“Experience genuinely exciting horse rides”
4 Days Winter Horse Riding Holiday Adventure in Kiruna, Sweden
OFELAŠ Islandshästar, Puoltsa 1057, 981 99 Kiruna, Sweden
Sweden Mountain Horse Riding Holiday
Welcome to this great winter adventure in the north of Sweden with the best of activities. You get to go reindeer sledging, ride Icelandic horse, learn about the Sami culture, see reindeer and drive a snowmobile. You have local guides with you these days, very familiar with the area and culture. During these days, you also visit the famous Ice Hotel. You will feel peace and quiet, and be much out in nature. Hopefully, you will see northern lights, reindeer, moose, and other animals. What you will experience when you visit Sweden with Ofelas Islandshästar is both genuine and exciting.
Key Information
- Rider Weight Limit: 198 pounds / 90 kilograms
- Horse Breed: Icelandic Horses
- Horse height range: 130-150 centimeters
- Tack: Icelandic/English tack
Meet the instructors
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Highlights
- Icelandic horses with equipment are included
- Helmets and warm outdoor clothes will be provided
- Various winter activities and two horse rides of one hour each
- Swedish and English-speaking guide
- Daily full board meals will be served
- 3 nights accommodation
Skill level
- Beginner
- Intermediate
- Advanced
Styles
4 days with instruction in English
The organizer also speaks: Swedish
Group size: 3-10 participants
Airport transfer available:
Kiruna Airport (US$44 per person)
Kiruna Airport (US$44 per person)
Accommodation
Check-in Time:
15:00
Facilities
- Sauna
- Kitchen
The packages are all for a shared room. If you want to live close to nature, have animals, like moose, outside your window and experience the silence, this is the place for you.
Ofelas has two houses for rent at the horse farm, one with three bedrooms, a common kitchen and two bathrooms (for 1 to 6 persons). You can buy your own food in Kiruna and the kitchen is fully equipped. They also have another house to rent at the farm for 1 to 4 persons with one shared bathroom. You can book horse activities and snowmobile tours with Ofelas (book in advance).
There is also a sauna at the river bank. You can, on your own, take a walk in the forest and on the river, go skiing, try the “kick” or walk with snowshoes. It is also possible to order meals if you don’t want to cook by yourself. You can rent winter clothes if needed. You can get to Kiruna by bus during the summertime.
Program
Itinerary
Day 1: Arrival - riding class
After transfer to the farm, you start with a riding class in the afternoon to get familiar with the horses and the tölt. You will eat a 3-course dinner together after. Outside the window, you will hopefully see moose and northern lights.
Day 2: Snowmobiling - Northern light riding
You will go snowmobiling, two persons on each snowmobile. You learn how to drive snowmobile this day and have outdoor lunch prepared over an open fire. In the evening, you have then a riding tour in the dark looking for northern lights and spend the evening in the goahti (Sami hut) around the fire eating dinner.
Day 3: Reindeer sledging tour - visit Ice Hotel
You will have a reindeer sledging tour including lunch where two persons are sharing a sledge. That's the old way of transportation for Sami people in this area and you will learn about Sami culture and life. In the afternoon, you visit the famous Ice Hotel, have dinner at the restaurant and in the evening you come back to the farm.
Day 4: Forest riding tour - departure
You will go for a shorter riding tour in the forest and your guide will bring you to the airport/railway station.
During this week, you stay overnight in a house on a small horse farm with double rooms, shared kitchen/living room, and bathroom. The farm is beautifully located, close to the Kalix river west of Kiruna in a small village. You will be served local specialties, like game and fish. Most of the activities you will do from Ofelas Islandshästar farm, but for some of them, you will need to go by car and the activities are probably done in another order than in this program and the group is asked to always have to respect the winter weather.
Riding Experience
Prior riding experience is not necessary but you must be in good physical health. This ride is suitable both for you with riding experience and for you who have never been riding before
Animals
Right now, Ofelas Islandshästar has about 25 Icelandic horses at the farm, a few are privately owned. The stable cat, Lunar, also lives there, as well as two goats and four dogs. During the winter, Ofelas Islandshästar also gets quite a lot of moose there.
The Ofelas Islandshästar Team
The company is run by Kerstin Nilsson and Mats Blind-Berg, since 1997. Jenny Jansson and Sara Hansson work at the farm, they have both moved up there from south of Sweden. Usually, Ofelas Islandshästar has some extra employees during high season.
Instructors
Mats Blind-Berg
Also called Matti, owner of Ofelas Islandshästar. He is from this area with roots in Girjas Sami community, and active in Sami politics and the work of the community. He likes photography when there is an opportunity for that.
