Get all your news in one place.
100's of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
Lifestyle
Tory Shepherd

‘You don’t have to clean up after it’: young Australians are getting on their hobby horses

At a training session for the hobby horse competition in Eumundi, Queensland. Top left to right: Natalie, Adelaid, Khloe, Lily. Front left to right: Asha, Jasmine Oakes and Jasmine Francis.
At a training session for the hobby horse competition in Eumundi, Queensland are, top left to right: Natalie, Adelaid, Khloe, Lily. Front left to right are: Asha, Jasmine Oakes and Jasmine Francis. Photograph: Paul Hilton/The Guardian

There are “obby osses”, hooden horses, morris dancing horses and any number of “mock beast” traditions, dating back centuries, where humans carry horse heads on a stick.

In the Eumundi School of Arts hall, on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast, they’re riding plain old hobby horses. Only they’re not so plain.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100's of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.