<div><p>A new sport has swept across Scandinavia and has young girls jumping at the chance to ride. </p><p>This sport, which includes costume and showjumping has attracted more than 10,000 athletes and followers in Finland alone. </p><p>Hobbyhorse riders straddle a stuffed toy horse on a wooden stick complete with glued-on eyes and mane and compete in front of judges. </p><div><figure><a href="http://www.ozy.com/fast-forward/a-horse-is-a-horse-except-sometimes-its-a-hobbyhorse/75088" target="_blank"><amp-img src="https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/04/102782_gettyimages200139970001.jpg" srcset="https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/04/102782_gettyimages200139970001_GH_content_550px.jpg 550w, https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/04/102782_gettyimages200139970001_GH_content_650px.jpg 650w, https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/04/102782_gettyimages200139970001_GH_content_750px.jpg 750w, https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/04/102782_gettyimages200139970001_GH_content_850px.jpg 850w, https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/04/102782_gettyimages200139970001_GH_content_950px.jpg 950w, https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/04/102782_gettyimages200139970001_GH_content_1050px.jpg 1050w, https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/04/102782_gettyimages200139970001_GH_content_1150px.jpg 1150w, https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/04/102782_gettyimages200139970001_GH_content_1250px.jpg 1250w, https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/04/102782_gettyimages200139970001_GH_content_1350px.jpg 1350w, https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/04/102782_gettyimages200139970001_GH_content_1450px.jpg 1450w, https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/04/102782_gettyimages200139970001_GH_content_1550px.jpg 1550w, https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/04/102782_gettyimages200139970001_GH_content_1630px.jpg 1630w" sizes="89vw" title="" alt="" height="9" width="16" layout="responsive"></amp-img></a><figcaption class="op-vertical-center"><cite><a href="http://www.ozy.com/fast-forward/a-horse-is-a-horse-except-sometimes-its-a-hobbyhorse/75088" target="_blank">Ozy</a></cite></figcaption></figure></div><p>Next month the nation's finest riders will ride on to compete in the annual Hobbyhorse Championships near Helsinki, with other regional events throughout the year. </p><div><amp-facebook data-href="https://www.facebook.com/1NEWSNZ/videos/10154302311091218/?hc_ref=NEWSFEED" layout="responsive" height="600" width="640"></amp-facebook></div><p><!-- [invalid-shortcode] --></p><p>While this may seem silly to some, but to these girls hobbyhorsing is everything. Look at photos of girls jumping over improbably high hurdles, horses in hand with yarn manes flying, you might almost forget that this was a toy you would play with as a kid.</p><div><amp-instagram height="1" width="1" layout="responsive" data-captioned="" data-shortcode="BKqadOLgSmN"></amp-instagram></div><div><amp-instagram height="1" width="1" layout="responsive" data-captioned="" data-shortcode="BKTGqtDA2nd"></amp-instagram></div><p><!-- [invalid-shortcode] --></p><p>The Hobbyhorse revolution is now the subject of a documentary. After coming across this galloping, jumping group of teens, Oscar-nominated filmmaker Selma Vihunen fell in love with the subculture. </p><div><div><amp-iframe sandbox="allow-scripts allow-same-origin" layout="responsive" frameborder="0" height="9" width="16" src="https://gifs.com/player/hobbyhorse-revolution-official-trailer-lOWg5J"></amp-iframe></div></div><p></p><p>"They can practice for hours and hours every day," Vilhunen says. "Some of them get really good at jumping; their capacity is enormous. The hobbyists themselves say, "˜You see these kids who can jump as high as the sky.' " <a href="http://www.ozy.com/fast-forward/a-horse-is-a-horse-except-sometimes-its-a-hobbyhorse/75088">said Vilhunen.</a></p><div><div><amp-iframe sandbox="allow-scripts allow-same-origin" layout="responsive" frameborder="0" height="9" width="16" src="https://gifs.com/player/hobbyhorse-revolution-official-trailer-k5WL8r"></amp-iframe></div></div><p><!-- [invalid-shortcode] --></p><div><div><amp-iframe sandbox="allow-scripts allow-same-origin" layout="responsive" frameborder="0" height="9" width="16" src="https://gifs.com/player/hobbyhorse-revolution-official-trailer-xGWxnz"></amp-iframe></div></div><p></p><p>See the full trailer for the film that is in Finnish cinemas from March 31, 2017. </p><div><div><div><amp-youtube height="9" width="16" layout="responsive" data-videoid="imW7EGQcJck"></amp-youtube></div></div></div><p><!-- [invalid-shortcode] --></p><p>"Watching their flash mobs, competition and fierce defense of one another, it's impossible not to root for them to mount wooden stick horses and ride off happily into the sunset," she said. </p><div><div><div><amp-youtube height="9" width="16" layout="responsive" data-videoid="Aq7VQzEoeN0"></amp-youtube></div></div></div><p></p><p>What do you think of this new sport? Would you want to try it? </p></div>