Nancy sets up first Dutch hobby horse hobby club for 8-year-old daughter

8-year-old Floor rides a horse herself, but at home loves nothing more than a hobby horse. That is why Nancy decided to build her own obstacle course in her garden, which Floor enjoys going over. The course is made of all kinds of scaffolding and crates. Her daughter herself has two hobby horses, which she has bought with her pocket money and selling things. With the holidays approaching, a new hobbyhorse is at the top of her wish list.

Hobby Horse Club

Hobby Horse is the English name for hobby horse riding, which has come over from Finland. In that country, the sport stands for self-confidence, being allowed to be who you are and overcoming obstacles. In the Netherlands, the sport is gaining in popularity. Several competitions are held each year. A competition in April attracted no fewer than 81 participants from the Netherlands, Germany and Belgium

The first world championship was held last month in Geraardsbergen, Belgium. In the sport, both children and adults can run different disciplines with a hobby horse.

“Floor has become a fan of the sport. She also watches all kinds of videos from abroad about hobby horse riding on YouTube and wanted to take lessons,” explains mother Nancy. “So we looked to see if there is a hobby club in the Netherlands that she could join.”

After a long search, it turned out that there was none, so Nancy herself founded the Hobby Horse Club West-Friesland for her daughter. “What’s not there, we’ll make ourselves,” says Nancy. “The club is for boys and girls between the ages of six and twelve. We haven’t really delved into setting up a real association yet, so it’s purely hobby for now. If there are enough registrations, we have to see how we can expand it further. “

Meeting

This week, Nancy decided to share the new initiative in a Facebook group for Wervershovers. And she also shared the message in another group. From there, Nancy received a large number of enthusiastic responses and registrations.

“Stick horse riding is a very animal-friendly sport,” she tells WEEFF/NH Nieuws. “And it is becoming more and more popular. Also from the group for Wervershovers I received many nice reactions from parents who want their children to participate.”

Initially, Nancy wants to get together with the members of the club and hobby horse fans to ride freely, and to chat about this emerging sport in the Netherlands. If there is enough interest, real lessons may be given in the future.

The first meeting of the Hobby Horse Club West-Friesland is planned for Sunday 9 October, in Nancy’s backyard. After one day she has already received ten applications. “We’ll have to wait and see how many more will sign up,” she says. “And of course we hope for nice weather, so that the children can play outside on the course.”