The owners

Kristín Heimisdóttir and Bjarni Elvar Pjetursson and their company, Einhyrningur which is named after the picturesque mountain Einhyrningur in Fljotshlídarafrettur, bought Hjardartun in 2015. Kristín is an orthodontist and a lecturer at the University of Iceland and running her own private practice in Reykjavik. Bjarni Elvar is a periodontist and a prosthodontist, a professor at the University of Iceland and the former dean. He also runs his own private practice in Reykjavik with his colleagues. Kristin goes every autumn for a sheep round-up in Laufaleitir, which is gathering sheep in the highlands for the farmers in Rangarvellir. 

Neither Kristin nor Bjarni were brought up with horse back riding – on the contrary. As so often, their interest arose through their children. During their post-graduate studies in Switzerland, their eldest daughter became enormously interested in horses – like many other young girls. She went on regular riding tours and took riding lessons with her best friends. During summer vacations in Iceland, the family started go on horse-back riding trips with good friends and one thing led to another. Moving back to Iceland, the first horses were bought and trained during winter in Hafnarfjördur, close to Reykjavik. The first horse belonging to the family was a gray mare, called Snjobjalla or Schneeglocke in German.  She was the first mare in Iceland to be given that name – we wonder why! Little or nothing is known about her ancestors or age. Fifteen years later we have over 60 horses and the family is obsessed with horses. The breeding is under Hjarðartúns name and the breeding mares are mostly from Hjarðatún as well as from Anna Fía and Arsaell in Eystra-Frodholti, emphasizing breeding mares with a long-bred quality mares.