FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Germany’s first hobby horsing championship has got underway in Frankfurt this weekend with hundreds of young riders competing in time jumping, style jumping and dressage on their wooden stick horses.

Roughly 300 riders, mostly youngsters, will canter around a gymnasium Saturday and Sunday, watched by 1,500 spectators. The competition is part of a growing wave of hobby horsing events internationally. The United States and Australia also held their first championships this year.

The events stemmed from a grassroots movement in Finland where riders cantered their hobby horses through Nordic forests more than 20 years ago. The pastime exploded in popularity through social media during the height of the coronavirus pandemic.