DVIDS – News – Nacho Horse Wins First Annual Buffalo Corral Hobbyhorse Derby

By Cpt. Bradley Foreman

FORT HUACHUCA, Ariz. — Buffalo Corral Riding Stables held its first working horse event on May 11. More than 15 jockeys registered for the event and, together with their supporters, the attendance was around 50 people.

Rachael Goodwater, Buffalo Corral’s business manager, had known about the hobby horse for some time, but only recently came up with the idea of ​​introducing it to Fort Huachuca.

“For hikes and trail classes, they have to be seven years old, but we always have younger kids who want to ride,” she said. “They can do tours and have birthday parties here…there’s not much else for them.”
To give these young children more ways to get involved, she turned to recreational horse riding.

INAUGURAL EVENT

This weekend’s event was supposed to coincide with the Triple Crown races and therefore had a derby theme. After the staff introductions, the riders first drew numbers for their position at the station. The number they drew matched their gate number on the track. They were then organized into series based on age.

Then, since this was the first version of the hobby horse at Buffalo Corral, the staff assumed that all the riders would be new to the sport and held a workshop so they could make their own hobby horse . Riders received a bag containing materials that Buffalo Corral staff had made and prepared by hand so they could build their horses.

Building the horses was the longest part of the day and assembling them was a source of pride for the future jockeys. Even though the head design was pre-cut and the eyes were attached, everything else was up to the participants. They completed the sewing, sewed the mane, stuffed the head, attached the stick, put on the blinders, cut holes for the eyes, attached the tails and tied the bridles themselves.

From there, participants named their horses and the heats were set. While the gate crew prepared the track and the rider prepared her horse to escort the jockeys onto the track, participants received a recreational riding lesson from one of Buffalo Corral’s riding instructors. They learned the correct gaits for walking, trotting and galloping.

This phase of the event also included a derby hat competition, where fans were judged on their head skills. Prizes were awarded for first, second and third place based on public voting and at the judge’s discretion.

RESULTS

The first race was the heat with the younger jockeys and included Moonshine, Nacho Horse, Julip and Night Sky. Nacho Horse won by a few lengths, followed by Moonshine, then Night Sky and finally Julip.

The second race featured Blackjack, Ginger Hot, Cookie, Comanche and Darkey. Blackjack emerged victorious in this race, while Comanche took second place and Cookie took the final podium spot. Ginger Hot finished fourth.

The third heat is where the older drivers took to the track, and it was a photo finish. Elmer, Cloudy, Black Betty and Bacon Bits started, while the fifth horse was a scratch. Cloudy took first place, followed by Elmer in second. Although Bacon Bits was uncooperative from the start, she came back to finish just a nose behind Elmer, while Black Betty lagged behind the pack.

The final race featured the fastest remaining horses competing for trophies. In this final round, Elmer faced Cloudy and Nacho Horse. They finished in reverse order of their positions, with crowd favorite Nacho Horse first, Cloudy second, and Elmer third.

THE PATH TO FOLLOW

Although the workhorse is just getting started at Buffalo Corral, if this first event is any indication, the future is bright. Besides derby races, other equestrian events also have their place in the warhorse. Riders can, for example, compete in dressage and show jumping.

The Buffalo Corral team hopes to make the derby an annual event, but they’re not limiting their prospects to just racing.

Goodwater hopes the success of this event will bring something new and exciting to Buffalo Corral and make it more accessible to the Fort Huachuca and Sierra Vista communities.

“We hope to incorporate (hobbyhorse) into birthday parties as a package,” she said.

She plans to sell packages like those offered to derby participants at Trail’s End, the Buffalo Corral gift shop. Possibilities for the future include an open course once a month, renting out the workhorse space for parties or walks and open courses.

“In the next few months, we hope to have everything figured out,” Goodwater said.

HORSE RIDING LEISURE

Hobbyhorse hails from Finland and gained a more international reputation after the release of Hobbyhorse Revolution, an award-winning 2017 film from director Selma Vilhunen. Although the sport continues to gain traction in the United States, there is an estimated community of over 10,000 people in Finland.

Former Finnish Equestrian Federation general secretary Fred Sundwall is a supporter of the warhorse for the same reason Goodwater brought it to Fort Huachuca. “It gives a chance for children and teenagers who don’t own horses to interact with them outside of stables and equestrian centers as well,” Sundwall told the Associated Press in 2017.

A common misconception about horse riding is that it’s simply running around with a stuffed horse head on a stick. That couldn’t be further from the truth, Goodwater says. “There’s a certain finesse there. That’s why we’re giving lessons to people for the first time – to teach them the walk, the trot, the canter. It is a sport.

However, the whole experience involved much more than sports. Since the early days of the warhorse, much of the sentimental investment of riders has been in the bond they establish with their horse, which they usually create themselves. The emotional connection they have through creating and naming their horses can be therapeutic, especially for younger participants.

For more information about Buffalo Corral Riding Stables at Fort Huachuca, including services, hours and events, visit their page on the Morale, Welfare and Recreation website.