby be assured that you will be pleased with the horse. The cost of exporting a horse worth half a million or an untrained young horse that costs 50,000 is the same.
The development is the same as what we do with our children in Iceland. If we give them a good children's horse to begin with, a horse they can trust, yet also does everything well and makes them happy then in the end they want a better horse with greater willingness and an even better one after that. If, on the other hand, we give our children a bad horse, or a horse that frightens them, it is quite likely that they will loose interest and stop riding. In the same way, we must work together and inform new buyers of Icelandic horses as honourably and carefully as we can, so that everything goes well. If we take good care, I think we can achieve a lot, and the American market will bring considerable profitability."

this was an interview from Eidfaxi

We went to the US.