Go Unlimited with Magzter GOLD
Get unlimited access to 10,000+ magazines, newspapers and Premium stories for just
Try GOLD - Free
Off we trot: craze for hobby horses comes to Britain
The Guardian
|April 08, 2024
It was a story that many people thought was a quirky April fool when it appeared on the website of Horse & Hound magazine.
But it is no joke that the British Show Pony Society (BSPS) is to "embrace the hobby-horse craze" by introducing a competition with £300 prizes for the young winners.
The sport, which is popular in Finland but spreading across the world, involves riding a toy horse made from a wooden stick with one end decorated to look like a pony's head.
Riders usually young girls compete by trotting, galloping and cantering around a ring, sometimes leaping over jumps.
At the BSPS championships children will each perform a short freestyle show with 50 marks for coordination, balance, energy and body control and a further 50 will be awarded for "overall performance of the show with energy and appeal".
This story is from the April 08, 2024 edition of The Guardian.
Subscribe to Magzter GOLD to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 10,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
MORE STORIES FROM The Guardian
The Guardian
Gabbard resigns as intelligence director after rift with Trump
Tulsi Gabbard is leaving her post as US director of national intelligence after a tumultuous stint in which she was largely sidelined as Donald Trump launched attacks on Venezuela and Iran.
2 mins
May 23, 2026
The Guardian
UK seeking single market for goods - but EU says no
Ministers have pitched to create a single market for goods with the EU as the cornerstone of an ambitious attempt to reintegrate British trade into Europe, the Guardian can reveal.
3 mins
May 23, 2026
The Guardian
Immunotherapy How does it work and what can it treat?
Clinical trials of immunotherapies have rocketed in the past decade as researchers have turned their understanding of the body’s defences into powerful new treatments.
3 mins
May 23, 2026
The Guardian
Mortgages ‘Trackers are back’, but is one the right choice for you?
The uncertain outlook for interest rates is making tracker deals popular again. Rupert Jones looks at the pros and cons of the loans
5 mins
May 23, 2026
The Guardian
Reeves allies launch bid to help her keep her job if PM goes
Rachel Reeves has launched a rearguard action to save her job as chancellor, telling friends she would like to stay in the post even under a new prime minister.
3 mins
May 23, 2026
The Guardian
‘He’s a natural’ Allies give thumbs up to punchy social media style
Andy Burnham’s fingers must be aching. Between pitching to become the MP for Makerfield, continuing in his day job as the mayor of Greater Manchester and going for his regular runs, Keir Starmer’s would-be challenger has found enough time to reply to dozens of posts on social media.
3 mins
May 23, 2026
The Guardian
Hawking's father worried his boy 'does not study much'
Stephen Hawking was one of the most celebrated minds of our time, carrying out groundbreaking work in cosmology and theoretical physics and writing the global bestseller A Brief History of Time.
1 mins
May 23, 2026
The Guardian
Holt’s satirical chancellor amps it up to No 11
When Rachel Reeves became chancellor in 2024, she said it felt like “smashing one of the last glass ceilings in politics”.
1 mins
May 23, 2026
The Guardian
Marriage of children ‘legitimised’ by Taliban with new law
Child marriage appears to have been legally recognised for the first time by the Taliban in Afghanistan, as activists say “shameful” new laws make it almost impossible for girls and young women to seek divorce against their husbands’ will.
1 mins
May 23, 2026
The Guardian
Faster, higher, dirtier Athletes ready to risk all for big payday at the Enhanced Games
On the eve of the most controversial sporting event of the 21st century so far, one swimmer is explaining how it felt to take banned drugs for the first time.
3 mins
May 23, 2026
Listen
Translate
Change font size