The bar is almost 1.4 metres high. Hobby horsing contestant Marleen Gresmeier, 14, eyes the track before her, calculating how she and Brumsel can clear the jump.
They are keenly watched by spectators at the large arena in Frankfurt. The audience claps in rhythm as she runs toward the hurdle, holding Brumsel, her toy horse, in one hand.
She and the stick horse jump over the hurdle with ease and the crowd claps.
“I train almost every day,” she says soon afterwards, still panting.
Also competing in the time jumping event, she has set her sights high for this second German Hobby Horsing Championship, taking place in May.
In Hobby Horsing, contestants pursue equestrian disciplines such as dressage and show jumping with one key rule: no live animals – toy horses only.
The horses may be made of wood, wool and fabric, but the sport is still a serious business as riders bring their creations to trot, dance and race along the courses.
The trend began in Finland some 20 years ago when youngsters began crafting handmade hobby horses. They gave them carefully stuffed furry heads and ornate harnesses. Images spread on social media and the world’s first hobby horsing association was founded in 2016.
It gained further publicity through the documentary “Hobbyhorse Revolution”. Her work about girls competing in the sport and their friendships won prizes in Finland then screened in Switzerland and the US.
Tens of thousands of members of all ages
The sport is growing ever more fashionable, says Andreas Karasek, president of the German Hobby Horsing Association. The association now has 10,500 members — mostly girls between the ages of 12 and 14 — with the number having more than doubled in just two years.
Thousands more can be found in other countries, with Finland’s hobby horsing association SKY also claiming that some 10,000 people actively participate, mostly girls aged between 10 and 18.
The sport’s footprint has long since turned global, and at previous instances of the Finnish Hobbyhorse Championships, athletes from more than 20 different countries have made the pilgrimage to compete.
Finland’s championships – billed as the world’s biggest hobbyhorse event – take place in June in the city of Seinäjoki in a sprawling arena that seats 10,000.
Older participants also take part in the tournaments. In the German event, participant Karasek is competing himself at the age of 39, while the oldest contestant is 60 years old. Participants are divided into age groups, with the youngest starting in the under 6 group and the oldest in the under 99s.
Finland and Germany’s championships both invite participants to compete in around 16 classes ranging from show jumping and dressage to Western riding and synchronized jumping.
In June, Prague is meanwhile also set to host the first European Championships, backed by at least six hobby horsing associations across Europe, also with 16 categories including barrel race, group dressage and costume show jumping across various age groups.
Competing in Prague is Jonathan Balogun, a 23-year-old from Bensheim in southern Germany, a member of the newly formed national team and one of the favourites at the German Championships.
He used to ride dressage on a live horse, but his animal didn’t enjoy it, he says. So now he only goes for walks with his live horse and instead, competes in dressage events on a hobby horse, as a kind of dance gymnastics.
‘Body tension and expression’
Balogun says his favourites are the piaffe and the passage, which are trot-like movements. “You have to point your toes during these and judges also evaluate your body tension and expression.”
Most hobby horsers own several hobby horses, which differ depending on the discipline. Mostly, “dressage horses” are heavier than the jumpers.
And when it comes to the championships, the riders carefully dress up their hobby horses, some with pink rhinestones dotted in their manes, or with a fly mask over their ears.
Somewhat pensively, a 13-year-old girl sits on a bench on the sidelines of the German championships and braids her hobby horse’s mane.
Others bustle about at the sales booths through the hall where fans can buy hobby horse accessories, from bridles to feed buckets and rain covers.
The girl’s mother explains that all of her hobby horses have a name and their own personality. Her daughter takes this sport very seriously and she’s glad to see her pursuing this hobby, the woman says.
“She spends less time on her phone and gets much more exercise.”