Barbora Němcová, 19, shares her story below…
Lying on the couch, I scrolled through horse videos on YouTube.
It was 2021, I was 14, and my town was in COVID lockdown.
I’d been fascinated with horses since childhood and would ride my friend’s pony whenever I got the chance.
Suddenly, a video came up of the Finnish Hobby Horse Championships.
Clutching sticks with horse heads, riders were intensely competing in equestrian-style events.
People actually do this as a sport?
I marvelled.
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I was an athletic kid and loved running, long jump, and hurdles.
My dad and I had built wooden hurdles which I would practice with at home.
I couldn’t help but be impressed by the athleticism of the riders on my screen.
“Can I buy some fabric to make a hobby horse?” I asked Mum.
“No, you’ll get bullied,” she replied.
But after telling her how much I wanted to try it, I eventually won her support.
Following an online tutorial, I made a brown horse, named Chestnut.
Jumping over hurdles and boxes in my backyard, I imagined I was a warrior princess riding through an enchanted forest.
The sport perfectly combined my love of horses and athletics.
Soon, I began jumping higher hurdles and making more horses.
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But not everyone understood my new hobby and some friends stopped talking to me.
For a while, I felt so alone.
I started posting videos online of myself practicing.
Some complimented my horses and my skill but sadly most of the comments were negative.
No guy would ever want to be with someone as useless as you, one person wrote.
You are what is wrong with society.
Other cruel trolls told me to kill myself just for doing an unusual sport.
I learned to ignore it by focusing on competition.
In 2023, at 16, I entered the national hobby horse championship and jumped 134cm, breaking a national record for my age group.
The following year, I beat my own record by 2cm!
The hobby horse community was very encouraging and other riders admired my discipline.
“You’ll go far,” they told me.
It was a great boost after all the negativity online.
I continued to break records and in 2025 I competed in the International Hobby Horse Championship in Slovakia, placing second in my age group.
Ignoring the haters, I continued to post online, amassing many followers.
After each competition young girls would approach me for photos.
“I took up hobby horsing because of you,” they’d say.
It was so rewarding.
Now, I have a great circle of friends who are all hobby horse riders, including my best mate Eliška.
At just 19, I am already coaching others in the sport and have sold over 150 of my handmade horses online.
And I still hold the national record with a 144cm jump.
When I’m mid-air, all that exists is me and my hobby horse, it’s so freeing.
Neigh-sayers tried to discourage me, but I took the reins of my life and have galloped to victory.
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