The Tölt Tales

Episode 4 - Skáneyland Islandshästar

• The Tölt Tales • Season 1 • Episode 4

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Meet Sussie and Niels, the owners of Skáneyland Islandshästar one of the most succesfull breeders in Sweden. Listen to their story and how they think about breeding.

We hope you will enjoy this episode!! 

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Music by Cob.
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Lionel:

Hello everybody, and welcome to The Tölt Tales Podcast. In today's episode, we have not one, but two guests. Hello, Sussie and Niels, how are you?

Niels:

I'm fine.

Sussie:

Yeah, I'm fine too, a bit tired at this time of year, but I think there's a lot of people who are tired when it's so dark and rainy.

Lionel:

It is, yes, and foggy today.

Sussie:

Yeah.

Lionel:

Well, we are extremely happy to talk to you today about you, about Skáneyland and breeding in general. So for the people who don't know you, maybe can you present a bit yourself?

Sussie:

I have been an animal lover since I was a little girl and started with horses at eight years, when I was eight, started riding, bought my first Icelandic horse when I was 12. Just some kind of coincidence because all the girls in the village had ponies and when I wanted to buy a horse, it happened to be an Icelandic horse.

Lionel:

So ten years ago, right?

Sussie:

Yeah, of course, ten years ago.

Lionel:

Almost. You will take some years.

Sussie:

And after that, I went to farming school and learned a lot about animal breeding. So there, I think that my interest started. And today we have this farm, Skáneyland. And of course, I have use of my education in many times, in many ways. So that's me.

Lionel:

Here we are. And you, Niels?

Niels:

Yeah, I just had a person I worked with, and she wanted to build a stable. So I helped her, and this was early 80s. And I knew nothing about horses at all, but I was a carpenter. So we built the stable, and she had a writing school. And at the evening, we started to write, and I thought that, oh my god, this is just so fun. And I have been in it for more than 40 years now.

Lionel:

You bought your horse right away?

Niels:

Yeah, it took three months, and all my friends said that, you're completely crazy. You will sell it again. But that never happened.

Lionel:

And why an Icelandic horse? Was it because that was the only one?

Niels:

No, she had Icelandic horses, so that was just, yeah, by, what do you say, by accident or?

Lionel:

Yes, by fortune. How do you two met each other?

Niels:

That was also fortune.

Sussie:

It was on Iceland in 87, 88, something like that. We were both working with horses on Iceland, and we had a friend in Coman that wrote to us that maybe you should meet.

Lionel:

Okay.

Sussie:

And we did, and we stay together since that. Do you send that person flowers or to Sussie then?

Niels:

She always mentions this every time we meet.

Lionel:

Yes, I bet I will do the same. So you went to Iceland, you came back here, and did you directly build the farm or you stayed somewhere else before? You bought the farm from Iceland?

Sussie:

No, we rented a little little farm.

Lionel:

Okay.

Sussie:

And stayed there for... I took my horses home and you took your horses here, two horses each. Okay, from Iceland? No, from that horses we had here.

Niels:

You have to mention that I'm from Denmark.

Lionel:

Yes, sorry, I should have mentioned that. You're right.

Sussie:

Yeah.

Niels:

So I had to move here to Sweden.

Sussie:

Yes. And we, after that, after renting this farm, we actually moved to Denmark for a year.

Lionel:

Okay.

Sussie:

And moved there. We had our first child, Tobias, and we stayed in Denmark for one year. And then we wanted to have a farm. We wanted to do some breeding and so on. And we bought a really good mare, Rina Vigtis, when we stayed and lived in Denmark. To that, we wanted to start breeding. And we were looking for a farm in Denmark, but it was too expensive.

Lionel:

Okay.

Sussie:

So we found one, a little, little one in Sweden, not far from here, that we bought.

Lionel:

And this is where you are today?

Niels:

No. We lived there for five years, I think.

Lionel:

Okay.

Niels:

And then we found this one.

Sussie:

Yeah. We outgrow it. So we had to have, we didn't have so much land and we didn't have so big stables and there was not so much room for breeding.

Lionel:

Okay. And when you came here, everything was ready to go or you...

Niels:

No, no. Nothing was ready to go.

Sussie:

Nothing was ready to go. It was just, there was a lot of land.

