Round 5 National Horseboarding Championship
Here is the biggest crash of the weekend and possibly the season. UK Boarder Force demonstrating what happens when you push the limit and find the edge. This was their last run of the weekend and really shows the level of commitment the new teams are bringing to the sport and the win.
Round 3, National Horseboarding Championship
Consider it Dun with stand in boarder at the Norfolk Game and Country fair.
Horseboarding round one Day 1
Here is Norfolk'n'Good.
Horseboarding Roun1 2014 day 1
Here we are with blur of the moment. We have this from two angles and whilst the other is better for the race this one is more interesting to see what the audience are thinking. Even if they are few in number.
Horseboarding Round 1
Novice team Predators, round 1.
More Origins of Equine Board Sports.
Given that Horseboarding News is a little quiet at the moment we thought we would have another look at some old videos from way back, when Horseboarding UK was just a twinkle in the eye of The Independent horse Extreme Demo team. This team came from a background of live action equine stunt shows but with a large interest in board sports.
The Independent Horse or Ihorse formed in 2003 performing lecture demos in colleges. These demos talked about how the horse were trained for film, TV and live action show work such as jousting and trick riding.
##### In 2004 after a day of horse training, motorbike riding and rally driving a chance conversation between Mike Burgess and Daniel Fowler-Prime ended with Daniel being towed by a car on a mountain board and jumping through the passenger window. The idea of being towed behind a horse was born. ####
Later that year Daniel and Mike Burgess got together again to try out the newly formed yet unnamed idea of Horseboarding. The experiments went well but there was no real application of this new found skill.
Over the following winter more experiments were carried out until the idea of being towed behind a horse with no rider was formed and quickly followed by the idea of Horsesurfing. The following year in 2005 the team commissioned a photo shoot in Newquay. The aim of the shoot was trick riding in the sea and Horseboarding along the beach. However Daniel forgot to load the mountain board! He tried to borrow one from the local Airjam kite boarding shop, this led to a situation culminating in the manager of the shop agreeing to be towed on a kite board behind the horse in the sea.
Later that year these photos were seen in the press all over the world from UK national press to Taiwan to Australia and the USA.
Over the next couple of years the team continued to appear all over the world on TV, Radio and even performing Horsesurfing in Dubai.
This video was f
Here we have a video of Ihorse at Woburn Abbey in the 2013 season. Ihorse , originally The Independent Horse is one of the longest standing teams in Horseboarding. The team has evolved since it first raced in 2008, won the championship in 2009 and 2011. The team at that point was Daniel Fowler-Prime on the board , Kathryn Wynn in the saddle and the legendary Rohan.
In 2012 the team registered for the season with Laura White in the saddle. However half way through the season it was time for the 19 year old Rohan to retire and the new horse Apache to try and fill his rather large shoes. In the end though the team came 4th in the championship.
2013 was another chance for the team to get back on form but they struggled to get any sort of consistency. Despite this they managed to get a 5th over all in the championship and did not even enter the final event.
For the 2014 season there are a number of rumors as to what form Ihorse will take , We have been told they will be there but we will not know the exact line up until the team registration forms are in for this season.
The Story of the Dead Pigeons .
In the winter of 2010 Ross Towner, boarder for the Dead Pigeons, saw an article about horseboarding in the national press. Being a skate boarder in his younger days and having a girlfriend with horses he saw an opportunity to be involved with this new up and coming sport. At first his girlfriend, Charlie Buss, was not enthused with the idea but agreed to give it a go.
After some training The Dead Pigeons entered the 2011 National horseboarding championships with the horse Winston, a 16 hand ex-racer. This was a purely a drag racing event. In the draw for the drag strip they were to have the first competitive race of the season and the first to be run since the end of the 2009 season against the current champions Ihorse. Later Ross admitted that this was the last thing he wanted as he was quite nervous, surprisingly though the Dead Pigeons won!
For a short time it looked as though the Dead Pigeons would run away with the competition but after about five races it was clear that Winston, whilst great on the drag strip, struggled to keep his head entering the start box and was pulled out of the competition. This was not the end of the day for Ross though. He went on to race with Ginger Ninja and had three epic crashes, any one of which would have finished a lesser boarders day, but Ross against all odds kept getting back up. The Pigeons, of course, did not win the competition and for a while after that day Ross gained the nickname “Terminator”, although it did not stick.
For the rest of the season the Dead Pigeons tried a number of horses in an attempt to find the right one. Then at the season final held at the Malvern Autumn Show they entered the unknown Naboo. Naboo is another ex-racer who exploded on to the drag strip, keeping a level head in the start box accompanied with blistering speeds he went on to break the current speed record set by Ihorse at 36.9MPH with a 37.1MPH . The Dead Pigeons won that round o
Today we have a video from Woburn Abbey and round four of the championship. The team featured is the mighty Kauldren with Sam Nicolas on the board and Bre Buss riding the amazing Jack.
The team started the season very well losing only 1 point in the first four rounds of competition, one of which, was a double points weekend.
However the season took its toll on the team and after an off weekend at round five and missing the last three events they still managed a comfortable 2nd overall with Jack and Bre taking the Horse and Rider Championship titles. Not bad for a "£300 off the side of the road" gypsy trotter.
