Who to Ride With in Iceland: The Big List of Riding Companies

People keep asking me the same question. Not "should I ride in Iceland." You already know the answer to that. The question is "who do I book with?"

Fair. There are a lot of operators, their websites all show the same windswept manes, and you are about to hand one of them your vacation and possibly your tailbone. So here is the list I wish someone had handed me: the riding companies in Iceland worth knowing, sorted by region, with links. All of them ride Icelandic horses, obviously. It is the law of the land, more or less. No horse comes in, no horse comes back. What you get instead is the purest herd on earth and a gait so smooth you could hold your coffee.

One note before you click anything: be honest about your riding level. The multi-day treks with a loose herd running alongside are the stuff of dreams, and they are also real work in real weather. If you want the full talk on that, read my guide, So You Want to Ride Iceland, then come back here and pick your people.

Near Reykjavík: easy to reach, easy to love

Íshestar has been at this since 1982 and runs everything from lava field day rides out of Hafnarfjörður to multi-day tours in every corner of the country. If you want a big, polished operation with options for every level, start here.

Laxnes Horse Farm is the old-timer, family run since 1968 in the Mosfellsdalur valley about fifteen minutes from the city. Great for day tours with hotel pickup, and their guest book reads like a rock festival lineup.

Viking Horses runs small-group rides on the edge of Reykjavík, through the lava landscapes just outside town. Personal, unhurried, and you are back in the city by lunch.

The Icelandic Horse (Íslenski Reiðhesturinn) is a boutique outfit in the capital area pairing well-schooled horses with guides who genuinely teach. A good pick if you want the ride and the education.

The South: volcanoes, hot springs, and serious trek country

Eldhestar, the "Volcano Horses," sits thirty minutes from Reykjavík near Hveragerði with up to 350 horses in summer, a country hotel, and tours from one hour to seven days. This is my go-to recommendation for newer riders who still want the real thing. I have ridden with them and I would do it again tomorrow.

Sólhestar runs year-round rides through lava terrain and the geothermal Reykjadalur valley, where the steam rises out of the hillsides while you tölt past. Short tours, big scenery.

Skálakot is a family farm turned manor lodge under the Eyjafjöll mountains on the south coast. Ride from the farm toward waterfalls and black sand, then sleep somewhere genuinely lovely. The treat-yourself option.

Íslandshestar is a network owned and run by Icelandic farmers with member farms all over the country, south included. It is who I point experienced riders toward. Multi-day treks with a free-running herd, sheep and horse round-ups in the highlands, beach rides, northern lights rides. The real deal, run by the people who live it.

The West: Borgarfjörður valleys

Hestaland operates from a working horse farm in Borgarfjörður, about an hour and a half north of Reykjavík. Riding lessons, fun tours, and horsemanship weeks where you actually improve instead of just surviving. If you want to come home a better rider, this is your place.

The North: fjords, round-ups, and the horse heartland

Hestasport is based in Varmahlíð in Skagafjörður, the valley Icelanders themselves call horse country. Everything from ninety-minute Viking rides to weeklong highland treks, plus cottages with a view if your travel companion would rather soak in a hot tub than sit a trot.

Pólar Hestar has run tours from the Grýtubakki farm on Eyjafjörður since 1985. Family owned, about 150 horses, rides through elf valleys to the North Atlantic, and homemade cake waiting when you get back. That last part is not a metaphor. There is actual cake.

Skjaldarvík is a guesthouse and riding stable just outside Akureyri, perfect if you are road-tripping the north and want a relaxed ride with a fjord view and dinner afterward.

Íslandshestar belongs on this list twice, and that is not a typo. Their farmer network reaches up here too, with northern member farms running treks and round-ups through the fjords and highlands. Same booking site, whole different landscape.

How to choose

Short version: day rides near Reykjavík if you are tight on time, Eldhestar or Hestaland if you are newer or want to learn, Íslandshestar or Hestasport if you are experienced and want the trek that ruins all other vacations for you. Whoever you pick, tell them your honest riding level and let them match the horse. They know their herds better than you know your own resume.

And when you book it, come tell me. I want to hear which valley got you.

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