Laufskálarétt

Horses & men

Laufskálarétt is the largest horse round-up in the country, not far from the episcopal seat at Hólar in Hjaltadalur, Skagafjörður. It is always held there on the last Saturday in September. This year, Laufskálarétt was attended by almost three thousand people, who went there to see when several hundred horses and foals are driven from the highland pastures in the area down to Hjaltadalur, and then sorted to their owners. Up to a third of the visitors can be assumed to have been foreigners who love the Icelandic horse and a few of them participated in the drive with the locals. Most of the horses come down from Kolbeinsdalur, a desert valley north of Hjaltadalur. Laufskálarét was inaugurated in 1954, 68 years ago, and has never been more popular. Of course, Land & Saga, Icelandic Times went to check it out.