The Tölt Tales

The Tölt Tales Fika - Joséphine Williams

• The Tölt Tales • Episode 3

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Already our 3rd episode of the Fika!!

Today meet Josephine Williams young rider from Switzerland leaving in Sweden. Discover with us another side of our Iceland horses world. This recording was the opportunity to go back to Paceland and meet Josephine were she trains.

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Music by Cob.
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Ariane:

Come ride with us. Fika with The Tölt Tales Podcast. Hey, Josephine.

Josephine:

Hi, how are you doing?

Ariane:

Good, and you?

Josephine:

I'm very good, thank you.

Ariane:

We start now this new format, and have some extra guests that we found very interesting to talk to. And today we have Josephine Williams here. Can you introduce yourself a bit? Who are you, where are you from, what are you doing in your day-to-day life?

Josephine:

Yes, so my name is Josephine Williams, and I am 19 years old, and I live currently in Sweden at Paceland in Skåne. At the moment, I work mostly with horses, and I just do my best training every day and just getting further in my riding and training. And I'm competing for the Swiss team at the moment, so it will be fun representing them at different competitions.

Ariane:

This is super cool. Can you tell me a bit about, you say that you work with horses. You have your own horses. How many horses do you have, actually?

Josephine:

I have way too many at the moment. But of course, I have my competition horses, like my main two, Leer and Kvoggan. And then we have a breeding mare that James mentioned in the previous episode, Valsa from Bøsapsgården. So that is very fun in the breeding. We are looking very much forward to having her offsprings. They are already looking great. And then just some youngsters coming up that hopefully are future competition horses and breeding stallions.

Ariane:

Are you, how much are you actually involved in the breeding yourself? Like what is, when you look at something, do you make a decision? Okay, I want to use this mare and that stallion. Are you actively involved or do you take more backseat into that?

Josephine:

Well, I would definitely say that I'm actively involved, but I definitely go to people for opinion because like, I don't have super much experience and I'm very willing to learn. So I often go for help, like for James that has a lot of knowledge. It's just easy. So like, oh, I was thinking about this stallion. Do you think it could fit with that mare? And either he says, oh, yes, this would enhance this or maybe not because of this.

Ariane:

Yeah.

Josephine:

So it's very fun to learn and like that you can take your own like ideas and get a feedback. Okay, this could be good. This could be less good. So it's really fun to learn.

Ariane:

This is really interesting. So you say currently you live in Sweden, but you are not originally from Sweden.

Josephine:

No, we moved here. Wow, it's already 10 years this year. So we've been here for a while. We moved here in January 2015.

Ariane:

Wow. Okay.

Josephine:

Crazy.

Ariane:

And you're fluent in Swedish, obviously.

Josephine:

Yeah, hopefully.

Ariane:

Since when do you actually write?

Josephine:

Well, the definition of writing is always a little like, you don't know where exactly it goes. But I mean, I've been sitting on the horse since I've been three years old. Because like, there's been horses and like, my mother and my aunt and my grandpa has always had horses.

Ariane:

Okay.

Josephine:

And my aunt and my mom actually used to ride Icelandics when they were younger at a place in Switzerland.

Ariane:

Oh, wow.

Josephine:

But then they both went into bigger horses where my grandpa had a farm in the US and they were both riding there. So when we moved to Sweden, it was kind of mom's dream to go back to Icelandics. So that's, I still had ponies with jumping when we moved here, but like eight years Icelandic now, I would say.

Ariane:

Wow. That's really impressive. But it is a change, right? For me, it was quite a difference to come from the big horses to go to Icelandic horses, because I never had really contact with Icelandic. So it was to kind of get into the fourth and fifth gate. I struggled with that in the beginning, not necessarily from the riding, but the whole approach to it was for me very different.

Josephine:

I think it kind of wasn't like easy, but because I was so young and we moved to this farm where we like took over some of the Icelandic horses they had. And because there were apartments on the farm, some of the people that like had the horses there stayed. So I kind of just got chucked into this Icelandic horses pool. So I was just riding out there, just like going for it.

Ariane:

But this is super cool. Yeah, I wish I would have done this also earlier on. Now I started with mid 30 and I was like, ah, I feel it's...

Josephine:

They are amazing. So I think we're doing fine.

Ariane:

They're making it easy, but it is a change. So for me, it's very impressive how far you came already.

Josephine:

Thank you.

Ariane:

Can you tell me a bit more about your competition horses, actually? Like, are there some... What is special about them? Of course, they are your competition horses. You chose them. But what is, like, what makes them special to you as a partner? Like quirks, funny things? Is there anything?