Rumors circulate as to whether the team will return for the 2014 season. If they do, it is said that Tom Kilroy, 2012's Boarder champion will be riding for the team as he did this year as a stand in. This being the case, this team would be a real challenge to the Pigeons and Naboo.
The clash of these two Titans is always something to see as both teams faced each other in full fitness at the opening round of the 2012 season, when Kauldren , then featuring Border Carlton eventually took the top spot after a four race final.
Shortly after this Ross famously dislocated his knee, playing the most extreme of sports, football, forcing him to take the rest of the season off. Despite this, the Pigeons won the season.
It would not be until round 2 of the 2013 season that the two teams would face each other again at full fitness. In this round The Drag strip and Arena boarding competitions were run. This time the pigeons won the final against Kauldren on the drag strip but Kauldren beat the Pigeons in the arena boarding.
For the first half of the 2013 season Naboo struggled with being sound, When fully recovered for the second half Kaudren were not fully fit or noticeably absent, so the last time these teams faced it was one all. I for one could not say who would win if both teams ran fit for a fall season.
This video shows some very g
The Designated Drinkers Featured at the Bowood final. This year was their first season in the championships. The team started as Christopher Kirk on the board , Fern the horse and Laura White, who also rides for Ihorse.
The team started in round one at Thame with some very steady consistent runs and improved as the season went on. However halfway through the season Chris retired the rest of the season due to injury. For the rest of the season the team continued to compete with a number of stand in boarders. Daniel Fowler-Prime , Sam Nichols and Tom Kilroy all helped the team to an eventual overall fourth place in the National Championships despite having to miss two rounds of competition due other commitments.
We look forward to seeing them compete next year with Chris back on the board with a full season behind them.
Today we have decided to talk about a very serious and devastating part of horseboarding. Every team at some point has been affected by this unpredictable race crushing event. When you are flying round the course , you feel it is smooth and fast, your team corners perfectly, its as if you , your horse and horse rider are one. Knowing exactly where you all need to be on each part of the track and instinctively knowing where your teammates are, you can see the finish line.
Then it hits you, the curse of the commentator. This phenomenon appears at all events. Some teams struggle with it a lot. Ross Towner often falls off at the mere mention of him doing well. Allen Hare also has been a victim to this curse more than most. However none more poignant example can shown than Do or die's race at the Three Counties Show where Tom Kilroy, after impressing all who watched , including our Trampa sponsors , fell victim to the curse.
So watch this video and take heed that the curse of the commentator can strike at any time. It also demonstrates how close the most amazing race of you life is to a complete fail. Boarders really do ride a knife edge.
HBM verdict - Good racing , rubbish Crash.
Yesterday we saw Norfolk 'n' Good with their final race in the battle against Bucks Fizz. Today we have a video of Bucks Fizz in the midst of the battle. The video filmed some time on day two of the finals. It clearly shows the audience support for the different teams as some spectators cheer them on, whilst others chant "fall off!" , something the board riders dont often need much help with. All in all its a good run from the team with Rachael Simington in the saddle aboard the little thoroughbred Candy. The team have come along way in the championship since joining up with two time National Champion Daniel Fowler-Prime. Dan has said that "Candy could be championship winning horse, already biting at the heels of Dead Pigeons and Mad Atters" . This run in fact putting them only 3.2 seconds behind the Pigeons and 0.75 seconds behind the Mad Atters on this course. However the teams weekend was mard by miscommunication and at least two very fast runs were lost when the team missed final gates and even the finish line on one occasion.* Despite this they still secured 3rd and won the battle with Norfolk 'n' Good. Eventually finishing 8th in the Championship it will be very interesting to see where this team comes after a full season of racing together.
* Finish line is the one with the chequered Flag.
This video is a real treat and captures some of the best board riding displayed during the 2013 season. Filmed on day two of the final at Bowood House, Norfolk 'n' Good were in a dead heat with Bucks fizz. The situation being that whoever finished in the higher on the scoreboard for that round of competition would gain the higher position in the overall championship.
The two teams battled it out over the weekend. Then out of no where Allen Hare had this amazing run in which he became the first Horseboarder to get a knee down and and carry on. Something we have never seen in competition before. Whilst this race is not the smoothest ever seen, Christie Webb is clearly battling with horse Alfie for the majority of the time. Alfie thinking he can do the course at a compete gallop with no thoughts for Allen on the back, Christie can clearly be seen trying to remind him that all three of them have to cross the finish line for it to count. She does a great job of keeping the team together.
This video is a testament to how far Allen has come with his boarding in just one season having never ridden a board or spent any time with horses before this year, to now being a competitor you have to take seriously for 2014 with real chance at the championship. Its worth noticing the audience reaction to Allen getting his knee down but unfortunately at the end of the run it cutts of just as the reaction builds from the crowd again.
It has been a real pleasure to watch Norfolk 'n' Good develop over the season they really have become a prominent part of our horseboarding family.
Merry Christmas everyone.
Today we have heard that HBUK have a new mascot and he has been caught on camera!
Sarah Hill got impact shorts for Christmas, This made us wonder did anybody else get Horseboarding related presents? Let us know , HO HO HO.
To celebrate the season we will be adding a new video every day for the next 12 days. And the first will be of the steady sunny side up.
