Show jumping with the hobby horse

DW (English)

Dressage or show jumping on a hobby horse? What sounds like an activity for imaginative little girls is in Finland an international competitive sport called "Hobby Horsing".

Transcript

00:00 Nara Arlin knows full well how odd it must look to some

00:04 riding through the woods on a hobby horse.

00:07 I remember being mocked and if I said that I don't care what people think

00:14 or what people say, it would be a lie.

00:16 When I do hobby horsing I feel like only the sky is the limit.

00:22 I have heard everything already, so there's literally nothing that I haven't heard.

00:29 But I feel like myself when I'm doing hobby horsing.

00:32 That's the one thing that makes me want to keep going.

00:36 My name is Nara Arlin and when I do hobby horsing I feel like there's no boundaries.

00:42 Hobby horsing is in fact a sport with fixed rules and even various disciplines

00:49 such as show jumping and dressage.

00:53 The Hobby Horse Championship held annually in Finland

00:56 attracts some 300 participants from as many as 17 countries

01:00 making it the biggest event of its kind in the world.

01:03 Hobby horsing is a really big community of people who support one another.

01:08 It's just a great hobby.

01:10 It's harder than it looks, so I'm like, just try it.

01:15 It gives me the opportunity to be creative and it brings me a lot of joy.

01:24 Nara has enjoyed riding horses since she was little.

01:27 But when real steeds aren't available, she jumps on one of her hobby horses.

01:31 She's practicing for the Hobby Horse Championship, jumping higher and farther all the time.

01:37 And she's won numerous awards.

01:41 This is her ninth time competing in the Finnish Championship.

01:44 She's brought along three of her hobby horses.

01:47 At first glance they may look alike, but there are differences.

01:53 This has a shorter stick because it's good for jumping

01:56 and doesn't take the pole off when I jump.

01:59 It looks more up because horses look naturally more up when they jump.

02:06 And this one looks more down because horses do too when they do dressage.

02:13 This has a longer stick because it gives me more space to move when I do dressage.

02:22 The path to recognition as a sport began in 2002

02:25 with the founding of the first Hobby Horse Association in Finland.

02:29 At first it didn't have much of a following,

02:31 but through social media the sport's gaining in popularity.

02:34 Nara has been spreading her enthusiasm on her Instagram channel since she was a teenager.

02:39 Now hobby horsing associations can be found all over the world,

02:43 along with official rules for competitions like the International Championships in Finland.

02:48 The first one was a really small competition in a parking lot.

02:54 It's growing really fast.

02:57 We've been doing this for 20 years here in Finland.

03:01 Other countries are just starting up, but they have a really good role model of Finland.

03:08 But I think this isn't just a trend that is going away.

03:14 Final preparations for horse and rider, and Nara is fully focused.

03:18 She's in this to win.

03:20 Jump high, don't knock any poles, don't do any circles,

03:30 and don't let go of the rein.

03:35 Last time I was here in 2018, I came here to do a race.

03:41 Last time I was here in 2018, I came second, but that isn't enough for me.

03:47 Time to go for broke.

03:50 Nara competes in the show jumping discipline.

03:53 Along with technique and speed, the jury evaluates poise.

04:08 Nara Armin, CLA, fifth place.

04:11 Unfortunately, she ends up in fifth place.

04:24 But she's not ready to give up her dream of winning first place.

04:28 It has been my goal for quite long, but I will succeed sometime.

04:36 To Nara and the other competitors, hobby horsing is a genuine sport,

04:40 and far more than just make-believe for little kids.

04:44 [music]

04:48 [music]

04:49 [BLANK_AUDIO]

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