Horseboarding Explained

For those of you who are new to Horseboarder Magazine (welcome!), here's a little explanation of the sport for you.

Horseboarding is an equestrian sport where a rider on a horse tows a board rider on a mountain board.

The board rider is towed by holding a handle attached to a rope no longer than 10 meters in length, which is attached to the horse's saddle by means of a small harness.

The horse rider, their horse, and the board rider compete as one team, in either one, or both, of the two competitive disciplines – Drag Race and Arena Boarding.

The Drag Race is a run along a 100 meter drag strip, with two teams in separate lanes, competing head to head. The competition is run in heats, with a final knockout stage to find the winner.

In Arena Boarding, teams negotiate themselves around a series of 'gates' against the clock.

Prizes are also awarded to the teams gaining the overall fastest time, and highest speed in each event.

The National Championship is organised by Horseboarding UK and held annually each summer, at various venues with a number of rounds. Points are awarded according to placings in each discipline. There are two separate leagues that compete within their own class - Novice and Elite.

Click here to view a pdf of the upcoming Championship events.

Arena Boarding Courses

To give you a better understanding of the course that the teams have to race around, here are some diagrams detailing them. Although the set up of the courses remains the same at each venue, the length of the course can vary due to the space available.

Elite Class - Course A

The Elite course is new to the 2014 championships and requires the team to do a 'cross over' as shown by the green and red flags. The horse and rider must go through the red flags whilst the boarder goes through the green, or vise-versa. Failure to do so will result in the team receiving a 10 second penalty.

Elite Class - Course B

Novice Class - Course A

The Novice Course is designed to allow new teams to gain as much experience as possible and to develop their skills in maneuvering around the course in preparation for the Elite Class.  

Novice Class - Course B

Click here for more information on the official rules of horseboarding. If you are interested and would like to get involved click here.