Picture Gallery of Horses of Course of Course

Odden's Norwegian Fjord Horses

The Villa Louie Carriage Classic 2009

Phil was driving Marcy and Beorn, our friend Howard Fiedler was groom.

They were grand Champions in the Pairs Division competing against 10 other pairs and some very good drivers.

We believe in the Evaluation process for our fjord horses. In August we brought horses to 

be evaluated for conformation and also for introductory and advanced driving. 

Marcy doing the dressage part of her driving test.

In August, we competed at the Hickory Knoll CDE

Phil's A team, Marcy and Beorn showed they could do it again, and came home with

the Championship in the Pairs division. Bob Long was doing a great job as groom on his first CDE!

Heading for the first hazard, they are ready to go!

Fathers-day weekend we compete at the Columbus Carriage Classic.

Phil brought Gunni to her first big show. 

This picture was taken by Bob Mischka. Else got to ride along for the Dickinson Drive, a nice 

drive through Columbus, WI as part of the 3 day event.

In the Spring we really look forward to new foals! The new moms keep a watchful eye on them. We had 5 foals this spring, 2 red dun, 1 brown and 2 gray.

Spring 2009

Maple syrup season

Photo by Bob Mischka

Winter 2009

The Sunday Sleigh. Made by Phillip Odden.

2008

Villa Louis Carriage Classic

 2008 Pairs Championship

PRAIRIE du CHIEN, Wisconsin

Phil and Else teamed up with Howard and Sofie Fiedler for the Villa Louie Carriage Classic this year.

This is from the Reinsmanship class where Phil did a super job driving his pair Marcy and Beorn, and took first place.

Gambler Choice competition.

 Howard is leaning into the turn on the back seat of the Lindzor Wagon.

Gambler Choice competition.

Cones

Warming up for the cones class.

9 pairs competed for the Grand Championship, Phil and Howard did really good!

Phillip Odden, Grand Champion in the Pairs Division, 2007 and 2008

Iron Horse CDE 

Sherwood Farms, Caledonia, Illinois.

Prelim-limited overall Champions 2008

Dressage practice arena. Beorn (a Fernando son) the near horse and Marcy the far horse put to a Spider Phaeton.

The first weekend in August 2008 traveled to Illinois to compete in the Iron Horse CDE.

Phil brought a new pair of fjords Marcy and Beorn along, 

Pictures from the marathon. 

Below left, Our first turn in the Formal Garden Hazard. This hazard has tight corners and a formidable look as the horse approach.

Below right, Our ponies are approaching the water hazard, ready and willing. 

Looking for gate B in the water hazard. Howard is getting ready to 'hop' the backend of the vehicle to the left.

Below left, In the octagon hazard looking for gate B. Below right, Through gate B and moving toward gate C. The ponies are looking smart and turning well, together.

Above, This is the approach to the last hazard called the planters which is a group of round structures and half circle alley ways. The turns are a bit tight but not bad. 

Below left, entering the hazard toward gate A

Below right, Looking for gate B 

After we had finished the marathon we were just a half point behind the leader of the Prelim limited division. We could win or loose in the cones on Sunday.

Below right. The cones course had 22 sets of cones set in a very small area with lots of tight turns and change of rein required. Oh yes, there was a bridge to cross as well. 

We didn't go fast and we didn't go clean but we went fast enough and clean enough to win the Prelim limited championship at Iron Horse against horses, ponies, pairs and singles.

Howard Fiedler and Phil Odden Iron Horse CDE 2008

Hickory Knoll CDE

July 2008

Hickory Knoll was the first CDE for Marcy and Beorn. 

In 2007 Phil took Bjarne and Herger to Hickory Knoll and won the Training level Championship as well as the best training level dressage score.

The cones course was wide open at Hickory Knoll. Perfect for horses that could trot big. We ran a double clean round, making the time alotted and not hitting any cones. Howard Fiedler groomed for Dressage and cones. Beorn is the near horse and Marcy the far horse. Both are six years old.

Both Bjarne and Marcy have big trots. Beorn received a 10 for trot in the introductory Driving test from evaluator Wayne Hipsley at the 2008 NFHR evaluation at La Crosse. Marcy moves just as big or bigger and they often are in step with one-another.  They are a joy to drive.

Here are a few pictures at the water hazard. I plan to use these ponies next year as well but next year we will be doing preliminary level. These ponies don't fuss over water. 

Heading for the exit gate with happy ponies and a happy navigator. Everyone is having fun.

