CALLOW End rider Fi Pugh is due to compete for the British team at the World Championships for Icelandic Horses in Austria from August 12-19.
There are six riders in the British team, two more of which are from the Midlands, Luan Crawford from Worcester and Sharon Tomlinson from Solihull.
The society in Britain for Icelandic Horses isn't very big yet with the members being spread nationwide, but they are big business in other European and Scandinavian countries.
The horses differ from other breeds as there have been no other horses on Iceland and no horses are imported, which has kept the breed pure, they also have extra gaits in addition to the walk, trot, and canter they can tolt (running walk) and pace (lateral movement used for racing). Competition is on a 250m oval track where accuracy and discipline of the gaits are essential.
Due to the foot and mouth restrictions, the riders can't take their own horses to Austria so are using loan horses to compete on.
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