Dressage or show jumping on a hobby horse? What sounds like an activity for imaginative little girls is also an international competitive sport, known as hobby horsing. Some people may laugh at the sport, but it makes Nara Arlin from Finland feel confident. We follow her as she competes in the Finnish Hobbyhorse Championships.
Would you like to ride a hobby horse?
CHAPTERS
00:00 Introducing hobby horser Nara Arlin
00:43 What is hobby horsing?
01:23 How Nara came to hobby horsing
02:22 The road to recognition
03:18 Nara competes in the show-jumping discipline
04:20 And the winner is…
#HobbyHorse #Hobbyhorsing #Horse
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CREDITS
Report: Christian Weibezahn
Additional Research: Josephine Günther
Camera: Ruben Parthoens, Oskari Kivimäki
Edit: Sebastian Ziegler, Antje Lass
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I used to get yelled at by my parents for doing this in the living room … 30 years later it’s a legit sport
Oh my god I remember me and a friend back in middle school during our agriculture class we would basically do hobbyhorsing without the horse 😂
No. No it’s not a sport it’s more of a hobby it isn’t a classified sport properly like horse ridjng
@just.me._h0rsegal Its is a sport, and the sport belongs to the indigenous samískur people and has been for a long time, so basically, it is a classified sport. you saying that it is not a sport is just make-believe, because it belongs to a group, that you are not part of.
Still exists maybe, but legit sport? In the same way that Batman is a real crime fighting person.
They look like they should be sitting in the road protesting something so I guess it keeps them off the streets.
This is absolutely despicable! Undercover reporters have documented just how horrible the horses are treated. Some are deprived of food for weeks.
😮No we must get the R. S. P. C. Involved
No wonder they’re so skinny!
The entire lives in some cases!!
Lol 😂 good comment 😂
I can't stop laughing ... omg
“I remember being mocked”. The memory must be super fresh 😂😂😂
"just 5 seconds ago"
It‘s sad how people believe they could attack someone with thies jokes…just go and find some better hobbys than spreading „hate“ to feel more confident…
@@jetscho4905 Hate is the buzz word of the day and for me, is the quickest identifier of who I find irrelevant. If you disagree with someone, you hate. If you make a joke, you hate. Whenever I hear someone say that another person "hates" for not supporting/agreeing/placating... they are dev/null to me. In this instance, no it isn't sad, it's funny. Humor, even mocking, is supposed to be funny. Take it as a joke, laugh, and move on!
@@jetscho4905 For some one with no clue what hobby horsing is she genuinely looks like she a recent escapee from an insane asylum. Which to be fair must have been easy ... since she has a horse
Dear user, you don't have to like it either, nor do you have to do the hobby. But a minimum of respect when commenting is desirable. Thank you.
Me and my friends were way ahead of our time back in the early 70's. We jumped horse fences in a ring, and judged each other in different "classes," as we galloped, cantered, halted, backed and trotted, etc., in the dirt. And no Lycra and sneakers, but in jeans and work boots. Grass roots for sure.
Same here. Major Throwback to Grade 4 😅
As long as they feed their mounts high quality artificial turf, I see no harm.
As long as everyone is happy, i dont see anything wrong in doing this sport😊
Every sane person is not happy with this 🐂💩
Its not a sport. Its a fetish.
Ppl who hate on this sport are just those who are used to football and the popular sports. Hobby horsing is a fun and very active sport. I don’t think that those haters could even jump a full round of 60-70cm jumps, no faults and a stick in between their legs. Maybe some could. But I’m just saying that if someone is hobby horsing, they’re not weird or ill. I do hobby horsing and every time I’m so out of breath and tired. It’s a very active sport. And most of these ppl are very fit and athletic. It’s not an easy sport.
Please dont tell me your being serious
@@user-cn4ek3ee1h take it as you wish. I am fr
@@user-cn4ek3ee1hthey are very serious, and I do it and it’s hard
100% true, ty!!
60cm jumps? 😅 A WHOLE 2 feet!! Thats knee height 😅 Could do it with you piggy backing me 😂
if you want to prance and gallop and jump hurdles that's actually really cool... it's just the stick horse that makes it ridiculous
100%. They are actually good at hurdles. But add the horse and it’s embarrassing
Exactly ! The horse sticks makes this very athletic sport funny.
@@user-bt6kc8fy2m lots of things that are ridiculous are fun, in fact that's what makes them fun a lot of times. and I never said there was anything wrong with being ridiculous.
The horse makes it harder.
