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Let’s get one thing clear straight away. This is not a banned form of water torture for horses, and it’s not an advert for an equine bed and breakfast service.

This is for those of us who have aspirations of being a roman centurion riding along in a chariot (in my case Mikus Maximus) but who don’t have the finances, or armour, or historical setting to do so.

What’s more Horseboarding is a team sport that really is open to people who have never ever sat on a horse and never intend to do so.

What you do need is strong arm and shoulder muscles, good balance and plenty of nerve. As the horse is led out, you pull on your knee pads, elbow protectors, goggles and helmet. You limber up, stretch those muscles and get ready to ride, like a water skier or wake boarder, but instead of waves there is a muddy field and instead of a boat there is a horse who is straining, rearing, waiting to bolt.

Daniel Fowler-Prime first came up with the idea whilst visiting friends in Cornwall in 2005. They had originally tried horse surfing, a craze that started on the beaches of America and which involves a horse towing a surfer through the shallow breaking waves on a beach. Some surfers in Florida have also started standing on the backs of horses as they walk and swim through calmer, deeper water in sheltered bays. The cost of horse surfing made it restrictive at the time for Daniel so he focused on the land version, horseboarding. The first time he did it was in Maidenhead and the first centre opened in Seisdon near Wolverhampton. There are also now clubs in North Wales, Scotland and Australia.

It has caught on to such an extent that there are now national championships every year. It’s no surprise that Daniel was the champion for many years. Well he is a professional horse rider and has appeared in many films such as Kingdom of Heaven and The Da Vinci Code. He lost the title last year though, to – of all people – his brother, Thomas Kilroy.

The start of a race is a majestic sight: a chariot race from the days of the Romans. Daniel settled his feet into the board as his rider Katherine revved on the reins. The horse, Rohan, was restless and ready to go. Katherine pulled back on the throttle and with Dan signalling down the rope that he was ready, the hooves thundered into action. The slack was taken in a split second and the rope became a live wire, electrifying Dan into life. If Dan hadn’t put in all the training to develop his upper body muscles, he would have been a twisted mess of limbs. Instead he rocked and rolled around the 400-metre training track maintaining a steady speed.

Dan needs the horse to start at a gallop to reach 36 miles per hour. Most races are between two teams over 100 metres, and the world record is a time of 8.22 seconds, set in 2011. There is also now a slalom race in which the teams have to weave their way through a series of markers.

‘If anything, it is the modern version of chariot racing,’ Daniel said as he folded his massive biceps across his chest: his upper body muscles glistening like armour. ‘There is a raw surge of natural power that you wouldn’t get from any other sport, but it’s really all about the team: it’s you, your board, your rider and your horse. You all have to get it exactly right. If any one of you makes the slightest mistake it will cost you the race.’

Katherine Wynn is in charge of the riding his horse. ‘It’s my job to push on when Dan wants me to, and to steady back when I need to ease up. I have to make sure the starts are quick and easy and that we’re going the right way. It helps to know your team, so you can communicate more easily as you are hurtling along.’

The start is the biggest challenge. Even for a beginner at trotting or walking pace, the moment the force of the horse grabs you, snatches you by surprise. You will lose your balance and wobble, and maybe fall off. It doesn’t matter if you don’t have any experience with horses, but it does help to come from a background of snowboarding, skateboarding or mountain boarding. It’s a sturdy board on four wheels with two straps to fit your feet into. You begin by being towed by someone on foot before then hooking up just a few feet away from the bottom of your horse. The most important thing to remember is to let go of the rope if you feel yourself losing your balance.

This is why I was able to roll to a sudden stop, rather than being dragged head first through the grass. By my third go around, I had worked out that if you think of it as water skiing and get into a rhythm at the side of the horse, the balance and speed feels more under control. I was whooping with pride as we got up to a canter.

It may have felt like we were going at 50 miles per hour, but it was probably 20. However, I was getting a little bit of air over some of the muddy bumps and started to feel like I was riding the wake from a boat. I was grateful to Katherine for noticing me coming alongside the horse at one point and for pushing on slightly faster so that I wasn’t pulling the horse, rather than the way it’s meant to be, and we made it around in one piece. I hadn’t got up to a gallop, because new horse boarder Dan Wild had told me ‘I have found a whole new world of pain’. Falling off has been compared to getting out of a car at 30 miles an hour. ‘But I love it,’ he added. ‘I have always been around horses, but wanted an extreme adrenalin sport which tapped into that, and also my love of board sports.’

There can’t be many cooler sights than seeing a boarder hit top speed behind a galloping horse which is kicking up a confetti of mud and grass. That’s why they wear the goggles, but unlike in water skiing if you do come off, you are not going to be soaking wet, and you can be surfing the soil again in seconds.

To give horseboarding a go, or to marvel at the roman riding skills then visit the website: www.britishhorsesurfingassociation.com