Most people perceive Horsefeathers as a winter, snowboarding brand. But loyal fans remember that we played a crucial role in shaping the MTB/Freeride/Slopestyle community in the Czech Republic. Events such as Kozzy Style or Secret Session together with the names of riders such as Gaspi, Leader or Michal Matys belong to the key concepts of the Czech scene. Mountains are our office and we spend most of our time there, even during the summer. We found out that among a lot of people from our office crew and even among our winter riders there are many bikers of different styles and that's why we decided to continue our long-term bike tradition and return the technical bike apparel to our spring collection. But more about that later. First, let's remember a little together.
Horsefeathers' bike history began to be written around 2003, when the bike team was taken care of by one of the brand's founders, Pavel Kubíček. According to conserved sources, the very first Horsefeathers biker was the bmx rider Kamil Feifer, who was also in the first HF bike advertisement in Board magazine. In the following years, the bike team gradually grew to include legends such as freerider Richard "Gaspi" Gasperotti, downhill rider Jiří "Hubajz" Hubáč, bmx riders Papouch and Štepán Herink and in the trial was HF represented by Michal Matys. Brothers Tomáš and Jarda Lučan, who stood at the birth of the first trail park in the Czech Republic in Šumavský Špičák, also left an important mark.
Richard "Gaspi" Gasperotti / Source: HF archive, Pinkbike.com
Source: HF archive, Dolekop.com, Dirtbiker.cz, Bmx-jicin.com
In 2005, Havroš, who was himself an active biker, took over the role of bike team manager, but an injury forced him to stop. At that time, the appearance of our bike team began to move more towards the mountain disciplines of freeride and freestyle. The bike team at that time was complemented by a new wave of riders, where the most important names included Čárys, Tomáš Marek, Ladislav Klaus, Tomáš Šorejs and Martin Čapek on bmx. Around 2007, youngsters Tomáš "Leader" Zejda, Dan Liška and bmx legend Jenny Valenta joined the team, who at that time were already touring various events with his double ramp. On the Slovak scene, Horsefeathers was represented by Filip Polc, whose specialty was crazy city downhills.
Havroš and his team focused mainly on the most interesting performances, which is why Kuba Vlček became the main Horsefeathers bike photographer. In the following years, they created several iconic bike commercials for Board, Dirtbiker and other bike media. The events that we organized or supported as partners were held in a similar spirit. The main focus has always been on originality and the visual side. Therefore, we can certainly not forget the long-term Horsefeathers rider Pavel Schwarz, who stood at the birth of the legendary Kozzy Style race, as well as the photo and video contest Secret Session. We were a proud main partner in both of these events.
HORSEFEATHERS KOZZY STYLE
The Horsefeathers Kozzy Style event is undoubtedly one of the most legendary slopestyle events in the Czech Republic. It took place on the Kozí pláň ski slope near the South Bohemian village of Kaplice and we have been its main partner since 2007. The track was created by Schwára and Kojco from the FRbikes shop in Budějovice and consisted of more than 20 different obstacles that could be combined in every possible way. Anyone who dared on the track and wanted to compete with pro bike riders could sign up for this event. 15 people plus 10 pre-selected and announced professional riders advanced from the qualification to the finals. All rides were evaluated by the jury, taking into account: difficulty of selected obstacles, difficulty of tricks, riding style, smoothness of the ride. The competition lasted two days and of course there were also heavy parties. Kozzy Style was not only a competition, but it became a cult bike happening and a meeting of the entire Czech, but also Polish, German, Austrian and Slovak bike community.
Be sure to check out the videos from the first years and you will find more on our Youtube channel:
HORSEFEATHERS SECRET SESSION
Horsefeathers Secret Session was mainly about chill riding with friends. This legendary session took place in Žabovresky near Dubno in South Bohemia. The goal was to connect the riders with local killers and allow them to ride without all the hype around the competitions and especially to enjoy the ride itself. People who love biking, one cameraman and one photographer who captured it all, beer, grill and chill. We are very happy to remind ourselves the Secret Session. Take a look at one of the reports on Dolekop.com, for example.
In the following years, we participated in a number of bike events. The Horsefeathers MTB Dirt Contest in Rakovník, organized by Láďa Klauz, is definitely worth mentioning. The contest took place on dirts in Rakovník as part of a cyclo festival called "Rakovník cycling" and the track consisted of a line with 10 jumps in a row, so it was possible to ride it with a minimum effort. Other events we like to mention certainly include Horsefeathers MTB Slopestyle in the bike park on Fajtov hill, which was established in 2010. Since we were also the main partner of the bike park, the race always had a homely atmosphere.
Our team also went on several trips, such as a trip to Leogang and Salbaach, where it was photographed for Dirtbiker magazine, or on a legendary trip to sunny France. Be sure to check it out in the form of the following video:
And we are somewhere around 2013, when XC rider Filip Štrunc, Pilsen bmx icon Michal "Fary" Farek and freerider Michal Kosík joined the Horsefeathers bike team.
This could close the first chapter of Horsefeathers bike history. In the following years, our activities in the bike community were rather limited due to various influences. But that changed in 2019, when we realized that most of our office crew and winter riders would be drawn to the mountains in the summer and mostly on bicycles. After a quick survey of our fans, who clearly confirmed this direction and considerations, we decided to start working on a new collection of technical bike equipment, which we presented in full parade this year. It could be said that the circle has been completed and Horsefeathers is in the saddle again. But this is the topic of another blog, in which we will introduce you not only to the new bike apparel collection, but also to our new bike team and its activities. Stay tuned.