Josephine:

Well, I think Lear is just like the most amazing individual I could ever hope for. It's like really my soul horse. We bought him from Iceland 2018 as a five-year-old stallion, and he was supposed to be my future five-gate horse, but with time we, like, noticed, paces his thing, and he's sure going for it. But just his mentality, like, when he came, he was rather fat, like he had been resting. So the saddle wasn't, like, fitting properly. And at that time, the people I had around, they're just like, just jump on him bareback. So I just had gotten this five-year-old stallion from Iceland, had been super fat and resting, and I was just riding around riding Arena Bareback, and that just says everything about Lir and his mentality.

Ariane:

Oh, but that's amazing.

Josephine:

Like on competition, it's been, we were competing in 100 meter pace, and he's, like, gone under eight seconds. And then half an hour later, there was Olli's daughter, just riding around on the oval track with me, and he was just, like, piggy pacing, and like, la, la, la, la, la.

Ariane:

So, like, so you can completely switch off and be on when it's needed, and then switch off again.

Josephine:

And I just, I wish he gets so old that my kids can ride on him, because it's just, and then the funny thing is, we had a clinic here a year or two ago. It's been quite a while now. And he's just, because he's so social and just so kind, if you, like, have a candy bucket, like, in the summers, when I take him out to the fields, he doesn't even have a halftone. If I have candy in my pocket, he's just, like, piggy pacing after me, and he's like, I want that candy, I'm gonna go get it.

Ariane:

Like a big dog.

Josephine:

Yeah, exactly like a big dog. That's his personality.

Ariane:

Wow. That sounds really amazing.

Josephine:

He's the best.

Ariane:

And Kvarran?

Josephine:

Kvarran is, like, he's super sweet, too. He's a little more fiery. He likes the attention. Ler is, like, gentle and sweet, and Kvarran is, like, look at me. I'm looking good, look at me. So he's also super fun to work with. He teaches me loads of things, and he keeps me on my toes all the time.

Ariane:

Yeah.

Josephine:

So that I really love. He's, like, pushing me out of my comfort zone.

Ariane:

So. And what are you riding with him?

Josephine:

With him, I ride mostly T1.

Ariane:

Okay.

Josephine:

I feel like that's what I really love to ride.

Ariane:

T1 classes.

Josephine:

Yes, exactly.

Ariane:

So are you also trying to ride gate classes with him? Or?

Josephine:

I've been mostly focused on the T1. I feel like that's our strongest suit there.

Ariane:

But this is super cool. You said that you ride for the national team. Yes. Can you tell me a bit about, like, so you ride the T1 and then the pace classes? With your two horses? And how does it work to ride for a national team in another country?

Josephine:

Okay.

Ariane:

Because this is so interesting to me.

Josephine:

So it's really fun to ride for the Swiss national team because it has like a completely different build up than the Swedish team or different teams that I've seen. So you can like ride wherever you want, either in Switzerland and whatever countries, as long as you're competing on world ranking competitions. And then they have like a pre-team and a main team, so a national team. And then it works that you have, you need to ride to certain scores. So they take like a certain scores from, I think it's from the world championships actually. And like, okay, you have to like reach the score twice. And then you're in the team or in the pre-team, depending on what scores you reach. But if you're in the pre-team, you can still go to MEM, which is like the Nordic championships, but for Germany, Austria, Switzerland, those kind of. Exactly. And then you can ride the B classes or if there's space, the A classes. And then they choose, of course, the best ones for world championships. But in this way, they build up the next team that's gonna get into the national team. So all the people that are in the pre-team also are coming to the meetings and learning about the rules and getting the chance to train for good trainers. So you're already building up the people you want to come into the national team. Like younger people or people that have a young horse, but that is gonna be great. So you're not just coming into this whole new area once you've managed to get into the team. You've already, you know what you're gonna do. You have your routines.

Ariane:

Really nice to really think about the future.

Josephine:

And my favorite part about the whole thing is that, so now I'm 19 and I will have two more years as a young rider. But if I ride the points in my year that I turned 21, then I will have two years to get to the points as a senior.

Ariane:

Wow.

Josephine:

So I don't just, the second I don't like perform, I don't get kicked out of the team. I still get the chance.

Ariane:

This is nice. Yeah.

Josephine:

So in case I would have a younger horse that would be enough for the older classes, like senior classes, then I would still have the chance to get into the team without just getting kicked out and having to build up all the way again.

Ariane:

But this is a great chance, because I mean, there might be a lot of pressure than different kind of competition, as not just as a taveling, like a competition itself, but also like the competition between like other riders.

Josephine:

Yes. I mean, you have a new competition field, you're riding against people that have been doing this thing for 40 years.

