Fjord History

The Norwegian Fjord horse retains much of its ancestor's primitive vigour, as well as the uniform dun coat colour.  The latter is accompanied by an eel stripe running from the forelock to the tip of the tail, and sometimes by zebra bars on the legs.   The mane and tail are usually lighter in colour, being almost silver.  A notable feature is the coarse, erect mane, which is characteristic of primitive equines.   Were it left alone, the mane would grow as long as that of any other breed, but by ancient tradition it is clipped so that the black hairs at the centre stand above the rest.   It is cut in a crescent shape from poll to withers, giving a pronounced crest to the neck.   Horses with their manes clipped in this way appear on the rune stone carvings of the Vikings, which may still be seen in Norway.   The Fjord was the Viking horse, and was used in the popular sport of horse fighting, when horses were pitted against each other, and sometimes fought to the death.   The Vikings most revered God, Odin, is said to have rode a great horse, an eight legged grey Fjord called Sleipner, who could travel through the air and was the fastest horse in the heavens and also on earth.   

It is known that the first raiders to reach the Western Isles of Scotland came from Hordaland in Norway around 1150, bringing with them their Fjord horses.  In 1831, an archaeological finding in Scotland revealed almost 100 chessmen on the Isle of Lewis, with a Viking sitting on his Fjord horse, ready for a fight.   The figures, made about 900 years ago, can be seen in the National Museum in Edinburgh and the British Museum in London.

The modern Fjord horse stands at 13-14.3hh.  It is compact and strongly muscled, and has short limbs with plenty of bone.  The most distinctive feature is its colour of various shades of dun.  The head is medium sized, with a broad, flat forehead, straight or slightly dished profile and good definition.   The ears are small and truncated.  The eyes are large, round, expressive, dark in colour and well set on the head.   The jowls are well rounded and muscular.  The throatlatch is slightly deeper than in most other breeds, but is refined sufficiently to allow proper flexing at the poll while still providing normal respiration.   The Fjord horse is sound and hardy and can operate on a modest diet.  Fjords have been successful throughout the world in a range of equestrian disciplines including Le Trec, Dressage, Western, Hunter Trials and Cross Country to RDA riding and driving as well as forestry and farm work.  
  

Helmar imported from  Norway 1929	Gullhov imported from  Norway 1937	Strandbu imported from  Norway 1949

There is mention of a Fjord stallion being taken from Norway to Fetlar in the Shetland Islands during the 1850's.  However, the first documented Fjord horses to arrive in the UK were two stallions imported from Norway to the Hebrides in 1890 by Sir Reginald Gordon Cathcart.  These stallions were introduced by Sir Gordon Cathcart, not to establish a Fjord stud, but in order to upgrade Highland Pony stock at his Askernish Estate, South Uist, and the incidence of ponies with silver manes and tails is often attributed to their influence.  The first Fjord horses imported to Great Britain in order to establish a Fjord population didn't arrive until 1929 when His Grace, the 2nd Duke of Westminster, whilst on holiday in Stryn in the summer of 1928, became very fond of the Fjord horses he saw there.  So impressed was he, that in the autumn of that year, through his agent, Mr L.O. Tenden, His Grace purchased a stallion and three mares for his Reay Forest Estate in Sutherland.   The Fjord horses purchased were of: "Good sort and quality".   The stallion bought was Helmar, a son of Foss N-755, and rosette winner at the 1927 Nordfjordeid stallion show.  He was of medium size, deep and wide (of the chest) with very good character.    The mares were Bergina by Bergfast N-635, Soria by Svein N-786 and Rosa by Molnesblakken N-792. 

Also in the same year, Lord Glentanar, who was a friend of His Grace, decided to import three mares, Loen, Stryn and Eide, from the mountainous district of Vestlandet (Western Norway), the breed's place of origin.   At this time, the Fjord horse was known as the Vestlandshest or Nordfjordhest, which indicates the breed's geographical connection.   It wasn't until 1947 that the Director of Agriculture in Norway decided that the breed should be known as the Fjordhest.  The mares, Loen, Stryn and Eide went on to successfully produce foals sired by Helmar.   In November 1937, Lord Glentanar imported a further six Fjords for his Glen Tanar Estate in Aberdeenshire.  The red dun (blonde mane and tail) stallion chosen was Gullhov N-962 aka Glen Tanar Haakon, a son of Per Gynt N-765, who was also red dun.  The five mares carefully selected were Freia N-4612, Dagmar N-4607, Astrid N-4938, Berit N-4238 and Eva N-4266.  These Fjord horses, along with the ones introduced in 1929, are the direct ancestors of a few of today's bloodlines.

Apart from Lord Glentanar and his daughter, the Hon. Mrs. Jean Bruce, the only other serious breeder of Norwegian Fjord horses in Great Britain was the Hon. Mrs. Janet Kidd, daughter of Lord Beaverbrook, and owner of the now defunct Maple Stud at Ewhurst, Surrey, England.   It was whilst visiting Copenhagen to watch her son, Johnny, jump with the British Team, that Mrs. Kidd saw an amazing sight - a pair of cream coloured horses winding their way between traffic, hauling a large wagon with at least twenty students on it, waving and shouting with happiness.   Mrs. Kidd shouted out: "They are the ones for me!"   She learned that the horses she had seen were indeed Fjords, and spent the next few days travelling around the various islands of Denmark in order to buy four matching Fjord mares.   Mrs. Kidd's first combined driving event was at Hickstead in 1974.   Rachael Carpenter, her navigator and time-keeper, did a marvellous job, and at the end of the three days they came first, winning the championship against all others.  Lincoln followed closely, then an unbeaten record with her pony pairs during that season.  These wins included the National Championship, Pitney Bowes at the Royal International and the British Driving Derby.   Mrs. Kidd retired in 1985, with her famous Fjords being sold at the Maple Stud dispersal sale in May of that year.  Her imported Danish stallion, Maple Viking (Jacob) by Torgul EFJH 339, had already been sold to Mrs. Bruce at Glen Tanar four years earlier.   Mrs. Kidd's only other imported Danish stallion, Maple Klaus FJH 575, a son of Lyngbrix FJH 449, was sold at the dispersal sale in 1985 to a small stud in Wales before finally being sold to Asgard Stud in Aberdeenshire several years later.   So, destiny stepped in to ensure that both of Mrs. Kidd's marvellous stallions ended up in Scotland where they made a great impact on the Scottish herd, as they had already done on the Fjord horse population in England.