Lionel:

Okay. Good. It's good for horses.

Sussie:

And a lot of buildings, but everything has to be renovated.

Lionel:

Okay.

Sussie:

There was no warm water, no isolation, no electricity, old electricity.

Niels:

No toilet.

Sussie:

No toilet. It's just...

Niels:

No nothing.

Sussie:

No nothing.

Lionel:

Okay. No toilet, nothing, two kids and horses.

Sussie:

Yeah.

Lionel:

Sounds like the good life.

Sussie:

Yes. Yes. It was the beginning of a dream.

Lionel:

Yes. And when was that?

Sussie:

1996.

Lionel:

1996. Okay. So...

Niels:

30 years next year.

Lionel:

30 years. Yes. 30 years ago. How many horses you had at that time? You had more than four at the beginning, I guess.

Sussie:

Yes. We had Rina Rönn, Venus. Yeah. We had done some breeding. Yes. So we had some mares and we had also the stallion, Seegull Frá Skáney, that we brought home from Iceland. In 1991, we bought him and took him home. And he was actually working the money together for us, so we could buy the farm. He was meeting some really nice mares, a lot of mares in the beginning, and all the money that he earned, we put in this farm.

Lionel:

Yes. In the toilet first, I guess.

Niels:

Yes, exactly.

Sussie:

No, first we had isolation and water and so on, but of course the toilet also.

Lionel:

Is the farm was already called Skaneyland?

Sussie:

No.

Lionel:

When did you start it? Do you remember?

Sussie:

1988.

Niels:

Yeah, we decided that we wanted to live here in Skåne. Yes. Yeah, at that time we lived in Denmark, but we decided to live here in Skåne, and we knew that we would breed horses here. So that's why we took the name. So it's Skåneland, first translated into Icelandic. So it's Skáneyland.

Lionel:

But you had the name at the beginning, not at the beginning, you had it after a while or?

Sussie:

We had it with our first horse.

Lionel:

Your first horse was always the...

Sussie:

First breeding, the first foal we bred.

Lionel:

Was already Franz Connirn.

Sussie:

Yes.

Lionel:

That's cool.

Sussie:

1988, what's that? 1988 was that.

Lionel:

What is the name of this one?

Niels:

Hilda. Hilda was first.

Sussie:

Hilda was first and then 1989, Leiby.

Lionel:

Did you keep them? You didn't keep all your horses that you bred, I guess.

Sussie:

No, of course not.

Niels:

No, we didn't keep them.

Lionel:

No.

Niels:

We barely keep any at all.

Lionel:

Yes.

Niels:

So we only keep the breeding mares. Almost every other horse will be sold.

Lionel:

Will be sold, yes. I have a weird question, but maybe for breeders it's even weirder. When is the last time you bought a horse?

Sussie:

I just had to look it up. So we didn't buy horses for many, many years, but in 2022, we bought a horse. And that was the stallion Dauti Fraskipaskaga.

Lionel:

Yes.

Sussie:

And that was because we wanted to have some new blood. And also, Mette, our daughter, wanted a new competition horse. So we bought him together, because her stallion was injured and would not be a competition horse. So we were looking for something else. And I saw him on Facebook in an advertisement, and I was thinking this will be something for Mette. And she also saw it and was, yeah, a bit, maybe this will be something for me.

Lionel:

He's a beautiful horse.

Sussie:

Yes, he is. So we bought him. We had him for three, two or three years. I don't remember. Mette was riding competition on him and we were breeding with him. But then Mette started her education.

Lionel:

Yes.

Sussie:

So she had not the time to do competition anymore. So we sold him.

Lionel:

Yes.

Sussie:

Again.

Lionel:

To someone that we know, right?

Sussie:

Yes, Julia Christensen.

Lionel:

She's in love with this horse as well.

Sussie:

Yes, she is. So that felt very good. We felt very good about it.

Lionel:

And that's the last horse you bought.

Sussie:

Yes.

Lionel:

Quite a nice horse.

Sussie:

Yes.

Lionel:

I have another weird question. What is the favorite horse you rode in your career life? Do you have one horse that stick into your brain and say, that was such a fantastic horse?

Niels:

No, there is not just one horse.

Lionel:

No?

