The Tölt Tales
Welcome to The Tölt Tales podcast.
This podcast is dedicated to our best friends, the Icelandic horses. The show features interviews with breeders, trainers, riders, and enthusiasts who share their knowledge, experiences, and love for these remarkable horses.
Music by Cob
The Tölt Tales
The Tölt Tales Fika - Henning Drath/EYJA
For our 4th Fika episode, we spontaneously catch up with Henning Drath, the most iconic voice in the Icelandic horse world! We talk with Henning how he came to the Icelandic horses, the story behind EYJA, providing news and videos of things happening in the Icelandic horse world.
As a speaker at international events, Henning has interesting insights to share with our listeners. And together with him we share the goal to bring people together to share the passion for the Icelandic horses in all aspects.
Follow Henning and EYJA:
www.eyja.net
www.eyja.tv
www.eyja.live
Music by Cob.
Follow us on Instagram and Facebook, @the_toelt_tales.
Come ride with us, Fika with The Tölt Tales Podcast. We sit here today in the south of Sweden at Margarethe Hof Spezial, an international event organized by Aufram and Uffeigur. And we sit here with one of the most iconic voices in the Icelandic horse world, Henning Drath. Thank you for having me.
Henning:Good morning.
Ariane:Good morning. Can you introduce yourself a bit? Who are you? What are you doing?
Henning:What am I doing? I'm talking a lot. I think that is what most people know me for. But I also like to listen, of course, to what people have to say, because without that dialogue, without the communication, and without exchanging views and ideas and opinions and experiences, we really don't go forward, I think. So I think it's important, really, even at these competitions where I do most of the talking, because I am on the microphone a lot for the competitions themselves and for the different tests, I still find it very appealing, even after so many years, to be able to exchange ideas and views with the many, many people that are here. So for me, coming from Germany, of course, it's always exciting to be out there and about with folks internationally. And like here at Markaretohofe, it's just nice to meet the Swedes, to meet the Icelanders, to meet the Norwegians, the Danes and some Germans also that are here. And you, of course, now today, so I'm happy to be here with you talking to The Tölt Tales. So let's talk about something. So I was born in the middle of Germany, the Midwest, that is near Münster and Dortmund. That's where I grew up and that's where I'm still living today. And that's where my home base is, if you will, but the Icelandic horse world is really so interconnected. Everything happens in all these different countries with all these people. So that is something that I found very exciting when I was younger, when I went to school. And after that, when I didn't have anything to do with Icelandic horses yet, but I found that they have really enriched my life and have really given me the opportunity to meet so many great people. You know, it's just nice, I really love it.
Ariane:Actually, that leads me to the next question. How did you start with Icelandic horses? Was it always Icelandic horses or did you have contact with big horses before?
Henning:I did, but that actually was not so good. I mean, that didn't turn out the right way because I was allergic to all the hair and to the dust and all these things. So when I was a kid, I was very fortunate actually that my parents would take me to quite a few horse shows and events, jumping, dressage, a number of things with the big horses. And my sister was really into horses. So we all enjoyed the subject matter. When I went there, I really couldn't stay for long because I had to start sneezing and my eyes would go really bad. And it was just awful. And I just then kind of gave up on horses, just watched them on TV, but I couldn't do it for real.
Ariane:It's also good.
Henning:And then when I went to the university after high school, I met a friend of mine whose family had Icelandic horses. Like you sometimes meet at people's homes, not just at the university, but you go where people live. And they had these horses and I hadn't been in touch with Icelandic horses before. So I had to, when was that? In 1997, 1998 or something like that. So I first saw an Icelandic horse then, and I said, what is this? Because I could go one step further, one step closer, one step closer, one step closer.
Ariane:Nothing happened.
Henning:Right, so I was very happy with that. And I found them to be very nice looking. They're very sympathetic horses.
Ariane:Yeah, definitely.
Henning:And the whole atmosphere around them felt very welcoming.
Ariane:Yes.
Henning:So that to me was great because I could be with these horses because they were outside all the time. I mean, I wouldn't claim now that I could be in a stable for five hours without going out to get some fresh air. But still, it was no problem. I really like the horses and I then just got into it step by step. A little more here, a little more there, and that's how it started. So I was certainly around 21, 22 when I got in touch with Icelandic horses. So it took quite a while for me to discover them, but now I'm here. So I stayed ever since.