Kerstin Nilsson
Kerstin is an owner of Ofelas Islandshästar and comes from this area. She is a qualified handicraft teacher from the beginning and educated in the Sami language, has also the “riding teacher 1” education. She has the roots in Leaváš Sami community and also has reindeer there.
Jenny Jansson
Jenny is from Arboga and has been working here for quite many years, she also lives in Puoltsa. Has a tourism education and has been riding Icelandic horse for a long time. She has her own horse at the farm, Skriða, and a Finnish sami dog called Ira.
Sara Hansson
Sara grew up on a farm in the south of Sweden and have always been close to animals and nature. She studied a program called “nature guide” at Umeå university 2012-2014. The autumn after that she started working there. Her dog is the black and white Border Collie Loka.
Location
Ofelas Islandshästar is located 25 kilometers west of Kiruna in the direction of Nikkaluokta with a fantastic view of the mountains and Kalix river. In wintertime, they have the northern lights and during summer, the midnight sun.
Puoltsa
The farm is located in a small village called Puoltsa (Buolža in Sami). It is between Kiruna and Nikkaluokta, next to the riverbank of the Kalix river. Ofelas Islandshästar has had the business since 1997.
Distances
- Kiruna, 25 kilometers
Features
Activities
- Horse riding
- Sauna
General
- Barbeque facilities
- Kitchen
Food
Reindeer and moose meat is an important ingredient in Sámi cuisine, usually smoked to last longer when you are out in the mountains for many weeks. Other local specialties in this area are fish from the river or mountain lakes. Berries and herbs are also important ingredients, like cloudberries, blueberries, lingonberries, Angelica, meadowsweet, etc. Ofelas Islandshästar provides any special diet if you require, like no lactose, gluten-free, or vegetarian, just remember to inform them in advance.
Traditional food in Sámi is meat and fish supplemented with herbs and berries. Salt and flour were bought so you could bake bread. Fish and meat were eaten either fresh, salted, smoked, dried, or conserved in a different way. The Sami cuisine still looks the same but with new dishes and outside influences.
Reindeer and moose meat, Arctic char, Whitefish, cloudberries, blueberries, lingonberries, Angelica, and Mountain Sorrel are common in the Sami cuisine. Coffee cheese was made from reindeer milk, later, also from goat and cow milk. Lots of new exciting things are happening with the developing of Sami cooking today.
The following meals are included:
- Breakfast
- Lunch
- Dinner
The following drinks are included:
- Water
- Coffee
- Tea
- Soda
The following dietary requirement(s) are served and/or catered for:
- Vegetarian
- Gluten Free
- Regular (typically includes meat and fish)
- Lactose Free
- Other dietary requirements on request
If you have special dietary requirements it's a good idea to communicate it to the organiser when making a reservation
Things to do (optional)
- Book snowmobile tours with Ofelas Islandshästar in advance.
- Book one night at Ice Hotel
- Sauna
- Dog sledding
- Cross country skiing
- Snowshoeing
What's included
- Daily winter activities and horse rides
- Services of a Swedish and English-speaking guide
- Daily full board meals (From Day 1 dinner to Day 4 breakfast)
- 3 nights accommodation
- Use of a horse with equipment
- Helmet use
- Warm outdoor clothes
- All transfers needed within Kiruna
What's not included
- Extra and accommodation upgrades
- Extra meals
How to get there
Recommended Airports
KRN
Kiruna Airport
19 km
Transfer available for additional US$44 per person
Arrival by airplane
Please arrange your flight to arrive at Kiruna Airport (KRN). From Stockholm, there are direct flights to Kiruna, they take approximately 90 minutes and are run by SAS and Norwegian. From the airport, there is a shuttle bus to Kiruna city center. You can also arrange a transfer service with Ofelas Islandshästar at an additional cost of 400 SEK per person.
Arrival by bus
You can get to Ofelas Islandshästar by bus from Kiruna during summertime. Kindly arrive at Nikkaluokta fjällstation, it usually departs twice a day during high season. For more information, please send Ofelas Islandshästar an inquiry.
Arrival by train
At SJ’s website, you can book train tickets to Kiruna. Between Stockholm and Kiruna, there is a night train without change. From the train station, there are free shuttles to the city center.
Arrival by taxi
If you would like to arrive through a taxi service, please send Ofelas Islandshästar an inquiry for more information.
Airport: Kiruna Airport
Airport transfer available:
Kiruna Airport (US$44 per person)
Additional charges may apply. You can request this in the next step.
Cancellation Policy
- A reservation requires a deposit of 16.94% of the total price.
- The deposit is non-refundable, if the booking is cancelled.
- The rest of the payment should be paid 7 days before arrival.
For this organizer you can guarantee your booking through BookHorseRidingHolidays.com. All major credit cards supported.
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