Niels:

No, because all the horses are so different. Some has a really extremely nice character, and another one has really extremely good tölt. Yeah, there can be so many different types of horses. So, there is not only one, but of course, Rina, who is the basic mare of all our breeding was really, really special, and really good at that time. She was on the World Championship.

Lionel:

Yes.

Niels:

And then of course, Sekul, who was on the Swedish Championships, and having a lot of springs, and really learned us, yeah, all about breeding and riding and yeah, you know. So those are really special.

Lionel:

And you, Sussie, because I know you ride as well.

Sussie:

Yes, I do. And yeah, it's so hard to say, because they are so special in different ways. Of course, Rina, this was our, how do you say, Stam-moodle.

Lionel:

The first mother.

Sussie:

The first mother, the big mother of all our horses maybe. And of course, she was really fantastic when she was a riding horse. And now her daughter, Rissla.

Lionel:

Yes.

Sussie:

I really love to ride her. Of course, she's so kind, really want to do everything for you. And she had so good gaits that you just, you can just sit and you are so comfortable on her. She would do nothing and she always go forward and do her best. Certainly Frans Skáneyland is...

Lionel:

I heard about him.

Sussie:

Yeah. When you sit on his back, you are...

Niels:

In a dream world.

Sussie:

Yeah. You think you are flying. He's really wonderful riding horse. Yes, he is.

Lionel:

I guess it's what is special a bit with the horses that you have, beautiful gait, but the mind as well, the character that they have, I guess you remember that as well.

Sussie:

Yeah, I think so.

Niels:

Yeah, and that's of course is really, really important. If the horse is not with you, it's just difficult and not even fun.

Lionel:

Are you also, when you breed, are you thinking about character as well?

Niels:

Yeah, a lot. Yes.

Sussie:

A lot. But of course, if you don't know the stallion, if you see a stallion that you think, wow, this I really want to breed with, and it's a young one and maybe no siblings and so on, it's hard to know the character, of course. But you can also ask a lot around, a lot of other people what they have.

Lionel:

Is it the type of question you will ask? It's like, okay, I see his bloop, I see the breeding assessment, but how about his character? Is it the type of question you are asking?

Sussie:

Yeah.

Lionel:

Yeah.

Niels:

Yeah, and also ask people we know if they know any offspring too. So we can just ask how are the offsprings.

Lionel:

Okay. And that gives you a good indication on what he gives to his offspring, I guess.

Sussie:

Yeah. And if he has siblings, maybe you can go in on Worldfinger and see how is the judgment of those. And are they competing? Or you can see a lot of information on Worldfinger, of course. So you can see if he has siblings, when are they judged and how are they judged and so on. And you can ask people you know from Iceland and from Denmark and other people you know.

Lionel:

Yes, exactly. So just because we will talk about breathing a bit later, but what is a day or a week of Sussie and Niels in Skáneyland looks like?

Sussie:

Working, working, working.

Niels:

Okay, it's not nine to five.

Lionel:

No, no. Is it nine to nine?

Sussie:

Some days it is, of course.

Niels:

We have no employees, so we do all the work ourselves. So we feed the horses and ride them and clean the stables, and doing all the fencing and you know, all that. We just decided many years ago that we would not like to have employees, just to do it ourselves.

Lionel:

To do it yourself. And because I know a bit, you also have sheep.

Sussie:

Yes, we have sheep.

Niels:

Yeah, we have this big nature preserving area.

Lionel:

Yes.

Niels:

So we need to have two kind of animals for the grazing. So in the spring, we have a lot of lambs. And of course, that also is a lot of job, but also fun.

Sussie:

Really, really funny. I grew up with sheep.

Lionel:

Okay.

Sussie:

Yeah, my aunt and uncle, they had 120 ewes with lamb, and they were at the farm next to my parents. So it was, yeah, when we had to choose between cows and sheep, it was no question for me.

Niels:

Because they are grazing in different ways.

Lionel:

All right. Because you put the horses there as well. How did you start it with Drakomeland? Was it when you started Skáneyland, or it just happened at some point because you needed land, maybe?

Niels:

No, it just happened at some point because we had our young horses there.

Lionel:

Okay.

