Hestablog

What's With This Pig?

Up on Hestakaup I put up a logo of a pig. It's pretty, well, piggish, isn't it?

For those who are not familiar with this pink pig, it is the logo of a chain of supermarkets in Iceland that are part of an even larger enterprise that owns businesses in Europe and, for all I know, in the States, too.

What does this have to do with me and my websites?  Unfortunately, absolutely nothing.

So far I have paid  all the costs of this project out of my own pocket.  As the popularity of Hestakaup grew I added more video stories and, of course, the costs grew, too.   

Now I need some help in footing the expenses of filming and traveling in Iceland if the project is going to continue to grow.   

I responded when the Icelandic Trade Council solicited proposals for promoting the Icelandic horse abroad but Hestakaup.com was rejected.  It's odd how Icelanders love to sell horses to foreigners but don't want to collaborate with them!

I now turn to the private sector.  Being all too familiar with Icelandic culture and its business practices I am looking for a company outside of the horse sector that would like to express its interest in the people who ride and buy the Icelandic horse.  As good a target market as any. 

If anyone has any ideas or contacts, please oh please feel free to contribute them either by comment or email to me.

Thanks!
 

Why Did I Choose Iceland?

A good question... when I get frustrated by cross-cultural issues I ask it of myself.   There are days when I have to ask it a lot.  Why-oh-why?

I never had any real plans to go to Iceland.  My first trip was almost accidental, certainly casual.  Sarah  was going for a long weekend of horse-shopping.

"You want to come along?"

"Sure, why not?"

Those few days ended up changing my life by getting me on a horse and which then made me wonder what it really meant to be on a horse, particularly an Icelandic horse.  I made a few more trips and I became more aware of  Iceland itself.

The landscape and the geology always get the attention in this "land of fire and ice".  True, they are beautiful and to a geologist, fascinating.

But it is the history and culture of the Icelanders that I find most compelling. 

Let me explain...

Until 873 there were only a few Irish monks in Iceland when the Vikings arrived. These same Vikings who had been plundering Europe now came over to an empty land and found themselves with no one to rape and pillage.  What could they do?

So they settled it! 

Let's remember, Iceland was way out there in the cold and stormy North Atlantic.  This was the in day before  stopovers between Europe and America. For centuries Iceland was isolated from the rest of the world. 

And  these Vikings, isolated and tempered by hardship for centuries -- really until just before World War II -- evolved a culture.

They preserved a lot that remains today such as the ancient horse and in their language which still remains Old Norse.

And while I've never seen or heard of anyone running around in skins with battle axes, yet some old culture remains.
 

And Now a Word from Our Sponsor...

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It's not that the sponsor is silent.  It's that there is no sponsor. 

This site has been paid for out of  my own pocket.  I don't particularly mind, but  I can't keep  paying for all those $15 burgers in Iceland forever.   I would really like to go over to Iceland, different parts of it, more often and on a regular basis, but the meter is always running.  I need modest underwriting for expenses. In order to solicit some sponsorship from sources that would not be a conflict of interest or threaten my credibility, I need some sign from Iceland that my video efforts are appreciated and welcome.  Or even recognized.  So far, I have not been able to get any response from the government or horse organizations in this effort.

Anyone have any ideas?  Feel free to leave them as a comment!