BBP
Well-Known Member
So this weekend was the first round of the National Horse Boarding Championships, held at the NHB Centre in Seisdon near Wolverhampton. As a new sport there are lots of issues to iron out but it was a brilliant weekend, full of exciting races.
Firstly an idea of the rules. Each team comprises a horse, a horse rider and a mountain boarder, connected to the horse by a quick release tow rope and handle. Each team races each other team twice per heat, once in each lane, to keep it fair (lane B was a little bumpy!) in a head to head drag race of 100m from a standing start. Two points are awarded for a win (first board to cross the line, not horse), 1 point for a second place finish and zero for a fall/fail to finish. Points are then accumulated to work out who you race in a final knock out phase to decide the overall placings. Simple enough?
There were a few issues to sort out on day 1 as a couple of the horses got a little over excited so we spent some time working with them, we did lose a couple at this point as they got too silly and it was decided in the interests of safety that they should withdraw. But then we got into some serious races! Holy cow I have never been so fast!
Frank from Team Perfectly Frank demonstrated exactly why I have nicknamed him 'Frank the Destroyer'.
He has been decribed as a tractor with a turbo charger and a dodgy clutch...every gear change and acceleration came with a 'whumph' of power that none of the boarders could hang on to!, so on day one he was sadly out of the competition due to lack of working boarders!
The stealth contenders were Team Cold Rein, with Jack the standardbred type pony taking a break from his usual job as a logging pony showing an exceptional turn of foot and taking the competitors by surprise.
By day 2, Team Perfectly Frank had recruited a new boarder, Po, with the task of hanging on to Franks awesome power, and the races kicked off with a vengence! Team Ginja Ninja took the race to them with some nail biting photo finishes -
Then sadly Franks power got the best of Po with a crash into the crowd and a twisted ankle knocking him out of the competition. The Ginja Ninja then withdrew due to bad behaviour in the start box, the excitement had just got too much for her so she was pulled out to quiet down and do some quiet schooling with it later.
So that left Team Cold Rein and team Ihorse (me!), who had been consistent out of the start box on every race.
Team Ihorse finished on top with a total of 36 points over Cold Reins 27. We also won the award for top speed (speedos attached to the boards record the fastest speed on each run) with a breakneck speed of 35mph!!! (all in 100m)
The mighty Rohan...he might not be the prettiest, but he is a legend of a horse..
Just to add, the event and the horse I ride, are sponsored by a vet, who are happy with the way it is done. Safety of horses, riders, boarders and audience are of primary concern so despite the impact on the competition, they were quick to withdraw any horse if necessary.
Credit to the boarders, they hit 35mph knowing for sure that they will crash at the end...It is most definitely NOT for the faint hearted!
A little video if interested;
https://fbcdn-video-a.akamaihd.net/..._=1306317824_74ad1292ac85138451382bf941d18bed
Next round is going to be held at the Three Counties Show at Malvern, June 17 - 19th, come and check it out!
Firstly an idea of the rules. Each team comprises a horse, a horse rider and a mountain boarder, connected to the horse by a quick release tow rope and handle. Each team races each other team twice per heat, once in each lane, to keep it fair (lane B was a little bumpy!) in a head to head drag race of 100m from a standing start. Two points are awarded for a win (first board to cross the line, not horse), 1 point for a second place finish and zero for a fall/fail to finish. Points are then accumulated to work out who you race in a final knock out phase to decide the overall placings. Simple enough?
There were a few issues to sort out on day 1 as a couple of the horses got a little over excited so we spent some time working with them, we did lose a couple at this point as they got too silly and it was decided in the interests of safety that they should withdraw. But then we got into some serious races! Holy cow I have never been so fast!
Frank from Team Perfectly Frank demonstrated exactly why I have nicknamed him 'Frank the Destroyer'.
He has been decribed as a tractor with a turbo charger and a dodgy clutch...every gear change and acceleration came with a 'whumph' of power that none of the boarders could hang on to!, so on day one he was sadly out of the competition due to lack of working boarders!
The stealth contenders were Team Cold Rein, with Jack the standardbred type pony taking a break from his usual job as a logging pony showing an exceptional turn of foot and taking the competitors by surprise.
By day 2, Team Perfectly Frank had recruited a new boarder, Po, with the task of hanging on to Franks awesome power, and the races kicked off with a vengence! Team Ginja Ninja took the race to them with some nail biting photo finishes -
Then sadly Franks power got the best of Po with a crash into the crowd and a twisted ankle knocking him out of the competition. The Ginja Ninja then withdrew due to bad behaviour in the start box, the excitement had just got too much for her so she was pulled out to quiet down and do some quiet schooling with it later.
So that left Team Cold Rein and team Ihorse (me!), who had been consistent out of the start box on every race.
Team Ihorse finished on top with a total of 36 points over Cold Reins 27. We also won the award for top speed (speedos attached to the boards record the fastest speed on each run) with a breakneck speed of 35mph!!! (all in 100m)
The mighty Rohan...he might not be the prettiest, but he is a legend of a horse..
Just to add, the event and the horse I ride, are sponsored by a vet, who are happy with the way it is done. Safety of horses, riders, boarders and audience are of primary concern so despite the impact on the competition, they were quick to withdraw any horse if necessary.
Credit to the boarders, they hit 35mph knowing for sure that they will crash at the end...It is most definitely NOT for the faint hearted!
A little video if interested;
https://fbcdn-video-a.akamaihd.net/..._=1306317824_74ad1292ac85138451382bf941d18bed
Next round is going to be held at the Three Counties Show at Malvern, June 17 - 19th, come and check it out!
haha
She seems like a real character