Niels:

With the farmer that has it before us. So we rented from the government. And we said to him that when you will go into pension, we would like to rent it. And that of course is extremely good for the horses because it's a lot of hillside and it's up and down and it's really big. It's 165 hectares.

Lionel:

Okay.

Niels:

So the horses can run free in big herds.

Lionel:

You can find them easily?

Niels:

Sometimes. It takes some time. But I go there every day and check all the horses and everything.

Lionel:

You don't have horses there at the moment, right?

Niels:

No, it's only in the summer time.

Sussie:

It's not allowed to have animals there in the winter.

Lionel:

To preserve also the ground?

Sussie:

Yeah, you are not allowed to feed animals there. Because then you are putting something on to fertilizer. You can call it what you want. But we take them home during the winter.

Lionel:

And they are right across the road at the moment?

Sussie:

In our forest, yes.

Niels:

So we have a forest and we have all the mares and the young mares there.

Sussie:

And the sheep?

Niels:

And the sheep also, yeah.

Lionel:

I was about to ask if you can describe a bit. You have the main farm where we are recording the episode. You have across the road, you have a little forest with the, then what you said, glyphs, like the mares and the falls. And you have summer better, summer fields. Summer fields?

Sussie:

Yes, up in Everrod too, we are renting. And there we have the stallions in the summer. But they are also here in a winter paddock, or what you call it, with a house during the winter. So all horses are home during the winter. And all the sheep are home. And the sheepdogs are also home.

Lionel:

Yes, you also have dogs.

Sussie:

Yeah.

Niels:

Yeah, of course, you need to have dogs.

Lionel:

Yes, I agree with you. What kind of dogs it is?

Sussie:

It is Border Collies. Yes.

Lionel:

The smartest breed. Yeah. Do you breed them as well?

Sussie:

We have bred. We had one, two, three, four liters. Four liters. Yes. So we have bred quite many.

Lionel:

And you work with them, right?

Sussie:

Yes, we do. Yes, we do.

Lionel:

And they are very comfortable with the horses as well.

Sussie:

Yeah.

Niels:

Yeah, but we use them for the ships.

Sussie:

Yeah, sometimes for the horses in the summer.

Niels:

Yeah.

Sussie:

When we have mares for covering.

Lionel:

Yes.

Sussie:

If they have foals, the dogs really like to help us to get the foals to follow the mares into the paddock where we do the covering. So they are really working with them too.

Lionel:

Yeah, those are working dogs. So you need to stimulate them in a way. You mentioned World Championship. Can you describe a bit how come you went there with whom?

Sussie:

It was Rinnevigdis that we bought in Denmark. You were showing her.

Niels:

Yeah, I was showing her. At that time, it was more normal that the breeders did that themselves.

Sussie:

Or the owners.

Niels:

Yeah, the owners. So we showed her ourselves. Yes. And she was actually third in her breeding class. So of course, that was really a kickstart for us in the breeding.

Lionel:

It's a good start.

Sussie:

It's a really good start. Of course, you can say that she was competing for Denmark.

Niels:

Yes, she was bred in Denmark because we bought her in Denmark.

Sussie:

She was born in Denmark and also was competing with a Danish team.

Lionel:

All right. Did you expect it still to have her third in World Championship or was it a surprise?

Sussie:

We didn't know and it was so new with this breeding show at World Championship. So we so really it was in 1991. So it was really new and we didn't know what to expect.

Lionel:

Yes. Did you participate to other competition? We're going to talk about someone from last year.

Sussie:

But also Rina's daughter, Riesle, was on the World Championship in 2007.

Lionel:

All right.

Niels:

Did you show her this? No. At that time, we started to use professional breeding showers. Okay. It was Johan Hekta who showed her. Yes. So we broke her in when she was four, and we just thought immediately, this is a really, really good horse. This is something extra special.

Lionel:

Okay.

Niels:

And she was, you know, every day we ride her, she was better. Wow. Yeah. And that is not so normal.

Lionel:

What you would expect is good, good, bad, good, good, bad.

Niels:

Exactly. Exactly. But she wasn't like that. And she was just doing, yeah, we did one thing one day, and then we could do it next day, and then we did another.

Sussie:

And we can also say it was the first horse that met the broke in.

Lionel:

Oh, wow.

Sussie:

Yeah. So she did that.