Ariane:But do you actually have your horses yourself at the moment?
Henning:I don't own any horses myself.
Ariane:And are you riding?
Henning:I haven't been a rider that's been on a horse too often in my life. I did actually own a horse or two actually in my life, and I was riding in one competition. That was the first and last competition. Not because it was bad, but I just felt that I...
Ariane:It's not for you.
Henning:No, I could probably contribute in another field. And I really had fun with this Elgur, his name was, and we rode T2, and that was fun. It was just nice because I didn't aspire to be a competition rider. I just had fun riding him because he just gave me so much and gave me so much joy, and Tölt was so good. So that was fine, but I've never aspired to be riding competitions myself. So I think there's something different for me to do in a competition. And that's fine that way.
Ariane:Yeah. Well, this is super cool. You started with Easy Bless.
Henning:I did, yeah.
Ariane:Do you think you can tell our listeners a bit about what was Easy Bless and how did it start?
Henning:It started with the idea when I was going to college or to university that these things like social networks started coming up. This was long, long before there was really Facebook and Instagram and all these things. But there were some starts, some startups that actually did these things and some websites that combined the network idea, bringing people together and adding some news maybe or some information. Then I felt, okay, this is very general interest, very broad. So I thought maybe we could do something for the Icelandic course community. Then I figured, okay, let's just try and put this together. Let's just put some news in there and information and add to that this networking thing. At the end of the day, the whole network thing is done so much better by those that can really do it well, like Facebook and the others, that's fine. So I understand that. But the news thing stayed. So I started with EasyBlessed, which was like a fancy fantasy name back then, Easy, which in Germany is sometimes the name for Icelandic course, Eastland Fert, just the abbreviation, and then Blessed is like an Icelandic greeting. But of course it made no sense really, because why would you do Icelandic course and goodbye so at the end of the day. I changed that when the 15th birthday came and rolled around, that was in 2022, and I gave it the new name EYJA, which I just found to be more appropriate because it's just a short name that works in every language. It somehow makes sense because it means island in Icelandic. So and it is the islands that we love so much, Iceland. So I think it all came together nicely. And EYJA, we just made a very smooth transition. Nothing changed. Everybody could still have their logins and everything. So it just went overnight at Landsmot in 2022. And that's how EYJA was born. But it's still the same thing. So I've been doing this since 2005 or 2006. But the real website itself, the news website since 2007. So it's been going on for a while.
Ariane:But this is super cool. And you offer like different video content to bring people together from events. And what else do you offer there?
Henning:Well, there's I would generally say it's a lot of news and information about sport, about breeding, about pleasure riding, about just general interest topics. You know, we just cover all kinds of issues that have to do with the Icelandic course. And what we have started last year in 2024 was our own video streaming service. So this is what EYJA TV has become. You know, because of course, when I am at competitions, I try to film a lot. So I always used to already put video content on my news website. And so we would have that included as a nice part. And, you know, I think that was always something people liked. Some people even liked the videos more than reading long texts, which these days is something that many folks don't do anymore, because it's also quick and fast in TikTok and what have you. But I always thought, and I still think to this day, that's why when I consume news of other issues, I really like to read, because I can just take some quiet time to do that. You know, you always go back a little bit and reflect and all these kind of things. But the video part of EYJA has always been quite popular. So I just figured that, I mean, we're not reinventing the wheel here. This is not new. Others are doing this too, and they're doing it well. But I just figured that, you know, we could also maybe contribute something and bring something to the table here if we combine our own passion, our own fascination with the subject matter of the Icelandic course, with some real identification with bringing people what they would also like to see. Because my whole team, our whole crew of EYJA TV, they're all writers or people that have to do with Icelandic courses. So it's not just people that do it like technically, like a handyman or something. But it's a crew that really identifies so much with the subject, and they really want to do it better. They want to improve, they want to get this joint effort better. And I'm really proud of them, because they all really invest so much of their own brain power into this. And I think together we can really figure out how to make it better. I think that is also something we learn from the folks watching, is that they also appreciate the way how we are doing it. And so I think we can still learn a lot and grow from there. But this year is of course quite a big year for us. We have many competitions in Germany and in Switzerland, like the World Championships, we do the German Championships, we do the Danish Championships, we're here now at Margarethe Hof, broadcasting this live. So I think it's growing nicely and the feedback is good. And it still is something that we need to, of course, keep our focus and just be humble about. But I think we're on quite a good path.
