Lizett Mocsányi (22) with her hobby horse, Twisted Cunami at her grandparents home in Bátonyterenye. She graduated in media and communication from the Kodolányi János University, and says that from a very young age she loved to play with horses, even jumping over obstacles on her own, without a horse, imagining that she was the horse. She became aware of the hobby horse phenomenon four or five years ago on the internet, when she saw 17-19 year old girls like her doing the sport in Finland. She immediately felt that she would like to take it up herself, so she looked into the possibility of doing something similar in Hungary, but when she saw that there was nothing like it in Finland, she put it on the back burner. Years later, after graduating from university, Facebook started throwing up groups for her to join. "I saw that it was more for kids at home, but I was like, I'm really interested, let me join, I want to be one of you. - she says.
Participants warm-up and practice the tracks before the race events at the End of the Year Cup hobby horsing competition in Dunaújváros Finland is the cradle of the modern hobby horse, and the sport was born in the second half of the 2010s. There are two main categories of competition, dressage and show jumping. In the first, the competitors have to perform a choreography imitating the movement of the horse, with compulsory elements in sync with the hobby horse, but beyond that the performance is limited only by the imagination. In the second case, the riders have to jump over obstacles of different heights and run through the course in the correct order, with the hobby horse between their legs. The sport takes almost all its inspiration from 'real' equestrian sport, with the difference that instead of a live horse, the competitors use a hobby horse. (The growing popularity of the sport is reflected in the recent formation of the International Hobby Horse Federation (IHHF).)
Sándor Simon's daughter Dorka made her first hobby horse at home in 2019 as a birthday gift for her middle sister. It was such a hit that the youngest immediately wanted one too. The parents supported their daughter, happy that 8-year-old Dorka was making her own horses. First using a hand sewing machine, then a larger one, the parents helped her sew the horses onto wooden sticks. The kids played in the street, and soon more parents and grandparents came, asking for hobby horses. At first, they sewed them at material cost for villagers, but the breakthrough came in 2022 when people started contacting them online. The family gift idea became a business, and in early 2022, the DorkaHorse webshop was launched, run by Sándor. A former sewing machine mechanic, he initially made the horses, but as demand grew, his seamstress sister joined. In two years, they sold ~900 horses, but Sándor can only estimate.
Kincsem, Twisted Cunami, Oreo, Bella Diva, Powdered Sugar, Casper, Horse Bear, Blueberry Brownie, Dallas - just a few examples of the diversity of the field. There are also several hobby horse manufacturers in Hungary, the largest being the aforementioned DorkaHorse webshop. You can also buy horses, but many people make their own horses. It is not uncommon for one participant to have several horses. The naming of horses, their different looks and accessories is an integral part of self-expression in this sport, and within a field of mostly children, it is the subject of many conversations: discussing who has what kind of hobby horse and why.
"You have to know how to ride, you have to show the kind of figures that the horse does. It's important that it's similar to real dressage, in the same way that you can do a transition with a horse, or for example, you have to follow a sequence of legs. The upper body is the rider himself, the legs and the hobby horse is the horse himself. It matters how it is held, with which hand, where the head is, and also that the hobby horse doesn't hang," – says one of the judges taking part in the competition.
From 9am to 6pm, the sports hall was packed with more than 130 children and their parents who came to compete in the last competition of the year. Most of the field was made up of children, the vast majority of them girls, aged between 6 and 14, but there were also some older competitors.
There was also a record attempt at the End of Year Cup, where the competitors had to jump over an increasingly high bar. The Hungarian record holder, after a thrilling battle, was finally Míra Négyes with her hobby horse Apollo, who jumped a 133 cm high barrier. This made her the official Hungarian record holder, as there was a Hungarian Record Association verifier at the event, who measured the barrier before each jump, took photos and made notes. The Hungarian hobby horse scene has an incredible atmosphere, with a real community of children cheering, rooting, shouting and encouraging each other and congratulating each other after a good race.
During the year, 334 riders scored points in the 11-round championship. The champion with 488 points is Gréta Nagy. Gréti plans to make this her last season of hobby horse racing. It's a difficult decision, as she has been going to the races more to see her friends than anything else. She feels she is growing out of the sport and wants to focus on her recently acquired real horse. Even if she does go to the rounds in the future, she will only compete in one start at the most, and she would do it mainly for the much talked about close community of friends.
Part of the trophies, medals and ribbons of the champion, Gréta Nagy.
"At first the neighbours were watching, but I think they're used to it now. Anyway, I don't care if they see me doing it or if they see me doing it. I don't care at all what anyone thinks of me. I've talked to a lot of girls my age and they've said, "Wow, you're doing this, you're so brave? I told them, come on, let's do it together! I would be very happy too, because although I like the younger ones, I would also feel more comfortable if there were more of my age group. It's a big deterrent for them that whenever people see this sport, everyone in the comments tends to be negative." - says Lizett. Lizett thinks that maybe because they look funny during hobby horsing, it's new to people, or that similar processes have happened with the creation of any new sport. She tries to cajole her peers, telling them not to care who comments what, just come and have fun, because everyone is welcoming and supportive at the races.