Lionel:

Oh, wow. Can you, is it okay if I ask the question about the showing horses? You mentioned it's, you showed your first horses, and now it's a professional that show horses?

Niels:

Yeah.

Lionel:

Can you explain a bit to maybe the reason why, or is it so specific or?

Niels:

Yeah, it is really, it is special. And of course, if you come on this higher level also, I will get nervous.

Lionel:

Yes.

Niels:

Because it is a lot of pressure.

Lionel:

Yes.

Niels:

And those who are showing horses, like in the last years, we have used Akhna from Denmark. And, you know, he has showed like a thousand horses in WorldFengor.

Lionel:

Yes.

Niels:

So it's, they're just so much more experience.

Lionel:

Yes.

Niels:

So we do all the training, we break in and we train and we learn the horses, everything.

Lionel:

Yes.

Niels:

And he comes and try the horses for a few times over the winter and then he comes and shows them.

Lionel:

And I guess it's a special set of skills because it's not his horse, I guess, maybe it's...

Sussie:

No, but you can also see this in Trot and in Gallup, of course, all those horses.

Lionel:

That owners don't show their own horses.

Sussie:

No, they have special trainers and then they have riders. The trainer doesn't ride the, drive or ride those horses in the competition.

Lionel:

Okay.

Sussie:

They have special riders.

Lionel:

It's a special set of... It's a type of rider, I guess.

Niels:

Yeah. And it's much about the experience. And of course also, he has tried the horses a few times over the winter and he knows how we are riding and how we train the horses, so he knows what he can expect. And this is really common in Iceland, but it's not so common here out in Europe.

Lionel:

In Europe, you will tend to...

Niels:

Yeah, you send your horse to a train and have them there for many months.

Lionel:

Okay.

Niels:

But we have chosen to do it this way instead.

Lionel:

Inspired by Iceland then?

Niels:

Yeah, you could say.

Sussie:

Yeah, and also inspired by saving some money, maybe.

Niels:

And also one more thing, not to forget that we have the horses just for fun. We ride for fun. Indeed. So we just love to ride young horses and learn them all the things.

Lionel:

Even after so many years, so many horses ridden is still fun for you?

Niels:

Yes.

Lionel:

Did you ever count the amount of horses you bred?

Niels:

Yes, how many we bred?

Sussie:

I did today, because you...

Lionel:

You did? Yes, it was one of my questions.

Sussie:

I knew this question will come, so I think it was 119 with the name Skáneyland. So, yes.

Lionel:

And Niels, you rode 119 Skáneyland horses?

Niels:

No, not all, because sometimes we sell young horses.

Sussie:

Yeah, we sell them as foals sometimes.

Niels:

Ah, okay. But it has been a lot of horses, and of course also other horses from other breeders. So it has been a lot of horses throughout the years.

Lionel:

When you have horses, you start them as one. What is the process behind it? Do you have your own system or you have...?

Niels:

Yeah, we have a system. And I don't think our system is not different from other ones. We do a lot of groundwork. First we are launching and then we go with the rain and we learn everything from the ground. So when we first mount, it will be no surprise for them. So there will be no tension and no problems like that. And also the horses simply just know what to do. So when we start to ride, they kind of can everything already.

Lionel:

They just need to put back the pieces that you teach them from the ground with a rider, I guess. I was about to ask, when do you start them? You...

Niels:

Often there is a lot of discussions about this. When should you start a horse? And we start the horses at three and a half years. And we ride or train them for six weeks.

Lionel:

Six weeks. And then after, it's a break, right?

Niels:

Yeah, it's a break again for six weeks. And we do that until they are five years old.

Lionel:

Right. OK.

Niels:

So we train them and then have a rest and train again and they will be stronger and stronger over time.

Lionel:

Yes.

Sussie:

And maybe the six weeks could be five weeks or it could be seven weeks. It depends on the horse, of course.

Lionel:

Yes. Those are animals, right?

Sussie:

Yes.

Lionel:

It's not a car that you're building. It's a living animal.

Sussie:

Yes.

Lionel:

Where can we find Skaneeland horses in the world? In Sweden.

Sussie:

Sweden, of course.

Lionel:

Yes.

Sussie:

Denmark.

Lionel:

Denmark.