Bo nie kochacie koni dlatego tak mówicie
The sport is inspired by the scene The Tale of Sir Robin from the movie Monty Python and the Holy Grail :D
At least he had coconut shells for sound effects
They all need coconut shell equipped, drugged out of their mind squires to follow them during every practice and competition. The squires can be on any drug he or she wants just to add to the hilarity of it all.
What makes it funny is the stuffed horse head with a stick ; aside from that, they’re jumping super high and doing a lot of different leg moves, which definitely makes it a real sport.
Fun fact!: The horse sticks are there to make it harder!
yes 100%
@@KHT_Mossy_Pawzactual fact: the horse stick is there to make the person feel like they are a horse and/or are riding a horse. Be honest with it at least.
@@KHT_Mossy_Pawzthe fact it makes jumping harder is just a by product of having an object between your limbs. It's not the reason.
@@dapperdank3701 that to but also because it makes it harder
So if the horse breaks a leg, is it put down?
😂
No x
I sort of want to freak my neighbors out and try this in the backyard but I'd probably break both my ankles 😂
Well. Have you kids? If not, ask your niece, nephew or a friend's child to come with you. Have two horses and play. Everybody just looks how nice you are because you have great time and fun with your niece/nephew . 😆 (No need to tell that it is she/he who is babysitting you.) If you have no horses, they are easy to make. Google. Two big socks, two sticks and some imagenation and craftwork.
Hilarious😭😂😀😅
Would someone take you to the hospital or have you put down?
@@jasonrhodes9726 From which country you write from? In which country rider's are put down if they fall?
It is a joke. In the past horses with severely injured legs were put out of their miser because there was nothing that could be done to help them. In this the contestant is both horse and rider.@@Kahdeksanpenninen123
I love this! Far more productive than doing drugs and hanging out on the corner. I wish other people would embrace a silly hobby, life shouldn't be so serious.
I would rather do drugs
its not all bad I guess, at least if you do this you will be athletic. Most people can't even jump higher than 10 inches
This is going to blow your mind, but you don’t have to decide between being a junkie loser and a fat female autist.
@@GenocideLv well, jumping high on a regular basis will do no good to your spine and knees. Believe me.
I suppose doing drugs and prancing around with a stick is more productive than doing drugs and hanging on a street corner. Agreed 👍 🤝
When I was 9 I used to ride my hobby horse all over our farm, and even joined in with the local hunt on hound exercise (I could keep up with the horses when they were walking). I did grow out of it, but loved doing show jumping and cross country. Moved onto a real pony when I was 11. These people look very athletic and creative. I would join in at an event, but not brave enough to try in public (I am nearly 53)
It's so good to hear someone talks about it confidently :) I'm ashamed to do something like this because I'm almost no longer a teen. I tried with just a plain stick in forest. I cantered few strides. I looked back and there were my neighbours... haha so embarassing🤦♀️🤦♀️
We have "eukon kanto" too.. You carry your wife through an obstacle course and win her weight of beer, Oh, and Air guitar world championships.. 😂❤🇫🇮
Now those 2 sports, I can get behind!! 🎉🎉❤
@@dapperdank3701 😄😄
Strange times. Every day I see a Monty Python’s joke become real…
What each rider needs is a coach that bangs 2 halves of a coconut together to make horse riding sounds. Not sure how they'd get coconuts in Finland though....
Surely gripped by the husk
They could have swallows carrying the coconuts to Finland, couldn't they?
I can say this is a fantastic way to keep in shape, muscles & body control & have fun. From what I have seen it is alot harder than it appears.❤❤❤❤❤😊
100 people doing a weird thing, doesn’t make that weirdness disappear
I don't mind weird things as long as it's harmless. Some other strange sports made into olympics, while 200+year old horse related sports were shortened and many left out that i was sorry for.
@MolnarG007 Yeah! It’s so much fun and helps keep us fit ^_^
How is it more weird than piling up on top of a leather melon trying to grab it and then slamming into other dudes at full sprint to see who can carry it the farthest?
@BDog317 Yeah! It’s good to be open to new ideas!
@@BDog317you'll have to specify further; what could possibly make this "the most human thing"? If day things humans naturally do would be the definition of such a statement, and this certainly don't seem to come naturally lol. Although in general, "play " is a human trait, but even then, this is no more "human" than kicking a ball around.
Not hurting anyone, getting exercise and socializing. This seems healthier than sitting on a bar stool, drinking and watching tv.
Frr!
Agreed! I am happy for these people!
If u not count this to be mental illness, then yes, its not hurting anyone.
And yet so many brainless wanna be adults mock this.
I can’t stop watching! It’s like my mouth drops in disbelief!!
