Gígja receives the Gletta trophy – interview with Þórdís Erla

Gígja frá Auðsholtshjáleigu gets the Gletta trophy thir year. She has the highest score of the eight mares which receive the honor prize for offspring, with a score of 127 as a total score for breeding evaluation BLUP….

Gígja was born in 1995 and is out of Orri frá Þúfu and Hrafntinna frá Auðsholtshjáleigu and her breeder and owner is Þórdís Erla Gunnarsdóttir, who became her owner when she was young.

 “My father bought Hrafntinna from my uncle Hreggviður who is her breeder. He had started to trainer but did not feel that the work was going fast enough so that we bought her for 35 thousand kronur with it in mind that she would become a riding horse for me. At that time I was three years old. The project which was designated for her probably had a lot to do with the price she was sold for.

Later on, it became clear that the mare was pregnant and at four years old she gave birth to a horse which I gave the name Gosi which was the name of my favorite beverage. After this, Hrafntinna received more training and it became clear that she was a great gæðingur. Gosi also became a very good horse, and received first prize for talent and was used as a competition horse in five gaits and became the main riding horse for Þórunnar my niece,” Þórdís Erla says, adding that the offspring of Hrafntinna, which are a total of 17 horses, have proven to be good horses, they are both spirited and fun to ride. Although, Gígja and Gígjar the siblings, are surpassing horses in this respect. “Gígja is extremely well balanced and confident. She has a good presence and this comes through very clearly in her offspring. She has a certain super gear when it comes to tölt, trot and pace and her gaits are well defined. She is very spirited and has very sound temperament which seems to be inherited to her offspring, and this is what I think is one of her most valuable quality.”

When asked how she picks out a stallion to breed with Gígja, Þórdís Erla says that she tries to choose different bloodlines. “I try to choose horses with good conformation and size. Gígja has great qualities and nothing is lacking there and she has very powerful hind quarters, good hooves and feeet, but it would not hurt if she was taller. I have used Keilir, Þyrnir, Þóroddur, Álfasteinn, Aron, Krákur, Hnokki, Gaumur and Toppur. From all these horses I think the outcome with Aron is one of the best I have trained, that colt is very entertaining with great qualities.”

Þórdís Erla has trained all offspring from Gígja and says that they have a lot in common when being trained. “The first thing that I notice is that they have in common is the “Tinnalook“ – I always notice the resemblance from old Hrafntinna and she had a beautiful and good eyes. Most of them prefer trot in the beginning, they have clean gaits and their gaits are well defined. Their walk is for the most part very good and with some it is exceptionally good. All of them are five gaited horses, great spirit and show a sense of security just like their mother” she says and today Gígja has given birth to ten offspring and eight of them have reached adulthood and are being used both for breeding and competition.

“Presently, Hrafnadís and Þórhildur are both in Germany and being used as breeding mares. Þóra-Dís will be trained this winter and the aim is to take her for evaluation again but then she will be used in breeding here at home. Hrafnar will be trained this winter and the aim is to take him for breeding assessment and hopefully, if everything goes as planned, to the Landsmót in Reykjavík. And then there is Hrafn frá Auðsholtshjáleigu, out of Krákur. He is bein in ridden now and is off to a promising start, he is pliable and entertaining. Hreggviður is one of my favorite competition horses, in the finals in five gaits this summer he received a score of 7.31.
I will continue to use him for competition this winter.”

Last spring, Gígja gave birth to a chestnut skewbald male foal out of Toppur frá Auðsholtshjáleiga and we are expecting an offspring out of Gaumur frá Auðsholtshjáleiga this coming spring and there is a reason for this. “Originally I took her to Máttur frá Leirubakka but then just before Landsmót it became evident that she was not pregnant and it was difficult to get admission to the horses which were on their way to the tournament. I took her to Gaumur before we went north. Gígja and Gaumur are two of my favorite horses, both with a score of 9.05 for talent and Gaumur is an extremely tall horse with great movements. Additionally, I know them very well, I trained them during both years which they received their highest assessments. Gígja gave birth to a son of Gaumur last year, and he is very charming and I decided to give Gaumur a chance one more time,” says the grand horse breeder Þórdís Erla and as mentioned earlier she will be accepting the Gletta trophy at the conference Horsebreeding 2011 which will be held in Hotel Saga.
 
Offspring from Gígja:
(Offspring/Father/Conformation/Qualities/Total score)

    Hrafnadís            Keilir frá Miðsitju                          7,85/8,42 = 8,19
    Hreggviður          Þyrnir frá Þóroddsstöðum            7,89/8,65 = 8,35
    Þórhildur             Þóroddur frá Þóroddsstöðum      7,91/7,92 = 7,92
    Þóra Dís              Álfasteinn frá Selfossi                  7,81/7,91 = 7,87
    Hrafnar               Aron frá Strandarhöfði                 8,09/8,44 = 8.30
    Hrafn                  Krákur frá Blesastöðum 1A
    Nn                      Gaumur frá Auðsholtshjáleigu
    Nn                      Toppur frá Auðsholtshjáleigu