Sussie:

Yes. Germany.

Lionel:

Germany. Okay.

Sussie:

Belgium.

Lionel:

Yes, Belgium. Yes. Was it the first horse that you sold to Belgium lately?

Sussie:

No, the second.

Lionel:

The second.

Sussie:

To the same family.

Lionel:

Okay.

Sussie:

To the same family, of course.

Lionel:

Yeah.

Sussie:

Yes. And that's really, really nice. A family that had, that has jumping horses.

Lionel:

Okay.

Sussie:

A big stable with red, very good jumping horses. And they also have horses in the stable that are paying for be there. So they have about 60 horses on the farm.

Lionel:

Okay.

Sussie:

And now they have also three Icelandic horses.

Lionel:

Yes. And two of them are...

Sussie:

Skáneyland, yes.

Lionel:

Icelandic horses have a way to catch you, I think. Like, they have a character that is so different from other horses. Yeah. So let's talk a bit about breeding. We mentioned it a bit about character, but can you explain a bit how do you pair a mare and a stallion? I don't know how to say it any other way.

Sussie:

Yeah, it's what we like. We just think, if we go to competitions and if we go to, of course, Landsmot on Iceland, you see a lot of horses. Yes. We are also following on Worldfengar and all those movies, videos and so from the breeding shows.

Niels:

Sometimes you just see a horse, that is, wow, I would like to have that one in my stable.

Lionel:

Really? It's like shopping online.

Sussie:

Yeah.

Lionel:

This is what they do, breeding show, right?

Sussie:

Now you can do it online, but I can tell you that in the beginning, when we started breeding, there were only books. We could see, we went to...

Lionel:

Like stable books or some?

Sussie:

Books, stallion books.

Lionel:

Stallion books, sorry.

Sussie:

Yeah. And also books about all the mares that have been evaluated on Iceland.

Lionel:

Okay.

Sussie:

And really thick books, and you were with them in your bed, and you were reading and reading and looking at pictures and evaluations and so on. That was before Worldfinger and all internet. You were always reading those books.

Lionel:

Wow.

Sussie:

With pictures and you learned all the stallions, the numbers and the names and everything.

Lionel:

And then what are you looking at when you were looking at, oh, now in Worldfinger, what are the first criteria? So let's say you look at the breeding show, you see, oh, this horse look great. Then you will go to Worldfinger, for instance, and look at the lineage and those kind of things.

Sussie:

Yeah, the pedigree, of course.

Niels:

Yeah, the pedigree is really important. Because it gives you some kind of secure that when you breed with the stallion that has a good pedigree, yes, he will give it with the to give it on to his offspring.

Lionel:

Do you look at the bloop?

Sussie:

Yeah, of course. But also you can say that those stallions that we like, they really.

Lionel:

They end up having good bloop.

Sussie:

Yeah, yes, they do. And you also look at the mother of the stallion. And see what does she have? Any other offsprings that are evaluated? And you look further back in the lines and see what had...

Niels:

The bloodline is really important.

Lionel:

You're like the stalker of Wolfinger.

Sussie:

Yeah, you could say so.

Lionel:

But I guess it's important, like you said, it cannot be just a one-off. OK, he is a great horse, but you will try to see where does he come from and if there is other offsprings that show the same potential, I guess.

Sussie:

And of course, shoes with your heart.

Lionel:

Always.

Sussie:

Yeah, always. You should like it. You shouldn't just go for the numbers. You should also have a kind of... When you see the horse on the movie or in real life, it's the best, of course. You should feel it.

Lionel:

Do you go regularly to Landsmot, for instance, or Iceland? Do you happen to go every three, four years or those kind of things?

Niels:

Landsmot, we try to go as often as we can.

Lionel:

OK.

Sussie:

Yeah. It was only on COVID.

Niels:

Yes.

Sussie:

Otherwise, we have been on the most Landsmots, I think.

Niels:

And then also, you know, you see the horses, and so like five years later, you see the offsprings, and then five years later, you see another one. And then suddenly, you have all these bloodlines in your head. So, you know what kind of horses you like and what kind of bloodline you like.

Lionel:

Does it happen that you see a horse now? You're like, oh, yeah, I remember seeing his father and his grandfather.