Aww, they’re so supportive of each other. Good on them
It's like a giant group therapy meeting.
Everytime I try to defend horse girls for being called crazy something like this shows up.
Shes not a horse girl - shes plays with a hobby horse that are designed for kids !! 😅
No horses were harmed in the making of this film 😂
The only thing I have to criticize is that, as far as I understand, there's no dress code in competitions. And it would be nice to see all the riders "matching"....like in a real horseriding competition. Could be like color dressing code, and each rider cna pick its style. Just a consideration....it would make things looks more "official"....but I like this sport, it seems like bringing joy to those who play it, and this is exactly the ultimate goal of a sport! bringing Joy!
Yeah! As a hobby horser myself, it would be nice to have some sort of dress code, however, hobby horsing is extremely physical and so wearing anything other than a sports shirt and leggings on a hot training day is tough, so I guess we match in that sense 😆
Yuck. The worst thing about regular horseback riding (any sort really) is the ridiculous dress code. It just adds an unnecessary financial burden to the sport, and offers one more means to exclude ppl who don't agree it can't afford.
Same with golf.@@theoriginalmonstermaker
@Anothertheriacan it not be a sweat wicking, 4way stretch material dress code.. like every other physical sport? n-zx8pf
Do you think they should be dressed like riders or like horses?
People on Tiktok are huge anti-hobbyhorse rn. Idk why it’s like y’all don’t care when it comes to people doing quads but do when it’s a hobbyhorser? Honestly, hobbyhorsing may not be a hard sport but if you can get exercise from it it’s a sport.
Lol .. is just looks rediculous
There are no people on TikTok, there are only drones and braindead loons.
If this sport had come first, people would say anyone riding a real horse was just being lazy.
What, just like when the motor bike came out and all the cyclists said they are lazy 😂
It's cosplay basically. I'm all for it. I'm still surprised this is a thing and am pleasantly amused by it, but to each their own 😅
No one can deny these people are fit AF. I was def a horse girl and really enjoyed cantering around... never had a hobby horse, but I understand FULLY that riding an actual horse is not possible for so many people. Can we respect their confidence in doing something they enjoy?
Everytime I watch videos of people doing this I can't stop laughing really hard it's just so funny to watch
These people are just completely crazy. It's sad.
This makes me so happy 😂
you're sad @@chanjackie2299
@@crystalduque7559😆😆😆
@chanjackie2299 Elaborate? Why?
This is essentially a jumping competition 😊
I mean, whatever floats someone's boat, right? As long as ppl r happy and not hurting anyone, who cares?
They hurt human dignity and sometimes that’s worse
@@TheKnoxviciousshut up.
@@Clover_KHT No
its not as easy as it looks..its not easy to jump 100cm without training,ive been asking my dad for 2 years for a hobby horse and he finally got me one on christmas 2023.I love being my self so others do,do what you all love guys no matter what!
My 10yr daughter believes she’s a Therian cat, whatever that is?
I'm so sorry
Sorry about that 😢
That's completely different! Being a therian is more of an internal identity that brings you closer to nature and animals. I'm a therian as well, if you have any questions.
I've been a therian for 8 years, if you have any questions hmu🥰
@@PoppyHapalopus well I've been a therian for 28 years so if you have any questions lmk
my 6 year old daughter asked me to get her one of these some months ago, and i remember thinking what a silly toy. and now i see this.
With all the nonsense about (American) football: violent fights, wearing it’ll the gear, fantasy football, merchandise, etc. Super Bowl day has the highest reported domestic violence assaults. We should stop normalizing the fantasy of that and start normalizing whatever this is. These people seem really happy and in great shape.
Hobby horsing is fun I am 10 I do it
It has been my dream for a goot 5 years now tp travel to finnland to compete there with my hobby horse trigger in the dressage and small show jumpins courses
I do hobby horsing and I’m going to the champs soon❤
As a little girl I never got to have me horse dream. I say good for them. Who cares what other people do for fun if it doesn’t hurt anyone else. This is actually pretty cool!
The shortness of the sticks seemed like they’d be very uncomfortable in one’s soft regions, but other than that, it looks like good, silly fun! Some folks in the comments here sure are salty about strangers enjoying themselves with an unusual hobby. How sad to take oneself so seriously…
I would think that the people who think you can't make fun of people riding imaginary horses are the ones taking themselves too seriously.
lol love it@@seanyoung9014
I am 86. I have never seen anything as comical and inane in my lifetime. I remember when I was 5 years old that my Mother bought me a stick horse. I took it out and pretended I was riding a real horse. My friends thought I was a loon and laughed me back into the house. Needless to say my stick horse riding was over and done with. What in the world is going on? Are these people simply trying to evade reality? The next time I need to LOL I will have to google this just for the silliness.
