Iceland´s best ride

Iceland has only 300,000 people. We haven´t seen the stats yet on the equine population, but we´re betting it´s bigger.

Every field, it seems, is home to a dozen or more Icelandic horses -- short, squat little ponies originally from Scandanavia and the Shetlands. They come in coal black, bay, even piebald. In summer, their manes are almost lionesque; in winter, they look like wooly mammoths.

Today we rode them. Turns out those short little legs pack plenty of power and provide a smooth, even gait, with a trot that feels like sailing. Now there´s a treat.