Ariane:So you will go to the World Championships?
Henning:Yeah, we're streaming it. Yeah, so EYJA TV is the partner of the World Championships for the live stream. So to those folks who cannot make it, unfortunately to Switzerland, because we understand that, of course, not everybody can go because people have other things planned, especially with families going on vacation in the summertime. And to some, it's just a little far away. But that's the same with every World Championship event. You always have to find the right middle there. But this summer, especially from the 3rd to 10th of August or the 4th to 10th of August, we're going to be there. So if you cannot make it to Bermundstorf, which I could certainly recommend still, I mean, we're streaming it, but still it's important that everybody who can come should come. Because it's just a great event. And the team there with Hohmann and Evie and the whole crew at Hardwinkelhof of the Huweela family, they're doing such a good job of putting everything together nicely. And I've been there a couple of times to see the tracks and talk to the whole team, because it's just important for us to not just show up with a van full of hardware, but we really want to do this well with the folks that are there. And I could certainly recommend people come from the 3rd or 4th of August or the 10th. If they cannot come, however, eyja.tv is the address to go. I'd recommend that.
Ariane:Yeah, absolutely. I really also recommend the website.
Henning:eyja.net is the website for the news, but if you go there, you can also click on eyja.tv in the menu.
Ariane:Exactly.
Henning:It's just the same family. But of course, it's easier to keep it separate because it is two different entities.
Ariane:Absolutely. To your team, so how many people are working for you now? And you mentioned that some of them, or most of them, have a background with horses. What is your background, actually?
Henning:My background? I'm a journalist. I studied Mass Communications and Journalism. That's what I've done and some other subjects with it. But I've just been writing and I've been reporting ever since I was a kid in high school or in school before. We did work for the newspapers, worked for the radio and TV here. And in Minnesota, we also went to the university. So that's always been my interest, media, and communicating with people. Because I understand also from doing a lot of music and being an orchestra musician myself, that one instrument does not give you the full sound. So I think this may sound a little romantic to some, but it's just the truth. If you're there with your violin, which was my instrument, it might be nice to some who like the solo. But I always figured out that it would be so much nicer to have the full orchestra, to have everybody come together and play something that a composer has given us. Or we just do something on our own to improvise, maybe sometimes, but still, it's always a team effort.
Ariane:It's a team effort.
Henning:And this team effort is the same here. If everybody plays the right notes, something nice will come of it. So the team we have here, because you were just asking how many, I think it's a core group that we have of around four or five. It's not more. And then we try to always find people or just have folks with us that have done it before, that live in the different areas and regions. Because of course, it's really difficult, also financially, quite honestly, to bring folks from the south of Germany to the north of Denmark. So when this summer we do the Danish Championships, it's going to be quite a ride. So we need to have our core group, of course, with the people who do the directors thing, with the video mix and all these things. But you also need to activate some local or some regional folks. And it's really nice that we have access to people who are also very enthusiastic about it.
Ariane:And there's a new connection also, maybe.
Henning:That's very true. And like Denmark, you know, this year we had the Icesquare Festival that we did live from Henning, which is a great event. And once again, it's going to happen next year. And out of that connection to this event with the whole team of Rasmus Møller Jensen, Stine Sandtal and the whole group that does this for and with us, it's just nice to, and Lone Baddelsen, it's just nice to get the contact to other folks like Andreas Heindorf, who once again is now with us on this Danish Championship thing. And so that's just something we really appreciate, to grow out of that. So I think it's, if we do a good job there, if the teamwork is actually happening, and folks are satisfied at the end of the day, and the viewers are happy, then I really appreciate the trust we get to do something more. And so we do the Danish Championships now, and we will hope to continue that into the next year and many years to come. That's at least our idea and our goal.