They're just having fun while being athletic and creative. Nothing more to it :)
See, the difference between you and those people is they probably get laughed at too, but they don't change who they are because of it and just go on doing what they like and enjoying their lives without constraining themselves because of other peoples judgement, and for that I have much more respect towards them than people like you no matter how silly they look lol
You are absolutely right!!!its ok for kids,like same kind of play,but not for adult people.its looks like kind of madness,but i dont mind about this.everybody can do all that they want,play in hobbyhourse,stay on their hear,do creative and not understanding for many people things...i can not stop 😂😂😂 when i see such video...but its not too bad,im l 😂 not cry)so its ok😊
@@blakettolol they should tho, mocking people keeps them in line. This is why the world has gone to shiz
Yes. My children play like this. And then they will mature to real hobbies. It would appear many of these young people are emotionally stunted.
In those moments of life when you are in despair and thinking that you are wasting your life - just remember that there are people that do hobby-horsing 😜
These teenagers will have the right to vote in parliamentary elections in a few years...
I had a wooden horse like this when I was little but I never knew it was an actual sport. I just walked around with it lol
Oh it’s very real! And entertaining!
@@Firefusioncosplaysyh and its very good for training your legs, timing and speed. Also flexes your creativity far way more.
The show jumping is very athletic
I wonder if I could enter the competition with a dog’s head on a stick 🤔 or an elephant’s, or a chicken’s… (like the piglet entering a sheep herding competition in the movie “Babe”). As long as I’ve got a stick between my legs and hold some sort of reigns, I’m okay, right?
I would ride a T Rex!!! Or maybe a snail!!! World most acrobatic snail would be huge!!
If you had a dog heads, it would be called hobbydogging. The event might attract people who have got the wrong idea
@@ebikescrapper3925come on!!! ❤❤ I wanna hobbydog all day and all night
As a hobby-horse user myself, I can agree that it is kind of strange. Just remember that it's a hobby for people that don't have a real horse so they use a fake one, as long as you only treat it as a hobby and not a very serious thing, you can gallop through imaginary fields with no judgement!
I love hobbyhorsing a lot, it truly brings a lot of joy and laughter when I watch any videos of it.
So why dont you get a real horse ? Instead of being crazy?
The weekends are made for the DW😊
What's DW?
What's DW?
Broom riding should also be made a sport.
Tabletop Wargamers: "Excuse me!?"
Me and my best friend are obsessed with horses and went to a horse show. (A horse show with actual horses) And there were these jumps that humans could go over. So me and my best friend decided to try it as a joke. And it was fun, even if there were no hobby horses included. We decided that hobby horsing surprisingly sounds so much fun and I'm excited to get started one day. When I was smaller I had a lot of hobby horses but I gave them away and I regret it! I could be setting up jumps in my yard now and jumping over them with my hobby horse. Luckily my other friend collects hobby horses and will soon give me and my best friend one, cannot wait :)
Wow, this sounds great and good luck with it!
Good fun and encourages fitness
It's definitely pretty bizarre to me, but at least they are being active.
As someone who does hobby horsing it is a sport and actually very hard try jumping over 3ft with a stick between your legs ur ankles your calves hurt so bad for us to get hate on something we try hard for?! Its just like hurdles in track but we just have a stick horse because some people can’t afford a real horse so please be nice it’s not like we’re going around neighing at people or barking at them😅
I would have been the champion of this sport back when i was 12 and my folks were too broke to not only get one for me, but to get me anywhere around one. Hobby horse definitely is better than stealing a horse because you know, it needed to be "rescued". But i digress.
:D
Fascinating.
It's incredible leg strength disapline
Can't believe anyone is actually taking this lunacy serious.
What do you do for fun?
...ha...up there with finger skateboarding...no harm, no foul...love...
If I had to have a sport, I would have one in which Star Trek and Star Wars fans fly their model spacecraft around in an arena and make “pew pew” sounds. Oh, I’ll add some obstacles too so it’s a “real” sport.
I need to know why they aren’t required to wear proper riding attire
Being physically active is important, even if the activity doesn't look normal.
Being normal is more important i think...
🐴
my kids liked the vibrating Nimbus 2000! They loved it!
The last time I was this excited about the Europe/the World petroleum where I was born was round 75 cents a gallon! ☺️🥂
Fantastic!
