Hobby Horsing USA’s

Definitions

Competition Event – the name of the competition or race

Course – the specific area where the race will take place, the positions of all lanes and

      where all start/finish and turn around lines are designated.

Heat – heats are races between 2 to 4 or more riders who perform the locomotor skill,

move through the course, and cross the finish line to determine 1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd and 4^th place winners. Heats are designed to narrow down the number of competitors until the final winners are named.

Competition – or should this be the Race Event?

Race – all the heats required to determine 1,2 and 3 place winners.

Lane – is the designated pathway the riders will take and must stay within during their race.

Race Positions

1^st place – crosses finish line 1st

2^nd place – crosses finish line 2nd

3^rd place – crosses finish line

4^th place – crosses finish line

Participants – riders who participate in the Competition Event

Student referees – These are students who are set up to monitor the races and determine

if any disqualifications have been made.  These would be knocking down 2 or more cones or hurdles, not performing the correct locomotor skill, missing cones or hurdles.

Pole Bending – for hobby horse rider competitions cones (cones with flags)

    will be used.

HOBBY HORSING USA’S SAFETY INFORMATION

1. 1. Make sure that all participants maintain proper spacing throughout each activity. We suggest 3 to 4 feet.
   2. Holding a hobby horse while moving may be a new activity for many participants. It is important to maintain proper form throughout each activity. See our proper hobby horsing form information.
   3. NO RUNNING!!
   4. All Hobby Horse movements are to be done with control. Controlled movements help minimize chances for injury and will provide for a better workout. There will be times when we gallop, skip, leap, slide, march and more at a slightly faster pace, but we will never sacrifice SPACING and FORM for SPEED.
   5. We recommend that participants wear proper shoes for forward, lateral and diagonal movements.
   6. If your participants are in shorts or have other issues where the Hobby Horse stick might be continuously rubbing against their legs, here are some ways to minimize or eliminate friction and chafing.
      1. Position the Hobby Horse so the stick is lower
      2. Wear sweatpants
      3. Hold the horse in front of your body (so that it is not between your legs,) very close to your waist, perpendicular to the ground
      4. Use a horse with a VERY short stick
   7. If you are Hobby Horsing outside, stay away from slippery areas, uneven surfaces, and loose gravel. Also, if there is a choice, you are better off on a well-maintained grass field than on cement or blacktop.
   8. If you choose to let your students, use hobby horses at recess, they should be monitored by an adult.
   9. Participants should warm-up properly so that their bodies are prepared for the physical activity of any hobby horse lesson. We suggest a stretching, walking or running activity prior to starting.
   10. For hurdle jumping used in any cross country and obstacle course activities, use only soft hurdles. Hobby Horsing USA offers kits that you can use with pool noodles and cones to create hurdles. Proper mats should be placed on the landing side of the hurdles to minimize injury.

Hobby Horsing USA’s Etiquette and Promise 

Participating in Hobby Horsing comes with some responsibilities.  Here are the 8 key rules each rider will need to be aware of and accept the promise for participation in the program: 

1. 1. Be gentle to your Hobby Horse and treat it kindly.
      1. No mistreatment including throwing, hitting it on the ground or other abuse
      2. No bumping or hitting of other hobby horses
      3. No pulling on its ears, mane or other parts
   2. Hold your horse correctly
      1. With one or both hands
      2. Just below the head
   3. Stay mounted on your Hobby Horse during all activities, games, and dances. (unless instructed otherwise)
   4. Keep a safe distance between riders (3 – 4 feet)
   5. Be respectful of other riders
      1. No bumping
      2. Or running into another rider
   6. Be courteous and let other riders pass in front of you if needed.
   7. Listen for all cues for the movement or direction from your teacher.
   8. Put your horses gently back in their corral at the end of any class

Competition Rules

1. 1. All competitors must be mounted on a hobby horse as they compete during all events they participate in during a race.
   2. Shoes are required for all competitors.
   3. School attire is encouraged.
   4. For leaping and jumping over obstacles we suggest using Pool Noodle Hobby Horses, or hobby horses with shorter sticks. Our premier hobby horses can be shortened easily.  We also suggest using pads on either side of an obstacle in case of a fall.
   5. Bicycle riding helmets are not required but strongly encouraged for hurdle jumping races.
   6. Each heat starts with the “Giddy up” of “On Your Mark, Get Set and Giddy Up.”
   7. 1^st, and 2^nd place finishers are determined by a series of heats.
   8. Once all riders have competed then the 1^st and 2^nd place finishers from the initial heats compete in semifinal heats to determine the 1^st place winners\
   9. Once riders competing in the semifinal race have finished then either have another run off to get to the final four riders or race the final four riders to determine the 1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd, and 4^th place winners.
   10. Have all races be competitions based on grade level or teacher discretion.
   11. Handicaps like different starting positions or a deduction of 10 to 20 seconds can be adjusted at Teacher discretion for younger riders competing with older riders and other special student requirements.
   12. 1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd, 4^th, place and participant award stickers can be printed from our Teachers Materials section and given out to your students upon completion.
   13. Teachers determine the place position of each rider in each heat.

Competitors Disqualification

1. 1. Dismounting of a hobby horse
   2. Not riding hobby horse correctly
   3. Being off course
   4. Knocking over 2 or more cones or hurdles
   5. Being disrespectful to fellow competitors
   6. Hitting or using their hobby horse in any way other than how it is intended
   7. Running
   8. Performing incorrect locomotor skills required for the competition

Locomotor Skill Ideas that can be used

Skills to use various walking skills, trotting, prancing, sliding, skipping, leaping, hopping, various jumping skills and galloping.