And the fun we have had and are having with our horses and friends in 2007! 

Nearly all these wonderful Photos were taken by Else Bigton. 

Christmas 2007

It is a winter Wonderland in Wisconsin!

Phil is having fun with Marcy and Herger

They can really go!

Phil and Lynnhaven Hanna

Christmas 2007

Phillip had a lot of fun driving Hanna on the carved sleigh.

Hanna does it all, and she is for sale!

Phil and Herger at the Frederic Sleigh rally in January. Here they are using the traditional Norwegian harness put to a hand carved sleigh. Phil's legs are covered by a horse hair lap robe. It was a frosty cold day in January. Herger was in good form. Fjords like winter.

In May, Phil and Else went to Norway to visit Tor Ole, their son. Tor Ole spent the school year in Vinstra, in a folk music program, and he had an opportunity to study with master fiddlers like Arne Sølvberg. Arne lives in the Nordfjord district were the largest concentration of fjord horses live in Norway. Traditional Norwegian folk music, folk art, and fjord horses all go together. 

We attended the annual Ford Stallion show held in Nordfjordeid in early May. This is where we saw our fabulous stallion Smedsmo Gråen for the first time a few years ago. Each year people from several countries come to Nordfjordeid to see which stallions will receive their breeding license.

In June, over Fathers day weekend, you can find us competing at the Columbus Carriage Classic in Columbus, Wisconsin. This year we brought our gelding Herger put to a traditional Norwegian cart that Phil built decorated with carving and painted himself. This year we had help from our friends The Nesseth family of Cameron Wisconsin. This is a photo of Phil and Herger doing the Gamblers Choice competition where they placed first.

The "Food Network" was there to film the Picnic class, and when they asked Phil to be a part of the class, he said- But sure we will do it! We had a short time to plan our theme and collect our props. Thank you to Connie and Crysten Nesseth for helping us with the class. Our Picnic earned a reserve championship, not bad!

Cross Country class at Columbus. Herger knows how to listen and was fearless in the obstacles.

Crysten driving Herger with her dad, Clinton, as passenger, for the Fathers Day class.

The Dickinsons Drive is a parade format through the streets of Columbus with a bit of competition included. This year at the Columbus Carriage Classic Phil and Herger took a reserve Championship in a very competitive Large Pony division competing with all breeds.

In June we started building our 160' x 72' indoor arena for Phil to train horses in. There were also several new paddocks created with heated outdoor water fountains. Space was identified for a large 100 meter x 40 meter dressage arena. Several hazards have been completed including two water hazards. We are making plans to have a CDE driving trial around July 4th, 2008.  

A dream come true!

In July, we competed in our first CDE,  the Hickory Knoll CDE at Fitchberg, Wisconsin. Else was first time groom/ Navigator. This time Herger was on the right and Odden's Bjarne was on the left.  

The first part of the competition was driven Dressage. Phil ended up with the best dressage score at 41 in training level among all competitors in all classes at Hickory Knoll. They didn't receive any deductions in the cones or the marathon sections, so they finished with the best score in pairs division training level.  

This series of pictures are taken by our friend Bob Mischka.

Phil and his pair, Bjarne and Herger, were awarded the over all best dressage test at the competition. We made some mistakes in the groom/ navigator attire department. We were missing some paint on the carriage, but we have to start somewhere.  Next year we will be a little better prepared. At least the ponies were pretty well prepared. They worked together very well.

Everyone loves the water hazard! Bjarne and Herger has no problems when Phil asks them to dive into the water.

Phil went right from Hickory Knoll to Blue Earth for the Midwest Fjord Horse show. Else went home to pack for the annual Nordic Fest show in Decorah, Iowa where we have shown for nearly 30 years. Since Else wasn't at Blue Earth, we have no pictures. Phil offered to let others drive his horses at Blue Earth, and all had fun. Carol Curry from Alpha, Illinois drove singles and pairs in the women's classes. Joseph Yanish of Litchfield, Minnesota drove Phil's horses in the men's classes. 

In August we took 4 horses to the Official NFHR Evaluation at La Crosse, Wisconsin. Each horse gets checked and measured along with having their microchip read before they are presented to the judges. This is the red dun mare Eirosa.

Waiting for their turn to enter the ring.

Two judges score the horses for conformation. This is Odden's Berta. She earned a score of 81 which puts her in the Blue group.

EiRose, Red Dun, Blue Ribbon mare score 81.