Sussie:

Yeah, of course.

Lionel:

You recognize them sometimes? No, not that.

Niels:

Yeah, sometimes. Some stallions are really giving special type of horses so you can clearly see that they are from them.

Lionel:

Okay. I remember we had a discussion back in the day about the importance of mare. How important is to have good mares in your breeding?

Sussie:

Very important.

Niels:

Then the mare is just half of it.

Lionel:

Is it more than half of it?

Niels:

Yeah, you can breed with all the good stallions, but if you don't have a good mare, then you just have a half good pedigree.

Sussie:

Yeah, you have to have a good mare. Also, a good mare to take care of the foal. And also, how is she raising her foal? They will be very much like their mother. How they are raising them.

Lionel:

How they are raising them, okay.

Sussie:

They are really, you can see, we can also see now if we are loading some horses on the transport, and we hear them donk, donk, donk, donk with the hooves. Okay, this is someone from Rina.

Lionel:

Oh, do you know that?

Sussie:

Yeah.

Lionel:

Oh, this is amazing. Because she does that, or because she let the horse?

Sussie:

She did that, she did that, and Rissla is doing it, and Isolde is doing it, and yeah, it's quite fun.

Lionel:

Do you look at color? Because, yes.

Sussie:

Of course, you can do that. If it's a really good horse, yes. And you can choose.

Lionel:

Okay.

Sussie:

I like, for example, I like black, and you can have those equal good horses. There's a red and a black.

Lionel:

Yes.

Sussie:

Then of course, I will take the black.

Lionel:

Okay. So you pay attention to that.

Sussie:

Yes.

Lionel:

And competition, if they competed, as not only breeding show, but do you look at competition? Okay. In, in, in Lansmoth or Bestiary Diving.

Niels:

Yeah. It's in the competition, you can see how the horses really...

Sussie:

The mind of them.

Niels:

Yeah.

Lionel:

Yes.

Niels:

Because when you see them in the breeding show, there are normally five or six.

Lionel:

Yes.

Niels:

And then in competitions, they may be eight or more.

Lionel:

Yes.

Niels:

So you can see if, if they can take all the training in a good way, or if they... You know, if a young horse is really good when they are five, and then you never see them again, because they cannot be... Ritten.

Sussie:

Or maybe they're just bred.

Niels:

Or maybe...

Sussie:

Is it a mare? So I understand why...

Niels:

Yeah, the mares are often... If you have a good mare, you almost never see them again.

Lionel:

No. They will be... They will compete maybe one or two time, and then go in breeding.

Niels:

Yeah.

Lionel:

What are the breeding assessment age? What time you can show a horse?

Niels:

You can start when they are four.

Lionel:

Four.

Niels:

So you can... And you can go on forever if you want. But the normal thing is that most horses are showed five or six years old. And sometimes if they're really good, you of course will try to show them again. And the average here in Sweden is just over six years. And the average in Iceland is a little under five years, I think. So it's quite a big difference. They show much more young horses in Iceland.

Lionel:

Oh, right.

Niels:

Than we do here.

Lionel:

Okay. Is it because this is how it is in Iceland? Or there is a reason for that?

Niels:

Yeah, they have so many breeding shows. So if you have a good horse, you can go to a breeding show. And if you feel that, this is a good day, you show them. And if you feel this is not a good day, then you...

Lionel:

The next time.

Niels:

Yeah, next time. And you can do that in Iceland. But here in Sweden, we have five breeding shows, I think. So you have... A year.

Lionel:

For the entire Sweden.

Niels:

So if we say we will go to a breeding show, we can go either here in Skåne, or we can go to the middle or the north of Sweden. Yeah. Once every spring, and then one in the autumn.

Lionel:

And you tend then to prepare the horse more than, I guess, because you cannot just say...

Niels:

You have to do it that day.

Lionel:

Yes. Or you wait six months, or maybe not six months. I'm asking that because last year, you showed a horse, a four-year-old which is Starley.

Sussie:

Yes.

Lionel:

Can you talk to us a bit about future wonderful horse? Because he has quite a lineage. You even mentioned his father before.

Sussie:

Yes, I did. He's out of Sörkli from Skáneyland, that belongs to our daughter, Mette, and out of Ryssla, who was at the World Championship in 2007 in Eindhoven. And yeah, he was really, he was as nice as his mother, Ryssla.