Materials needed

1. 1. Cones
   2. Flags?
   3. Pool noodles
   4. Floor Pads – hurdles
   5. Bandanas of different colors, enough for teams.
   6. Whistle
   7. Diagrams for each race
   8. 1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd, 4^thand participant stickers based on an Avery Label they can print out.
   9. Rider Position print out labels for the relay races so riders know what order they are going in.
   10. Hobby horses for each rider
   11. Pool noodles as a supplement for hobby horses.

NOTE: If you have limited hobby horses you can have groups of students ride separately or you could have some on hobby horses and some just using pool noodles.

Review safety and etiquette with riders.

Hobby Horse Pole Bending Race – Heat Based Event

1. 1. Designate area for the event competition.
   2. Set the start / finish line with tape or other marker for all students to start and finish their race heats.
   3. Set up the course of 2 to 4 or more lanes with 4 or more cones (with flags???) representing poles. You can vary the distance between the cones in each lane, from 4 to 10 feet apart in a straight row with a turnaround area at the end.  Distance between cones is at the teacher’s discretion and should be based on how much room is needed for a locomotor skill activity.  Walking skills can be closer, galloping, leaping, sliding and skipping skills would need to be further apart.
   4. Have the cones in each lane be identical to each other in spacing and number.
   5. Our Hobby Horse Pole Race Diagram #1 is based on a 4-lane course with 4 cones in each lane. Each heat would have 4 riders, but teachers can use their discretion as to how many lanes they want to set up based on the number of riders that will be competing.
   6. Explain to students how they will be weaving in and out of the cones, then turning around and weaving in and out until they get back to the finish line. The goal is to not knock over any cones, not miss going around the cones correctly, and to perform the locomotor skill they will be using as quickly as they can.
   7. If a rider knocks over 2 or more cones they are disqualified from the heat. You can decide to have these students run again in a later heat.
   8. If a rider does not use the correct locomotor skill through the course they will be disqualified from the heat. You can decide to have these students run again in a later heat.
   9. Explain to students the locomotor skill they will be using for the Race Event. You can choose any walking skills (walk, toe heel, penguin, march, etc.), trotting, prancing, skipping, sliding, or galloping skills. Locomotor skills will remain the same through the course of all the heats.
   10. New skills can be chosen for any new race event.
   11. You can also choose a variation of two skills, one locomotor skill moving to the turn around and a second locomotor skill all the way back to the finish line.
   12. Set up students as referees on each side of the course to watch for any disqualifications – knocking down of 2 or more cones, not using the correct locomotor skill, not following the course. Give the referees bandanas to hold in their hand so when they see a disqualification they can raise it up for the teacher to see and make note of the disqualification.  Maybe 2 referees on each side, 1 for each lane with different bandanas reflecting the lane the rider is in.  (ie: blue lane, yellow lane, red lane, pink lane).
   13. Explain that their heat will begin with the word “giddy up” and not to start before that.
   14. Explain that if there is a “false start,” (that is a rider who goes before the word “Giddy Up!”) then a whistle will blow, and all riders will have to stop, return to the start / finish line, and begin the race again.
   15. Set Hobby horse racers on the start / finish line.
   16. Teacher or designated student can then call out “On your mark, get set, Giddy Up!”
   17. If there is a false start, the teacher blows a whistle to have hobby horse racers stop and then return to the start / finish line to begin the heat again.
   18. Upon completion of the race, the teacher will designate who the 1^st and 2^nd place winners are in each heat, after any disqualifications and keep track of those riders.
   19. Once all the students have raced, then the 1^st and 2^nd place winners from each heat will then compete in runoff heats to determine 1^st place winners. The teacher will keep track of the winners.
   20. Finally, all the 1^st place winners will compete in one final heat (4 students) to determine 1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd and 4^th place winners.
   21. Pre-print enough 1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd and 4^th place as well as participant, or great effort, or merit student, stickers for your students.
   22. Hand out reward stickers to the winners and if you wish, participant stickers to all the other riders. Find the template for online labels that you can print ahead of time for your events.
   23. Have all students cheer and support each rider while they race.
   24. You may want to handicap and deduct time for younger students or students with special requirements who compete.
   25. Note: You can have fewer cones set up for younger students and more for older students.

Hobby Horse Pole Bending Relay Team Races Heat Based Event

1. 1. This race is a variation on Hobby Horse Pole Bending Race Heat Based Event which is an event for individual hobby horsers.
   2. For the Hobby Horse Pole Bending Relay Team Races Heat Based Event you will set up teams of 2 to 4 students.
   3. You will set up the course based on our Pole Bending Race Diagram
   4. All teams will line up, one behind the other at the beginning of their lane leaving enough room for the rider who is returning to pass by and hand off the bandana to the next rider.
   5. Give each team a colored bandana.
   6. Each rider, beginning with the 1^st rider will weave through the cones up and back and hand off the bandana to the 2^nd rider who will weave up and back and hand off the bandana to the 3^rd rider who will weave up and back and then hand off the bandana to the 4^th rider who will weave up and back to the finish line
   7. Teams will place 1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd, and 4^th as designated by the teacher.
   8. We suggest that this race be a single heat race. To do this you can increase the number of lanes on your course for up to 7 teams.  If you have 8 teams then have two heats with the 1^st and 2^nd place winners of each heat competing in the final race.
   9. You can also increase the number of riders on each team from 4 to 6 or more.
   10. Pre-print enough 1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd and 4^th place stickers for your students to receive team awards. If there are more that 4 teams competing in a race event, then have enough participant stickers available for them.