Ahh, the elegance of equestrian sports. Rigorous training to make sure that every step is calculated, every line perfect, every stance practiced. Every…wait, is that a hobby horse?! Yup, that’s right. Welcome to the Finnish Hobby Horse Competition of 2023. Before you start thinking it’s niche, The Finnish Hobby Horse Association, or Suomen Keppihevosharrastajat Ry, was founded in 2006. It’s specifically for Hobby Horse enthusiasts. But it’s a lot more than just the competitions.
Check out some highlights from 2022’s event:
While the competitions are obviously the most fun to watch, The Finnish Hobby Horse Association relates to all things Hobby Horse. From performers to makers to sellers. You can even take classes on how to properly ride a Hobby. The Finnish Hobby Horse Championships cover almost all sports that would involve a real horse. Dressage, show jumping, western riding, and even exhibition shows. It’s both hilarious and fascinating to watch. There’s certainly a humor to watching a grown woman prance around a stadium while riding a horse head on a stick. But like any performance or physical hobby, there’s skill to it.
For instance, the show jumping is crazy. The qualifiers aren’t too tricky, but jumping a fence roughly four to five feet high?? While keeping the Hobby Horse positioned squarely under you? That takes some significant strength and prowess. The dressage, while it might look silly, is scored by how well you move to the music chosen, following the appropriate steps, and probably how pretty you make it.
Just imagine it as a sort of dance competition and it makes a bit more sense. Needless to say, we’re very fascinated and are going to make sure we catch next year’s competitions.
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