Ariane:

Exactly. How often do you like train with the team, actually? Do you do something? I read about that you like go somewhere and then do it also online, but you also go to Switzerland and interact with the people in the team, right?

Josephine:

Yes. So for example, before the World Championships, we had like this mandatory team meeting, and it was with one of the really famous guys in Switzerland that is like mental coaching. And that was great. I have never experienced anything like it. And just like there are some mandatory meetings where they're like, okay, this you have to come to either online or on the place. And they are often very, very well organized.

Ariane:

That's really nice.

Josephine:

And then of course we have right now, we have a new team trainer. And they understand that it doesn't really make sense for me to fly to Switzerland, ride a horse, I don't know for her, and then get back. But it used to be when Johan Hekberg was the team trainer, which he was 2023.

Ariane:

Yeah.

Josephine:

It was very easy for us, oh, do you want to come a day or two?

Ariane:

And then he just comes over here and you ride for him here.

Josephine:

We have like certain things that we do a year in the calendar, like meetings and meetups and so on. And you have to like do certain amounts of them to be qualified.

Ariane:

Yes.

Josephine:

So you don't just like don't do them.

Ariane:

Now the next world championships are in Switzerland. So you will aim to go there?

Josephine:

Yes, if everything works good and the horses are healthy, I hope so.

Ariane:

Yes. And how do you do that actually with traveling? Like you have then two horses, do you drive them both together? Do you drive alone? Do you drive with somebody? Do you have like a support team with you? Who's coming with you if there's somebody coming?

Josephine:

So at the last Worlds, I had both my horses with, because I got in the team with Ler, but I could choose Qwag on two if I wanted to, because we had another pace team in the team. So depending how the season goes, if I have one as a reserve or not, time will tell. But at least then I have both of them with in case one traveled bad or the horse didn't feel good on the track, then you always have something to fall back on. I mean, of course, it also depends who is going to the Worlds, if any of the friends are going with, then we can travel together. Or someone from Peislin is going. And then normally I always have my mom with, because she's driving, because that's always nice. And then, of course, James is my trainer and his supporter. He's very good at like keeping me down on earth, on competitions, because sometimes the nerves can get to you.

Ariane:

And then it's just nice having like someone giving you like a slap in the face and just like, relax, you know, just like, just calm down, just calming down and have somebody as your safety net.

Josephine:

It's like this calm monk that is just like, breathe in, breathe out.

Ariane:

Yeah, it felt like this when we talked to him. It was very interesting how like his mentality was very nice. So I can understand. But it's probably also good with your mom and to have her and have some friends also down with.

Josephine:

Yeah, that's of course fun of the sport that you, even though you sometimes compete against each other, like when you're in the competition track, you just give it all. Even though you're your friends, you just give it all. But then when you're outside the competition track, it's just like you switch off the light and it's just like, like if it went shit for you, you're just like, wow, did you see how he cantered there and tilt or you know, like then you can just laugh it off or cry it off if you need it. Like you always have your friends around.

Ariane:

And it's also probably a really nice experience to, to share with people that you know and trust.

Josephine:

And it's also, of course, I mean, these girls that are really close to me, they know also, like if you go to school and you have like horses and you're trying to go like to the top, you sometimes like really, when you come home, you do your homework, you ride, you like, that's your life for a certain time. And they just know like the time that you need to put into your horses. When I went to school and so some people were like, I don't understand, all weekend you train your horses. And like, and then you study, like, I just want to go home and watch Netflix. And I'm like, yeah, nice for you. I'm out here cleaning shit and working. But it's what you love.

Ariane:

So that's what you do. It's a life choice.

Josephine:

Most definitely.

Ariane:

Yeah, that's true. So we talked about James as your trainer, do you train for somebody else as well? Johan Heckberg, when he was here and trained for the world champion.

Josephine:

Yeah, sometimes Johan comes here and like, if we want to train a little for competition, like see what shape the horses are in and just like small details, like as a point of view from a judge.

Ariane:

Yeah.

Josephine:

But it's mostly James.

Ariane:

Yeah.

Josephine:

I'm very satisfied with that.

Ariane:

And as a role model, you have James then maybe also, do you have other writers the way you say like, this is something that I want to achieve, this, I like this specific style of writing.

Josephine:

Well, I of course admire James very much, but someone who I really, really admire too is Helga Undne in Iceland.

Ariane:

Yeah.

Josephine:

I just think like when she writes horses, it just looks so easy. And of course she competes herself a lot, but I really like also like breeding shows. I've never really done that. So I think just like just straight going, what's best for the horse, just having the flow. I think that's really inspiring.

Ariane:

Yeah.