These girls are basically hurdle jumpers in track . Not using their arms makes it harder . Do they have track trainers to get the proper form ? This is crazy hard what they are doing .
Tysm!!!!! ❤❤
Let people have fun. If this is what they like to do. Good for them
By normalizing lunatic behaviour we don't help anyone from all the generations to come. Not even those "hobby horse riders".
You must be one of those crazy hobby horse people.
@@Bob-bm6fn I am terrified of horses
What if my thing is goofing on people that are into strange sh!t? It is what I like to do. Good for me, right?
@@GinjaNinja77 Is reading difficult? I said they don't bother anyone. That's the big difference. I think it's weird. Yes. But I think that about so many things
It clearly brings joy and I personally find some people's passion for golf far more mystifying 😊
You find hitting a ball into a hole more mystifying that placing a stick at your crotch and running around? I do not play golf, don't even like it but it makes more sense than this psychologically ill game.
They are clearly mentally ill... It is sad that hese people have too much freetime and too much money, and they are just going crazy. This looks like a hospital for the mentally disordered.
You don’t understand the fun of hitting a ball into a hole?!
@victorloops3165 Just because something’s out of the box, it doesn’t make it an illness.
@@Firefusioncosplays This behavior mimics childlike behavior in adults. I think it's beyond out of the box. It's unchecked behavior in my book. This causes mental illness.
It isnt the weirdest Sport. There are quadrobics. It is weirder but also cool. Dont bully people because of their hobbys
Quads are really cool and a big and ecellence source of practise
I mean it’s quite a weird hobby, but I they seem to have so much fun! Let people do what makes them happy. At our university you can play quidditch, with a broom between your legs ☺️
Thank you for your comment. Indeed it's a good way to let people doing their hobbies that make them happy.
I am giving up air drums and doing this sport!
My sister brought me here. Good for them !!!!!
horses are standing on the sidelines thinking what is wrong with these humans that they think they are us, oh that is right they can not even figure out what males and females are.
I wanna see a hobby horse rodeo with stick cows and cowboys on pogo sticks. “It’s Real, serious sport” . La la land.
"This isnt just a trend that's going away" Is that a threat?
Someone on Imgur linked to a video of the competition a few weeks ago and we were unsure whether it was a spoof or a group of odd balls. After a few minutes watching it and seeing how precise, graceful and athletic the events were many of us, myself included, were sold on the Hobby Horse sport. I'm fascinated with it now. Go girls!
OH MY- thanks so much for the support.
tysm!
At least they have fun and there is no animal abuse. 👍🏻
Dalibyście radę tyle skoczyć? Radzę poczytać o tym zanim zaczniecie hejtowac. Rekord to 141 cm! ;)
I have tears from laughing so fkn hard!!!!! Hahahaha!!!!! 🤣🤣👏👏👏👏🏆🧹
Is there a men's division?
More like ballet jumping
i love everything about this! yes nara!
I started my own hobby horsing riding academy.
it's healthy, no animals are getting hurt, I'm all for it
I hope Nara doesn’t cut anymore. ❤
I disagree that it is a legitimate sport. For those of us in the Equestrian Industry, this could affect our business and the actual healing & therapeutic value of living horses and serious equestrians
It's cute, good exercise and I like it when people do something different. Beats someone watching football all the time. The haters comments are far weirder to me.
THANK YOU
I bet I can come up with something new Why did the hobby horse rider wear a helmet? Because they heard it's better to be safe than "sore-se!" What did the hobby horse rider say to the skeptical spectator? "Don't knock it till you've trotted!"
Sad news. A hobby horse racing kid broke an ankle last week and had to be put down in front of the audience.
Nara is having joy as does the stick, 🙏 great sport!
some people walking with their RC trough trail parks. Some riding pocket bikes as an adult! I see nothing wrong here and their Body shape shows it too that this is not wrong!!!🥰 go hobby horse riders go for it🎉🎊🎉🎊
I found my people!!! Love this! ❤️
Join the hobby horse revolution!!
@Anothertherian-zx8pf I'm going to! Plans for an adult hobby horse club are in the works for sure and I'm already prancing around practising my advanced dressage moves! 🐴
It’s harmless, and it makes some people happy, so - whatever floats your boat.
I love dumb people trying to demean this girl for what she loves. It is super awesome hobby, just look how fit she is.
It's so interesting
Please tell me this is a Monty Python sketch
Think I’ll start a business making high performance hop up parts for the Horse Head Stick. Then go into specific apparel and footwear for this world class sport. Hobby Horse on you people that Hobby Horse 🐴
So… has anyone noticed the similarities between these “competitors?”