\u201cHorses are my favorite animal, so hobby horsing looked like something very out-of-the-ordinary that I could get interested in,\u201d Garcia told the San Antonio Report during a recent interview. \u201cI just started doing it and never stopped.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Mahala-Garcia-2-Photo-by-Kiko-Martinez.jpg\")
Hobby horse competitor Mahala Garcia in her Schertz home. Credit: Kiko Martinez for the San Antonio Report<\/p>\n
Horse of a Different Color<\/p>\n
Garcia was about five years old when she rode her first living, breathing horse at her uncle\u2019s farm. Since then, horses have been a big part of her life. She takes weekly riding lessons at a stable in Converse and goes to horse riding camps.<\/p>\n
At the hobby horsing nationals this year, Garcia will compete in the events known as barrel racing (galloping around barrels) and hunters (jumping over a series of obstacles).<\/p>\n
Along with her mother, Meghon Gibson, Garcia will be joined in Michigan by Zoe \u2014 her brown-and-white hobby horse outfitted with a purple ear bonnet. She also owns three other hobby horses: Milo, Sandstorm and Nemo, the latter of which Garcia and her grandmother stitched themselves.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWith a hobby horse, you\u2019re the legs of the horse,\u201d Garcia said. \u201cIt\u2019s just the head and the stick, so you\u2019re doing all the work.\u201d<\/p>\n
Garcia practices hobby horsing inside her home because it\u2019s much too hot to do it under the Texas sun. Plus, the backyard\u2019s uneven terrain makes for a rough landing when she jumps over obstacles.<\/p>\n
Even when she doesn\u2019t have her hobby horse with her, Garcia is always jumping over something.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019ll find anything and everything and make it into a jump,\u201d Gibson said. \u201cMy house has become an arena.\u201d<\/p>\n
Beyond Playtime<\/p>\n
The first time Garcia showed interest in hobby horsing, her mother embraced the idea but thought it might just be a phase. She hadn\u2019t heard about the sport and initially didn\u2019t understand it when she did more research. Still, she wanted to be as supportive as possible.<\/p>\n
When they attended nationals for the first time last year, Gibson was surprised by the number of young girls who had gathered to compete. She was grateful her daughter had found a place where she felt accepted, especially since hobby horsing is often mocked online because of its unconventional nature.<\/p>\n
\u201cEveryone [at nationals] is so encouraging of one another,\u201d Gibson said. \u201cIt\u2019s just a matter of people having an open mind. A lot of people see hobby horsing as child cosplay or \u2018playtime,\u2019 but it really is a sport.\u201d<\/p>\n
Garcia considers hobby horsing a sport, too, but usually keeps her love for it to herself. She\u2019s told some of her horse-riding friends about it but doesn\u2019t share it with most people.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of hate because people don\u2019t understand it,\u201d she said. \u201cWhen people ask me what my favorite sport is, I just say volleyball and horse riding. I don\u2019t want to get bullied for it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Last year on April Fool\u2019s Day, the San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo published an Instagram post<\/a> where they joked that they had made hobby horsing a new rodeo event. Some followers reacted with negative comments like \u201cThat\u2019s a disgrace to the rodeo community and industry\u201d and \u201cDon\u2019t hobby horse my rodeo.\u201d<\/p>\n Despite the criticism, Garcia hasn\u2019t let other people\u2019s opinions diminish her enthusiasm for hobby horsing. Instead, she hopes more people will give it a chance before judging it.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI hope more people get to know it and not think it\u2019s weird,\u201d she said. \u201cI want more people to do hobby horsing, so we could build a very big community in this area.\u201d<\/p>\n \t