Josephine:

Just taking the best parts of the horses out kind of.

Ariane:

I saw now because I follow you on Instagram, as well, that you flew to the US to do an insemination course.

Josephine:

Yes.

Ariane:

Can you tell me like, how did you? Why to the US? Where in the US? Can you tell us about it? And also, what did you do though?

Josephine:

So as I mentioned earlier, my grandpa used to have a farm in the US. And at the same time, my mom lived there a few years and she actually studied at the school that we went to. So it was kind of a nostalgia for her. So it was the University of Colorado State. So we were staying there, I think, 10 or 12 days. And the first two days, when we were a little jet lagged, we just went to Wrecking Bridge, I think it was called.

Ariane:

I'm really bad with names.

Josephine:

And then we went dog sledding, and we just enjoyed hot coffee and waffles and warm chocolate, it was really nice. And then afterwards, we went to the school to do this course. But the reason why we did it is because in Sweden, it can be sometimes very hard to get into this insemination course, because I think they only accept 16. And mom had written twice in a row and had not gotten an answer. And they were doing the same course in Denmark. But with the Danish Crown, it was like, it cost the same. That's terrible. It cost the same for us to fly to the US and do the course, and do it in Denmark. And I mean, who doesn't want to go to the US and do an adventure?

Ariane:

Yeah, absolutely. That must be super cool. So what did you learn there, actually?

Josephine:

Oh, so it was crazy. Like the first lesson we had. So in the mornings, we had lessons, like theory stuff, theoretical stuff and so. And in the evening, we had loads of, like, laboratorium and so, like, the part where you're actually doing things. And like, I remember the first lesson, I was like sitting there and I was like, I am way over my head. I do not know anything. Like we were learning the anatomy of the mirror from inside. And of course, you know, like certain things, but they had like, it was crazy. It was so much. And I was like, I don't know anything. And you know, all the people were asking so smart questions and I was just sitting there like, oh, but then in the afternoon, when I like had done my notes and everything, and we actually got to go into the mirror and touch and feel, it was just like a light bulb over my head. Like, yes, I get it now. You know, I could like, okay, that's the cervix. That's there. This is like the body. You could really understand it.

Ariane:

How much time did you get to actually explore that? Do you think like you would recognize?

Josephine:

I think definitely now, because it's only two months ago I would. And then in the summer, we have a very well known Christian.

Ariane:

He lives close to us.

Josephine:

And he's done loads of insemination. So it would be really fun to like just be with him and having some time just learning. So that will be really fun. But we had quite much time actually. So it was like a week's course.

Ariane:

Super cool, yeah.

Josephine:

And the three or four first days, there were like always three laboratoriums in the afternoon. And then we did semen evaluation. So like counting the sperms, the mobility, the progressive mobility and so on. And then we had semen collection. So there were like different stallions we had to collect and so. And then mirror anatomy, like that you inserted the mirror with an eye view and then that you felt the mirror. So we had like four to five hours, I think, just to feel the mirror.

Ariane:

Yeah.

Josephine:

So I was really happy with the time that we got there.

Ariane:

Super interesting. That is something that you want to do, like study and train horses.

Josephine:

Yes, I think so. I definitely think I love training horses, but I'm also very social. So I like to like go away, talk to people, learn new things. So I think the vet part there is also. And of course, what I feel like now that you've like learned more from like the inside of the mirror. When we have the vet here, I've always like, she's like, oh, there's the follicle. Oh no, that's not good because of that. And now all of a sudden it's like clicking like, ah, that's why this mirror didn't get pregnant. So like now you actually, because you have to base.

Ariane:

You connect the points. Exactly.

Josephine:

And I would love if I even manage, because vet school is really hard. Like that you can just connect it into your daily life and you're just like, okay, this horse has that. Or like maybe it could be this. You like have much more open mind. You have more knowledge and I really like that.

Ariane:

Keep my fingers crossed that you can manage it. And also that you can follow Christian then maybe in the summer.

Josephine:

That would be great.

Ariane:

And with that, actually, I wish you super much luck for the upcoming season now. When is the first competition you start with?

Josephine:

We were just talking about it today. I think sometimes in April. I haven't really booked them yet. No, but I'm a little late on that. Yeah.

Ariane:

But I mean, it's still early in the season, I guess, for everybody. I see now here in Sweden, some competitions are coming up, but the world ranking competitions are a bit later anyway. So I wish you all the best.

Josephine:

Thank you.

Ariane:

Thank you, Josephine, for talking to me today.

Josephine:

Thank you for having me.

Ariane:

And then with that, this was Fika with The Tölt Tales podcast. Thank you and goodbye.

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