 It takes a lot of training and conditioning to show the horses to their best advantage, Phil worked hard to get the horses ready. We now have two more blue ribbon mares, and one more red ribbon mare. A clients horse earned a red ribbon. 

After La Crosse 2007 we own five mares that have scored 80 or over in the conformation test of the NFHR evaluations. Two of our mares are in the high red group.

In August, we took our stallion Smedsmo Gråen to the Minnesota State Fair. The Minnesota Horse Council has a 

"Breed row" The most asked question was: is the stripe real? Many youngsters had an opportunity to pet a gray fjord stallion. It was fun to have our son Ole along this time.

They walked in the parade, and Ole claimed the Mule was sometimes too close to his sign advertising the Norwegian Fjords!

Here they were interviewed for a spot on the channel 9 evening news to promote the Minnesota State Fair.

In September, we compete in the Villa Louie Carriage Classic, in Prairie Du Chien.

Howard Fiedler was groom for Phil and his team Marcy and Herger.

The Villa Louie Carriage Classic takes place on the banks of the Mississippi River at Prairie Du Chien, Wisconsin in September. This is a  pleasure driving show that is a pleasure to attend for both competitors and spectators! Villa Louis is recognized as the premier pleasure driving show in the Midwest and one of the finest pleasure driving shows in the United States. The judges panel now includes a foreign judge from England.  In 2007 Phil and his pair of Herger on the left and Marcy on the right put to a Spider Phaeton won the championship in the pairs division. Howard Fiedler of Green Valley Farms Galena Illinois rode as passenger groom. As you can see, the Villa Louis Carriage Classic is held in a beautiful place, and it is a very well run show.

Competition is very tough! These are experienced drivers and well groomed and well trained horses. The turnouts are impressiveand it is an honor to show at Villa Louis. 

Herger on the left has lots of show experience. This was Marcy's first show replacing Odden's Bjarne in the pair. Herger and Marcy had only been driven together for a short time before the show. They were certainly a pleasure to drive. The only mistakes that were made were made by Phil.

Jenny Erlandsen with the Fjord gelding Brex at the Longview Lake CDE at Kansas City, Mo. Phil was riding as groom and helper during the cones competition.

This picture was taken in the fall of 2006. Else enjoys taking pictures of kids in traditional costume along with the Norwegian Fjord horses.

Odden's Norwegian Fjord Horses

2006

Winona, NFHR 25th Celebration!

We brought 4 horses:

Our stallion Smedsmo Gråen.

Phil's A team, Odden's Bjarne and Herger

Gunnie, a 5year old mare with exceptional movement!

Phillip was in charge of the mock wedding procession.

Our stallion Smedsmo Gråen is pulling the bride and groom in Phil's hand made cart.

Our stallion Smedsmo Gråen.

Smedsmo Gråen has sired foals of all possible Fjord colors.

This is yellow Dun Yenna

Gunnie, entered in the maiden horse class.

Gunnie doing the cones course.

Smedsmo Gråen

The "A" team

Odden's Bjarne and Herger

Bjarne and Herger will work as a pair or

single, they each did the cones.

Thank you, thank you to 

Marilyn and Harry Radke!

A Grand Champion for Phil's A team

Odden's Bjarne and Herger.

Jeff and Lisa Pederson needed our Herger

to drive in their 4 up hitch. As you can see, 

Herger did a super job!

Bjarne reserve champion draft singles.

2006 Winter fun!

It is January in Wisconsin, and we are using our wonderful Fjords to pull our sleighs both at home and at sleigh rallies.

Pleasure drive at home.

Sharing our Fjords with our friends.

Getting wood for our wood-stoves

Sleigh Rally in Fredric, WI

Winter fun

Snow is good training, the Fjord horses loves it!      

Hot chocolate sounds pretty good by now!

Phillip and 4 year old gelding Odden's Bjarne at

the Ashland, WI sleigh-rally in January.

End of March in Wisconsin, time to tap the Maple trees

Bjarne & Britta, the 2005 syrup team.

Almost 2 barrels full, time to start the cooking.

A week later, April 1st. and it is SPRING!

The snow is mostly gone and we have help from Linda Syverson Kerr and her gelding Markus. 

Ole and Alyssa with yearling fillies Emma (on the left)  

and Odden's Elinor

Ole and Phillip driving red dun Raude at the Fredric Sleigh- rally in 2003. This picture was in the Mischka driving horse calendar in 2003. The picture is taken by Robert Mischka 

Phillip and our first stallion Polestar at the Blue Earth, MN evaluation 2001

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