Knit & Ride an Icelandic horse, August 21-28, 2026
Booking will open later in September
Knit & Ride highlights: the tölt and flying pace, the special gaits of the Icelandic horse, astonishing landscapes, loose horses, knitting a riding lopi sweater
Dates: August 21-28, 2026
The Knit & Ride an Icelandic horse tour this year is a true adventure, reserved for advanced riders* only because we will be accompanied by loose horses all the way and the pace can thus be quite fast! It is a combination of Icelandic knitting and wondrous horse rides in the Icelandic nature, through rough lava fields, black ash sands or luxuriant lupin fields and lush forests paths, crossing rivers and galloping in the wild with 40 loose horses. All the way, Hélène will give us an insight into the Icelandic knitting traditions and we’ll learn new and old techniques. She will tell us especially about the handknits used for riding. We will knit a riding lopi sweater under her guidance and learn all about ridings socks. Delicious food and accommodations in farms or moutain huts, dormitory style, sleeping bags accomodations.
Upon booking, you will receive a link to fill up the registration form.
* In order to be eligible to come in this tour, you must be able to go on the saddle without assistance, ride for up to 5 hours and gallop out into nature.
Please read the detailed information below >
Booking will open later in September
Orders ship from France (VAT from your country, no Customs fees in Europe) / Commandes expédiées depuis la France (TVA de votre pays, pas de frais de douane en Europe)
IMPORTANT INFORMATION
Upon booking, and in order to make the trip enjoyable, please make sure you are familiar with the day-to-day itinerary, the riding experience and the fitness condition required, as well as the list of equipment. For any questions, please check our FAQ first (answers to frequently asked questions).
Departure: August 21-28, 2026, 7 nights
Group size: 14
Price: 695000 isk
Single room supplement (only in Reykjavik): 15000 ISK
Not included in price: flights to and from Keflavík International. Wool for knitting a full-size riding lopi sweater and riding socks are not included in the price.
Included in price:
- 1 guide/knitting instructor
- 1 guide/horseriding instructor
- 2 nights at a guesthouse in Reykjavík, twin room, dressed beds, shared facilities, breakfast included. Possibility of single room.
- 1 night in a picturesque country guesthouse, dormitory style, sleeping bag accommodation, shared facilities. Sauna.
- 3 nights in a mountain hut, dormitory style, sleeping bag accommodation.
- Full board from Day 2 to Day 7, breakfast on Day 8
- Horses, saddlery, tack, rain gear and helmet are provided
- All transfers as per itinerary, knitting as per itinerary
- Yarn for knitting swatches during the workshops
- Our guides will prepare all meals during the trip. Participants ́ help with washing dishes is highly appreciated.
Because participants come from all over the world, the tours are operated in English but Hélène and Anita are bilingual in French. A lexical of knitting terms in German/English/French/Icelandic is available during the tour.
Fitness et riding level:
- This ride is suitable for advanced riders: participants should be able to go on the saddle without assistance, ride for up to 5 hours in uneven terrain and gallop for long periods of times.
- Prior to fully confirm you booking, we will ask you to send us a video in order to assess your riding abilities: in that video, you must be seen going on a horse without assistance and galloping out into nature. If you can’t do that, you are not eligible to come, your booking will be cancelled and your deposit fully refunded,
- Accessible to all those in good health, who are doing some sport regularly. Experience of riding is a prerequisite. 90 kg maximum.
- During the tour, we reserve the right to reject any rider for reasons of riding inability or behaviour endangering the safety or welfare of the riders or horses. No refund will be made to any rider who is rejected for any such reason, nor can refund be made to any rider who is unable to complete a ride or the tour.
ITINERARY
Day 1 (August 21, 2026): Knitters arrive to Iceland from all over the world at various time during the day. They will be spending their first night at a guesthouse in Reykjavík close to the Icelandic Handknitting Association of Iceland, full of lopi sweaters and Icelandic yarns.