Ariane:And the quality is really nice, I have to say. You've seen so much. Do you have something like a most iconic event or something that is always in your mind when you think about it?
Henning:Actually, the honest answer is I don't. But that's not because there isn't, but it's because there are so many, out of which I take little pieces of the puzzle, of the mosaic, you know, where to see something that really makes it appealing and attractive to me. And for me, as an event organizer myself, like a winter series we have called The Viking Masters, where we have indoor events all through the winter time with a big season finale in March every year, it's just important to learn from all these things. And I find it very inspiring to be here at Magdalenhof or to be at the event I just mentioned a moment ago, the Ice Wars Festival, or we do the German Championships this summer in Sachow at a great event, at a great location, sorry, a great venue in the north of Germany. It's just so nice to see all of these things and talk to all these people. That's coming back to the first question, I guess, if you really share these things, if you share the impressions and if you share the experiences, I think everybody wins at the end of the day. So it's never about Henning or just EYJA, it's always about doing something together, because we want to build on that. And we should also not forget, and that's maybe something I would like to say here, that these days with Instagram and TikTok and all these things being so fast, but very often being so superficial at the same time, I really feel that we should have a little more appreciation of those who came before, because we wouldn't be here if they hadn't done the job first.
Ariane:True.
Henning:Because that's something that I feel, when you come to a competition like this, we just, I mean, we're recording this, this podcast here on Sunday, May 15th. I can just say that to your listeners. And on this Sunday, we just had a final before we sat down here for the talk, which is T1. And this Tölt final was presented, not by himself, because he's no longer with us, but in the living memory of Euron Montand.
Ariane:Yes.
Henning:And he is, of course, one of the most impressive personalities of Swedish Icelandic course of life. You know, he's been a breeder, has been having Markaretof here and Markleterhof in Iceland also. He's been working in Fife, the International Federation, as a volunteer, really, and has been working as the president of the Swedish Federation. And, you know, just to take him and his family, and everybody who is involved with the Montand family here and Markaretof and these events, they have all contributed so much to give the foundation to what we are living off of today. So I think it's our responsibility to say, you know, thank you and to work with this memory. But it's also a great opportunity for us to grow and to keep growing, but we should never forget that. And their work and their effort that made today possible, and that was a start, a foundation for tomorrow also, is not something that happens in a 15-second or 30-second Instagram story.
Ariane:No.
Henning:There is much more to it. And I also feel that writers and trainers that are doing such a lot of good work and solid work in paying attention and taking time and taking a real or really responsible approach to educating horses. That is something that takes time. You need to be patient and you need to trust yourself and you need to work with what you feel. It cannot always be about, oh, let's quickly do this and let's do that because on Instagram, somebody said this and that or somebody WhatsApp or Facebook messaged me.
Ariane:Just jump on the topic.
Henning:That's just the thing these days. Very often I have the impression that things just are seemingly too fast and I'm not going to say that so many people are careless about things, but I think they should be more careful and more diligent. They should just take more time. That is difficult sometimes because the demands are so high all around, but at the same time, I feel that we should be a little more thankful and appreciative and respectful of and to those horses and riders and trainers that actually do this with time, that actually do this with great attention to detail and not rush things. I think also the expectations sometimes of those that give horses and training to somebody or that are just standing on the sidelines of an event like this. Sometimes, oh, he or she should do this and should do that. These are not machines and these are not toys.
Ariane:No, exactly.
Henning:I think the interaction between the horse and rider is so important and is so valuable. What we are getting back every single day of the year is just something that really needs to get us to focus more on what's really relevant.
Ariane:Yes.
Henning:And it's not a quick Instagram story.
Ariane:No, that's true. And actually, we had a question for that as well.
Henning:You do?
Ariane:Yes. Like, how did you experience the changes over, for example, the last past decade, when you look at the Icelandic horse spot?
