What Is Hobby Horsing?

Hobby horsing is equestrian sport performed on a stuffed horse head mounted on a stick. Riders compete in dressage and show jumping over real fences, are judged on real criteria, and train for months. It started as a Finnish youth subculture and now fills arenas across Europe. Here is how it actually works.

What Is Hobby Horsing?

A rider holds a hobby horse between their legs, one hand on the stick and one on the reins, and performs the movements of horse riding using their own body. Walk, trot, canter, flying changes, halts: each has a defined footfall pattern the rider reproduces. In jumping, the rider clears the fence themselves while carrying the horse in the correct outline.

The sport asks for athleticism, memorised tests and precise technique. A dressage rider is scored on rhythm, straightness and transitions in exactly the way an equestrian rider is. The horse is not real; almost nothing else about the discipline is pretend.

Where Did Hobby Horsing Come From?

It grew in Finland during the 2010s, largely among girls aged roughly 10 to 18 who wanted the sport of riding without the cost of a live horse. Riders made their own horses, wrote their own rules, and organised their own shows. A 2017 documentary pushed it into mainstream view, and the Finnish national championships have since drawn well over a thousand competitors. Clubs now run in Sweden, Germany, the Netherlands, the UK, France and the United States.

Why It Spread So Fast

Cost is the obvious reason: a hobby horse costs less than a week of livery. But riders usually point somewhere else first. You own the whole thing, you sew the horse, you name it, you build its pedigree, you design its tack. The community that formed around that ownership is what keeps people in the sport.

The Disciplines of Hobby Horsing

Show Jumping

The main event. Riders clear a numbered course of fences against the clock, with faults for knockdowns and refusals exactly as in equestrian jumping. Heights run from around 20 cm in beginner classes to well past 130 cm at elite level, which is genuinely high-level athletics.

Dressage

A memorised test ridden in a marked arena, scored movement by movement out of ten. Judges look at rhythm, the accuracy of transitions, straightness on the centre line, and how convincingly the rider maintains the horse's outline throughout.

Other Classes

• Costume and showmanship — the horse is judged on turnout, craft and breed presentation rather than performance.
• Cross country — an outdoor course over natural obstacles, usually timed.
• Freestyle to music — a choreographed dressage routine, the crowd favourite.

Is Hobby Horsing a Real Sport?

It is not recognised by the FEI or any Olympic body, so it has no official status. Against that: it has codified rules, trained judges, ranked levels, national championships and a training load comparable to gymnastics. Riders clearing a 100 cm fence carrying a stick are doing serious physical work.

The honest answer is that hobby horsing behaves like a sport in every practical sense while sitting outside the institutions that award the label. That gap is narrowing year by year, and most riders have stopped worrying about it.

What You Need to Start

Item	Why it matters	Priority
Hobby horse	Firm head, balanced stick, working bridle	Essential
Riding trousers or leggings	Freedom of movement, plus a tidy look for classes	Essential
Trainers with grip	Take-off and landing on grass or arena surface	Essential
Poles and cups	Build a course at home; broom handles work at first	Soon after
Spare bridle and saddle pad	Turnout points in showmanship classes	Optional

How to Choose Your First Hobby Horse

Pick a stick that reaches your hip, a head with firm stuffing so it holds its shape mid-jump, and a bridle with real buckles. Breed and colour are personal, but a solid neck seam is not negotiable if you plan to jump.

How to Get Involved

1. Learn the gaits. Watch competition footage and copy the footfall patterns until they are automatic.
2. Set up a small course. Two poles and a few books make a legitimate training fence.
3. Find a local club. Most groups organise through social media and welcome complete beginners.
4. Enter a low class. First shows are usually 20–40 cm, and nobody expects a clear round.
5. Give your horse an identity. Name, breed, show record. It sounds like a detail and it is half the sport.

Frequently Asked Questions