Icehorse Festival raises the bar with a new two-year cycle Icehorse Festival – the world’s largest indoor World Ranking event for Icelandic horses, held at MCH Herning – is changing its format and will henceforth be staged every other year in even-numbered years.
Icehorse Festival will take place from 9–12 April 2026, after which the festival will enter a new two-year cycle. This means that the next Icehorse Festival after 2026 will be held from 6–9 April 2028.
Icehorse Festival brings together riders, breeders, exhibitors, and spectators from across Europe for four days of world-class sport, shows, shopping, professional activities, and community – all centred around the large indoor oval arena built to approved competition dimensions.
Over the years, Icehorse Festival has developed into a major meeting point for the international Icelandic horse community, characterised by strong fields of competitors, a high sporting level, and large visitor numbers. The change is driven by the ambition to strengthen the festival’s international profile and establish a clear, long-term rhythm. Going forward, Icehorse Festival will be held in early spring in even-numbered years – aligning with Landsmótin Iceland.
The ambition is for Icehorse Festival to continue developing as a central European meeting point for the Icelandic horse community, where sport, breeding, culture, and community come together in one unified indoor event in the main hall at MCH Herning.
Experience Icehorse Festival 2026
At the 2026 festival, taking place 9–12 April, audiences can look forward to four days of top-level sport, a spectacular stallion show, features focusing on training from groundwork to competition level with Ditte Sommer, a Futurity show for young talents, the entertaining Sparkle Tölt – and not least a clinic in the arena on Friday evening with Sigurður Sæmundsson (Siggi Sæm), an internationally recognised Icelandic horse trainer and breeder and former team leader of the Icelandic national team, known for his many years of experience in educating and training Icelandic horses at the highest level.
The new two-year cycle also provides stronger conditions for long-term planning, international collaboration, and an even higher professional and sporting standard. The next Icehorse Festival after 2026 will take place 6–9 April 2028 at MCH Herning.
For further information:
Stine Sandahl
www.icehorsefestival.com
Co-owner
Phone: +45 26 20 41 91
Email: Stine@icehorsefestival.com
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