Henning:Yeah. I mean, that is something that is, of course, a good question, especially these days, where there's so much focus on these issues like horse welfare and social license to operate, which I fully understand why we do talk about it. But at the same time, I would also like to make a point about that, because I feel that, well, we have the responsibility that I already talked about a moment ago, I think that it's very dangerous to make this seem like this is more than just a trend. It's like a fad, it just goes on right now, and it's just so cool and so hip to talk about horse welfare. It's like it's never been talked about before. People just never paid attention to how their horses are doing, and I think that's just wrong. I mean, there's so much panic about it, and I think that's just plain stupid sometimes, when you see what people are writing, what they're talking about. And of course, I want to sound more respectful, but what they do is just sometimes just outrageous. They just go on Facebook and Instagram and all these things, and they just comment on all these posts that somebody makes, sometimes also with a certain deal of ignorance, but sometimes it's just very mean. And they just find it so easy that these social media that are not so social at times, just that they can use them to put themselves out there and make themselves so great and so fancy about, oh, I care and you are just so bad. I really don't think so. I really don't think that the majority of riders is treating the horses badly. I really don't think that the majority of trainers, professional riders do that because they all have such a big, big interest in, and if only to win something. You cannot win with a horse that's not fit.
Ariane:It's just not possible.
Henning:If the horse is not feeling well, it's not gonna reward you.
Ariane:It's not collaborating.
Henning:Exactly. And so I feel that very often this sounds very much like a, like catering to a trend where everything has to be about horse welfare now. But it's just like, what have we done in these last 10, 20, 30 years? It's not like things are just going downhill. Absolutely not quite the opposite. Everything from keeping horses at farms or even in private settings, from stables, from feeding, from taking care of them, with physiotherapists.
Ariane:There's so much growth and improvement.
Henning:Exactly. There's so much. And it's not just about how much money can be invested, but it's also about the knowledge that has been gained through all these years, what people can do for their horses. And of course, if a horse is healthy and can just eat grass or hay, maybe it doesn't need all these supplements, or not so many at least, or not all of them that are available on the marketplace. But if you just look at Instagram, all these influencers just will go from one product to the next, from one week to the next and say, oh, this is the best I've ever had. Next week, they get something else for free.
Ariane:Very surprising.
Henning:I'm going to present this because now this is the greatest. And that's just nonsense. I mean, it just makes no sense at all. And because for horses, like I said before, you need time, you need patience and continuity. You need to follow a certain plan and structure and feeling. And this feeling is something that's also based on getting to know your horse, on having your own experience, on dialogue with others, what's more returning to the point of talking to others. And so I feel, because you were asking what has changed over these years, I think that we should all step back from this hectic approach to doing this and that and more and more and faster and faster, because it really doesn't help us at the end of the day.
Ariane:No, sometimes it's good to just take a step back, reflect on yourself and not just on others.
Henning:Exactly, very much so.
Ariane:All right, thank you Henning for meeting us today.
Henning:You're very welcome. And it's nice of you to come. And I wish you best of luck in all your listeners. Lots of joy listening to The Tölt Tales. And I really hope this continues well, and we meet again at some point in the future.
Ariane:Hopefully, yes.
Henning:Thank you.
Ariane:Thank you everyone for listening. And as always, you can follow us on Instagram and Facebook, The Tölt Tales.
Henning:See, Instagram, there you go. But that's fine. I have it too. It's not like we shouldn't have it, right?
Ariane:No, but sometimes it's good to announce things.
Henning:Of course.
Ariane:That people are aware that some new episode is coming.
Henning:Absolutely. But it's just the real life that I think should have a little more focus. But that's also what your podcast is based upon. The Tölt Tales and everything, it's always based on reality. It's not that the other side should be dominating.
Ariane:No, exactly.
Henning:It's the real life, the offline world that actually is more meaningful, because that's also where we have personal relationships. That's where we have relationships with our horses. So I think that you are contributing to this because of your talking about it with folks.
Ariane:Yeah. We hope to have a lot of different aspects of the Icelandic horse world, not just the top riders in the sport, but every day life with the Icelandic horse and why we have a passion for them and what connects us.
Henning:And meeting the horses, meeting people, also gives us a chance to make friends and have really strong lasting relationships. So I just think that we should be very thankful.
Ariane:Yes, I agree with you. So then do not hesitate to like, comment and share on this episode. And goodbye.
Henning:Goodbye. Thanks very much. And see you soon.
