Girl competes in hobby horse competitions - where she show jumps with stick pony

A schoolgirl has competed in hobby horse competitions - where she takes part in show jumping with a stick pony.

Tilly Norris, 11, has miniature pet horses but took up the sport earlier this year as she likes "keeping fit and doing all the jumps."

Hobby horsing is where participants use a 'stick horse' to compete in movements that are similar to show jumping or dressage.

The sport originally started in Finland in 2002 but now tens of thousands of people have started taking part in it all over the world.

Tilly says she enjoys taking part in the sport and competing because it allows her to show jump without actually doing it with a horse.

She said: "I like meeting up with all of my friends.

"I like keeping fit and doing all the jumps.

"I do like jumping but I don't like jumping on a horse."

Tilly started hobby horsing in January this year after she was approached to be an ambassador to promote it to her 24,000 Instagram followers.

Her mum Vicky Norris, 44, says the activity has "gone absolutely crazy" in the UK because it keeps children "active" and helps them "make friends."

She said: "It's gone absolutely crazy in this country.

"It's kids having fun and keeping active as well.

"There's some parents who have said they can't afford a real horse as it's an expensive hobby and traveling around the country is a fortune.

"So now, the children have got a hobby horse, they are doing all these jumps and are winning rosettes and winning prizes.

"It keeps them all active and honestly I've not seen one child on a phone from the moment they get there, to the moment they leave.

"They are all making friends and chatting away, talking to each other - it's just nice to see."

Tilly, who has several miniature horses, started competing in March and "likes the excitement" of it.

She also times herself when hobby horsing, so she can beat her previous score and see how fast she can jump.

Vicky said: "I think she likes the excitement of competing and seeing all of her friends and seeing how fast they get over all the jumps.

"They go over the jumps and time it, so they see how quick they can go.

"She's always trying to beat the score that she got last time.

"The kids get on so well so I do think she likes seeing everybody."

Tilly has now published her first book called ‘Hobby Horsing Around’, which is a horse themed activity, puzzle and colouring book.

Vicky, of Burnley, Lancs,. said: "We decided to make the activity book and Tilly said we could do wordsearches and poems in it.

"She wanted it as a colour book as well, so had stuff with her and her friends in it.

"We basically wrote it all and then contacted an illustrator and we basically posted everything off and asked her to make it into a book.

"She sorted it all out and put it together and we published it on Amazon."

In the future, Tilly hopes to take part in more hobby horsing competitions and also wants to create another book.