Lionel:

Yes.

Sussie:

Yeah, he was. They're not so much, yeah, he was of course, very well built, but the gates, Ryssla didn't show very much gates when she was not on the saddle.

Lionel:

Okay.

Sussie:

No, so we didn't, yeah, okay, maybe. But also he, Mette started him, and he's quite big, 146. And she started him in the autumn when he was three and a half. And then he was resting for a while. And then she went to her school and took him with her.

Lionel:

Okay.

Sussie:

To train him up at the place. And then she came home. And she said, maybe you should come with me down in the wood, and you can take some film and so on and see what you think.

Lionel:

All right.

Sussie:

And he didn't tell when she took him up.

Niels:

No, he was still so young.

Sussie:

He was still so young, so she hadn't started to...

Lionel:

And she started it, like it's her who started him and educated him.

Sussie:

Yeah, this was the second period he was written.

Lionel:

Okay.

Niels:

So he was written...

Sussie:

Six weeks and resting.

Niels:

Six weeks.

Sussie:

Six weeks. And this was the next period.

Lionel:

Okay.

Sussie:

And then we went down to the wood, and she was riding back and forwards on the road. And we filmed and we said, yeah, this is quite good.

Lionel:

Yes.

Sussie:

So we said, yeah, maybe we can show him this year. We will see if it will be possible. And yes, and then we had some training with Agnar.

Lionel:

Yes.

Sussie:

And he was not at home because he was up with Mete.

Lionel:

Okay.

Sussie:

And we showed him the video and asked, what do you think? Yeah, I think I can show this, he said. And then he had some resting and then she started again. And then we showed him and we were thinking, yeah, maybe something 780 or something he could. He's just four years and we have not put some pressure on him at all. He's just doing what he can. And it was just for fun, maybe we can call it because.

Niels:

And Agnes tried him three times and he said that, I can absolutely show this on the breeding show.

Lionel:

Where was the breeding show? That was next to here, right?

Niels:

Yeah, here in Maggajderhof. So it's just 13 minutes from here.

Lionel:

And what was the result? We are all at the edge of our seats.

Sussie:

836 total.

Lionel:

And that's the highest. What is the because?

Sussie:

Four year old stallion in Sweden ever.

Lionel:

Here we go.

Sussie:

Yeah, the hair on my arms are racing every time I talk about it.

Lionel:

But you were expecting something, I mean, coming from Sörte, I guess.

Sussie:

Yes.

Niels:

He was really, really nice when he was a foal. He was beautiful and also this really friendly and, you know, never tension or never something like that.

Lionel:

Again, character.

Niels:

Yeah. Yeah. And then when Mette started to write him, he almost immediately got a really good balance. So it's just easy for him to do it. And with this good character, he never says, no, I don't want to do this. He always says, yes, this is okay.

Sussie:

That's why you have to watch out. So you want to do too much.

Niels:

Yes.

Sussie:

To take care of him.

Lionel:

Ah, okay.

Niels:

Yeah. For the first period, she write him like two times a week. Then she was running with him and doing some groundwork and launching and things like that. So, she really must...

Sussie:

She's really taking care of him.

Lionel:

Yes. To make sure... You plan to show him in the future again?

Sussie:

Yes. We hope so. If everything goes as we want it to be, we will try to do it again, of course. He's now here, home at our farm, having a long rest.

Lionel:

Yes. Holidays.

Sussie:

Yes. Holidays again.

Lionel:

In the beautiful weather of Skåne.

Sussie:

Yeah. But at least he can go on grass every day. That's not so... Winter grass. Winter grass. Into his house during the night. And Mette will come and get him in a couple of weeks, I think.

Lionel:

OK.

Sussie:

And start him again.

Lionel:

All right. I think I used all my questions for today. Thank you, Sussie.

Sussie:

Thank you.

Lionel:

Thank you, Niels.

Niels:

Thank you.

Lionel:

And thank you, everyone, for listening. We will come back very soon with a new episode. In the meantime, do not hesitate to share this episode. Before leaving you, we would like to mention that you can follow us on Instagram and TikTok for more news and stories. Goodbye.

Sussie:

Goodbye.

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