Focusing on five gaits

The five gaits competition needs to get more attention and leverage. This was brought forth at the FEIF sports meeting which was held in Holland recently where there was discussion about the reductive participation in the five gaits competitions (F1)….
 
At the WC in Holland last summer many people as well as the superior judges bought attention to the fact that there was 50% less registrations for participation into the five gaits competitions of the tournament than there is to the four gaits competitions and tölt.

“We are facing this difference between competition events, which we think is very strange considering the fact that the goal in the breeding of the Icelandic horse is for a five gaited horse. We did discuss whether some actions were needed in order to contribute to more focus on the five gaited competition” said Sigurður Sæmundsson, representative on behalf of Iceland in the FEIF sports committee.
 
Within the committee ideas were brought forth about directing attention to a greater extent to the five gaited horses at the WC. “For example, it would be possible to change the competition arrangement so that the tournament would conclude with the five gaits competition instead of the tölt, like it is traditionally at Landsmót” Sigurður said.
 
A total of 54 contenders participated in the four gaited competitions at the World Championshiw, in tölt there were 49 participants but only 26 in the five gaits competition.