It rumbles. Almost like a rumble of thunder. If there is one sound that best describes this horse show, it is the thud of feet hitting the ground. Yes, feet, not hooves. More on that in a moment. Five girls are at the entrance to the dressage arena, the morning sun shines diagonally through the skylight. They all ride in one after the other. Perform figures such as the volte or salute on command. Such a run-through takes a few moments, then everything is over again and the evaluation begins. The focus is on style confidence. And elegance.
What is taking place here this Sunday in the hall of a Munich sports club, the MTV in Isarvorstadt, is a riding tournament – at least almost. Because instead of riding horses, people ride on hobby horses. Children and young people gallop, trot and jump through the hall with the horse and reins firmly in their hands. The language as well as the disciplines – such as time jumping, style jumping and dressage – are taken from equestrian sports, those with live horses.
Hobby horsing is the name for this sport, based on the English term for hobby horse. It emerged in Finland a few years ago and has slowly spread to Germany, first in the north and now also in Munich. And yes, it is a sport. This is important to emphasize to those who do hobby horsing. And those who train it. Like Ria Koch, she hosts the tournament and calls the sport “ballet-like.”
Maybe you actually think of hobby horsing as a dance. After all, it’s about imitating the movements of a horse as best as possible with your own body. The gallop, for example, or the trot. The legs have to be bent with every movement; it’s all about stylistic confidence and jumping power, concentration and coordination. A bonus: You can make your horse hobby as creative as you want.
Ria Koch is organizing a large hobby horsing tournament. As “Fablehorse” she sells accessories.
(Photo: Stephan Rumpf)
A small ecosystem has emerged around the sport: Ria Koch, for example, runs “Fablehorse”, a brand for everything related to the hobby horse. In her attic studio in downtown Munich – Koch is a tailor – there is now a room that she calls her “little stud”. Shadow, Smokey Eyes, Stella and many other horses are on display here – all handmade. They have nostrils, an individual fur pattern, and manes. “Playful, but realistic,” says Koch. “Everyone knows these aren’t real horses.” They cost 200 euros.
There are a number of accessories for sports. Ria Koch sells it under her brand “Fablehorse”.
(Photo: Stephan Rumpf)
Each of the horses has a name.
(Photo: Stephan Rumpf)
There are also accessories. “Stables” for example, i.e. small wooden shelves and devices in which you can park your horse. But also reins, pins, notebooks and clothing – everything with the “Fablehorse” logo. “I want to promote sport here,” says Koch. And encourage the athletes – they are almost exclusively girls and young women.
Beatrix Jäger, 19 years old, has been part of Hobby Horsing since 2018. She has always been an active person, she says, and sport has fascinated her. She is currently training to become a horse manager at the Matthof, a stud farm in the Munich district. Last year she let children and young people try out the sport as part of a small tournament. Hobby horsing and live horses – they are not mutually exclusive, even if some people think so. Jäger says: “Most people find it a bit strange why you would imitate a horse when you can actually ride a horse. I think that’s a big difference.” It’s a sport in itself, says Jäger, and one that she enjoys.
“When I walk through the English Garden with my hobby horse, I get skeptical looks,” says the 19-year-old. But she knows how to deal with it and she also gets a lot of positive feedback. And when she’s out with her friends of the same age, it’s even less of an issue. She says: “It might even increase your self-confidence, because this is an extraordinary sport.”
Ria Koch also knows that some people who play the sport “still feel a little ashamed because they were laughed at.” Fear of contact is definitely a given when it comes to hobby horsing. At the Pferde International, a horse fair in Riem, where Koch was present with “Fablehorse”, she observed how children wanted to look at their hobby horses. But in each case the parents intervened: “We ride real horses.” The sport is still spreading, especially online.
One cannot underestimate the role of the Internet in the world of hobby horsing. Many people first come across the sport because they see a video of it online and think: “Hey, I want to do that too.” This was the case with Ria Koch’s daughter, who came across such a video during the Corona lockdown. And that was the case with Beatrix Jäger, who was shown a hobby horsing video by a friend in 2018.
And then there is another, perhaps even more important factor: the number of people who ride hobby horses in their free time is growing rapidly. But it is still quite small, which makes finding like-minded people difficult. But you can do it online. You network, friendships are formed. Jäger, who calls herself hobby_horsing_muenchen on Instagram, keeps in touch with other hobby riders in the region. She says: “It’s super cool to see that others are doing it too. You can support each other and ask for tips.”
Ria Koch says that friendships have been formed through the hobby of horsing. A tournament like this is “almost a family situation”. More than 80 participants are registered for their event in Munich, including some from Franconia and Austria. 80 participants, that’s a lot for hobby horsing. A lot, actually.