Day 2 (August 22, 2026 ): In the morning, we set out on a knitting adventure and stop on the way to interesting places for knitters such as the Þingborg Wool centre where local women produce soft unspun lopi, as well as at the Uppspuni minimill. We arrive to our picturesque guesthouse in the afternoon. Meet and greet with our horses and the lovely and highly skilled Anita and Stebbi who will guide the riding part of our tour. Picnic lunch enroute. Sleeping bags accommodation, dormitory style.
Day 3 (August 23, 2026): We have breakfast around 8:30 and we make picknick from the breakfast table. After a relaxing morning we go to meet up with the horses. We ride through the meadows of Hekluhestar farm to the river Ranga. We cross the river and be prepared to get wet feet. We ride through farmland and the histiorical Landgræðslan, the soil conservation service of Iceland. We ride from there to an old farm called Foss, rustic accommodation situated next to the river Rangá eystri and knit in the evening with a fantastic view on the mountains around.
Ride: about 5-6 hours on the saddle.
Day 4 (August 24, 2026): After breakfast and start to prepare our horses. We ride from Foss to Fljótshlið and take a break there. Next up is riding in the lupin flower beds next to the mountain Stóri Dímon. We have a break there and enjoy the views. We continue our ride with the loose horses and end our day in Stóra Mörk, accommodation at a farm. Peaceful knitting in the evening.
Ride: about 5 hours on the saddle.
Day 5 (August 25, 2026): Today we continue our journey with the loose horses. We see some glacier tongs and beautiful mountains all around. We reach the nature reserve Þórsmörk that is truly a magical place with three glaciers around and a natural birch forrest. We stay at the cabin in Húsadalur.
Ride: about 4-5 hours on the saddle.
Day 6 (August 26, 2026): In the morning, each rider choose one horse for a leisure ride in the Þórsmörk reserve where we enjoy the scenic place with glacier views, astonishing mountains, bright green moss, bushes and water creeks everywhere. After enjoying the ride of the day we take our time to say goodbye to the horses
Day 7 (August 27, 2026): Today is all about knitting and exploring Þórsmörk by foot for those who would like that. At 4 pm, we will take the bus from Þórsmörk to Reykjavik and head slowly back to the city with many interesting stops, lots of yarns and a farewell dinner in an authentic turf farm.
Day 8 (August 28, 2026): Departure
KNITTING WORKSHOP
TRADITIONAL RIDING SOCKS AND RIDING LOPI SWEATER
A bit of history: Hélène will tell us about the Icelandic knitting traditions with a focus on the knits traditionally used for riding, both in the old days and today. Special attention will be given to the riding socks and the Icelandic lopi yoke sweater. This last one is a fairly recent invention probably dating back to the 50’s that became immensely popular in the 70’s. It became right away the working sweater in Iceland and is used ever since by farmers, fishermen and horse riding people.
The Icelandic wool: Hélène will tell us about the different types of Icelandic wool and the genesis of the famous unspun lopi and we will experience the feeling of knitting with this highly breakable yarn.
Traditional Icelandic lopi sweater: On Day 2, we will pick up some lopi yarn at Þingborg wool center in the colors of our choice and start knitting a full size riding lopi sweater during the tour. We will knit it after one of Hélène´s designs. There will be a choice of different patterns, both sweaters and cardigans, all included a horse motif in the yoke of course! Hélène will guide us through the process and special techniques, old and new (such as the ladder back jacquard technique). Note that the wool for knitting the sweater is not included in the price of the tour.
The Icelandic steek: lopi sweaters are knitted in the round then simply steeked (that is cut into the finished knitting) to make them into cardigans. We will try our hands at the traditional Icelandic way on a swatch so that, if applicable, you feel confident steeking your riding lopi sweater once it is finished.
Riding socks: we will explore the different types of socks used from riding and their evolution through the centuries.
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