Isolation of equid alphaherpesvirus 3 from a horse in Iceland with equine coital exanthema

Equine coital exanthema (ECE) caused by equid alphaherpesvirus 3 (EHV-3) is a contagious venereal disease. It is characterized by the formation of papules, vesicles, pustules and ulcers on the external genitals of both mares and stallions. The Icelandic horse is the only breed in Iceland and has lived isolated in the country for over 1000 years. Three types of equine herpesviruses (EHV) have been found in Iceland, EHV-4, EHV-2 and EHV-5, while EHV-1 has never been detected. Symptoms resembling ECE have previous been observed in horses in Iceland, arousing suspicion of EHV-3 infection, but this has never been confirmed using virological methods. Samples were collected from a mare with papules on the vulva and inoculated in primary equine kidney cells. Cytopathic effects developed as rounded cells and syncytial formation. Polymerase chain reaction and sequencing of the partial glycoprotein G and DNA polymerase genes identified the isolated virus as EHV-3. On the basis of the findings, EHV-3 infection was verified for the first time in the native Icelandic horse population.

Welfare assessment of Icelandic competition horses.

Veterinary examination of Icelandic competition horses, according to a specially designed protocol 'fit for competition', is performed prior to every entrance to the track during Landsmót, the National Championships of the Icelandic horse. This has provided valuable data for welfare assessment that have been used for improvement of general rules for the benefit of competition horses. It further prevents suffering on an individual level as horses expressing pain during the examination are found not to be fit for competition and are not allowed to start or continue competition during the event. The frequency of bit-related lesions can be regarded as a welfare indicator for Icelandic competition horses, reflecting the pressure placed on the mouth of the horse.

Volunteering at Landsmót: gaining knowledge and experience.

Landsmót (the National Championship of the Icelandic horse), the main equestrian event in Iceland, provides an opportunity to present Icelandic nature and culture in many ways, through horses, clothing, equipment and food. Landsmót is a biennial sports event which has become a meeting place for local and national participants (audience and volunteers) and also international audiences and volunteer tourists. It provides access to what is commonly termed 'the world of the Icelandic horse'. The findings in this chapter are based on interviews with volunteers and fieldwork at the Landsmót event at Hólar, Iceland, in 2016. There were two types of volunteers at the event: volunteer tourists who signed up due to their interest in the core activity; and members of local non-profit associations that took on tasks for the event as a fundraising activity. The findings suggest that these two groups require different volunteer management approaches and that a clearer strategy for managing international volunteer tourists is needed to meet their needs and expectations of the event community and to facilitate their co-creation of memorable experiences.

Comparing Landsmót 2016 with other equestrian events: the case of the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games™ 2014 in Normandy.

This chapter aims to present the methodology and main results of research focusing on the short-term economic, social and environmental impacts, as well as the long-term legacy, of the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games™ 2014 in Normandy (2014 WEG). This event is then compared with Landsmót 2016 (the National Championships of the Icelandic horse), as they have a lot in common despite their apparent differences. It can be concluded that equestrian events have various impacts for local areas that host them and can contribute to regional development. In order to optimize such impacts, actions have to be implemented with sustainability in mind, taking into account economic, social and environmental aspects.

The star of the show: the Icelandic horse.

The Icelandic horse is one of the purest horse breeds in the world, reaching an average 140 cm (13.3 hh) height at the withers and weighing 340 kg. The conformation is rectangular and compact, with a sloping croup, and a long, thick mane and tail. The breed is most known and appreciated for the lateral gaits tölt and pace, which it has in addition to the basic gaits (walk, trot and canter/gallop). The breed is found in more than 30 countries, with more Icelandic horses abroad (ca. 175,000) than in Iceland (ca. 65,000). There is one international studbook, WorldFengur, with breeding associations in 21 countries and a common breed evaluation system. Following mechanization in Iceland around 1950, the role of the Icelandic horse changed from being 'the most useful servant' to that of a leisure and sport horse. Also in 1950, Landsmót - the largest outdoor sporting event for the Icelandic horse in Iceland - was held for the first time. It was then repeated every four years until 1998 and biennially after that. Landsmót has been held 23 times in total, at seven different locations in the south and north of Iceland, lasting for 3-8 days in the high summer period. The event has expanded over time with an increasing number of horses, riders and competition disciplines. This chapter introduces the disciplines, qualification of horses and riders and facilities required for Landsmót.

Segmentation, marketing, venue selection and competitiveness of events.

Competitiveness of events is not a widely researched topic. As with destinations, countries, industries and businesses, competitiveness is highly relevant to events and their development. A number of factors affect the competitiveness of events, including segmentation, targeting, marketing, information flow and venue selection. This chapter focuses on identifying the target groups of the national championship of the Icelandic horse - Landsmót - and how the competitiveness of the event can be enhanced. The research included data from an on-site survey among visitors at Landsmót 2016 and online surveys among visitors following the 2014, 2016 and 2018 events. A total of 2729 responses was used for analysis. Findings indicated that, despite common interest in the Icelandic horse, the visitors to Landsmót have different expectations and needs. Accessible information, good facilities and a carefully planned programme are of importance for the competitiveness of the event. Taking care of repeat visitors and attracting new visitors are both important for the event. Finally, it is concluded that selection of two main venues, one in the rural north and another in the urban south, is most likely to meet the requirements of the current target market and to maximize the competitiveness of the event in the long run.

Conclusions: planning, managing and experiencing equestrian events.

This volume uses a particular equestrian event - Landsmót, the National Championships of the Icelandic horse - as a case to illustrate various aspects of managing and experiencing sports events, their impacts and their legacies. The single event is used as an example from which to explore the different facets of events management, drawing on a range of disciplinary perspectives including sociology, economics, marketing and equitation science. For international comparison the case of the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games™ 2014 in Normandy is used. This chapter summarizes the key findings and the events management implications presented in this volume, and discusses further avenues of research into multispecies events management and equestrian events.

Events management and organization: the execution of Landsmót, Reykjavík 2018.

Planning a large sport event that includes animals is a complicated task and very challenging for an event manager. This short chapter is written by the Managing Director of Landsmót (the National Championship of the Icelandic horse) in Hólar in 2016 and Reykjavík in 2018. The chapter focuses predominantly on the second of these events and addresses some of the main issues that faced the team that made this event happen. It highlights the importance of teamwork and having skilled staff with broad knowledge who are ready to work on plans and structure, but also ready to solve issues quickly during the event.

Event legacies.

Event legacies include, but also go beyond, the long-term impacts of an event. While the majority of research on sports events legacies has focused on mega-events hosted in urban cities, the concept is shown here to be equally applicable to smaller sports events and those hosted in rural areas. In the case of a biennial sports event held at different sites in different years - like the Icelandic horse championships, Landsmót - legacies build over time, related to various aspects such as infrastructure, environment, culture, sport and event policies. In this chapter the legacies of Landsmót 2016 are explored, focusing on infrastructure, rurality as a cultural aspect of the event and the affective or emotional impacts as important in legacy building. Data for this chapter were collected through semi-structured retrospective interviews with five individuals engaged in planning and running Landsmót 2016 in Hólar, Iceland.