News Hobby-Horsing Is the Latest (and Strangest) Craze Among Finnish Teens By Isabel Jones Isabel Jones Instagram Twitter Isabel is an Oregon-born and Brooklyn-based writer and editor with a special interest in pop culture. InStyle's editorial guidelines Updated on May 3, 2017 @ 03:00PM Pin Share Tweet Email This just in: You no longer need a horse to be an accomplished equestrian—just grab a plush horse-head-on-a-stick and you’re set! Hobby-horsing is the latest athletic trend to sweep Finland, namely amongst the country’s teenage girls. Heikki Saukkomaa/ Lehtikuva/AP Although it may a look a tad silly, the sport is very physically demanding and echoes events found in conventional equestrian competitions. Hobbyhorse enthusiast Alisa Aarniomaki, 20, told the Associated Press that the sport has a “strong therapeutic side to it.” "I've gone through lots of trouble and I'm still struggling with some issues,” Aarniomaki said, “It has helped me a great deal that I can occasionally just go galloping into the woods with my friends. It somehow balances my mind." Additionally, the trendy activity is now seen as promoting female empowerment. Chris Hemsworth Is the Sexy, Photobombing Horse Whisperer of Your Fantasies "I think hobby-horsing has a feministic agenda," Aarniomaki added, "No boys are coming and saying what we need to do, or bossing around. So I think there is some sort of a [feministic] point."