ABOUT GUDMAR
It’s hard to believe that I’ve been either on or around a horse nearly every day since 1985. Growing up in Iceland, I would race home from school to ride, and by the time I was 14, I was training horses for clients out of the small barn in my parent’s backyard. At 16, I traveled abroad to teach my first international riding clinic in the U.K. By the time I was 20, I had a well-established training business of about 30 horses.
Driven to increase my knowledge of horses, I attended Hólar University, Iceland’s premier equine school, where I formally studied riding and riding instruction. I graduated with honors, the highest score for riding, and the highest degree possible below Master Trainer.
My background
I first competed at 6 years old, and I hold 31 Icelandic Championship titles in youth and young-adult classes and a Scandinavian title, among many others.
By 1997 my family and I had begun exporting horses to the U.S. and attending equine shows to promote the Icelandic horse. At that time, the breed had already become very popular in Europe but was just starting to gain popularity in the U.S.
My time in the us
After obtaining a green card for “exceptional ability” in business in 2006, I moved to Kentucky and founded a business training, teaching, and selling horses. Before long, the teaching aspect of my work became an increasingly large part of my operation, and I began traveling extensively to conduct clinics.
At first I mostly taught Icelandic horse riders, but soon I became very curious about other breeds, gaited breeds in particular. I decided to welcome any gaited breed to my clinics and realized very quickly that a horse is a horse and gait is a gait.
Today I work with all gaited breeds in my clinics. As riders, we all have very similar goals. Regardless of the breed, we want a good companion with a smooth, secure gate, as well as one that’s controllable, fun to ride, and respectful.
back in iceland
In 2013 I moved back to Iceland to realize my dream of running a horse farm in Iceland (check out Hestaland here) and share the beauty and joy of the Icelandic countryside via adventures on horseback. To this day I’m an active competitor at the highest level and travel the world to conduct riding clinics.
I’m driven to share my knowledge, experience, and passion with other horse enthusiasts. I’ve primarily done this by conducting riding clinics, but now I’m eager to share quality horsemanship with even more riders. That’s why I’m complementing my efforts with a Patreon community, where I offer exclusive videos and more.