The first one was in 1965, and this year the 55. Hortobágy Equestrian Days will be held between July 14 and 16. In recent decades, the event has grown into a defining event of the region and one that crosses national borders, the main purpose of which is to introduce and popularize the past and present of the pastoral culture characteristic of Hortobágy, as well as the work of the Mátai Menes horse breeder and its working collection of teeth that are still in use today.
The relationship between Debrecen and Hortobágy dates back to long ago, as the free royal city of Debrecen founded the Hortobágy stud, which with its history of more than 300 years is one of the oldest studs in Hungary. The stud of the city of Debrecen is first mentioned in an archival record from the 17th century. The Hortobágy wasteland belonged to Debrecen for centuries, until 1948, and for a long time the basis of the well-being of the citizens of Debrecen was provided by the thousands of animals grazed on Hortobágy.
In this year’s parade of the Debrecen Flower Carnival, a flower float will be prepared on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Hortobágy National Park, which will be accompanied by the famous Puszta Five Tooth.
Puszta Five Tooth means the horseman steers five horses at the same time.
The colts drives the tooth while standing on the back of two horses.
The audience interested in the programs of the Hortobágy Equestrian Days and the public visiting the event are more and more receptive to the simple joys of nature, its unfalsifiable and original world, and are also open to Hungarian landscapes that offer a wide variety of experiences. In the renaissance of traditions and traditional crafts, the Hortobágy Riding Days represent a value that for the 21st-century person represents the experience of time travel, connection, and reacquainting with previous knowledge and forgotten knowledge.
Mátai Stud, maintained by Hortobágyi Nonprofit Kft., is one of the most important horse breeding centers in Hungary, with one of the largest horse stocks in the country. The skills of 300 horses are presented at the Equestrian Days. It is an eternal experience to see a part of this huge stud and this year’s foals during a stud drive with live music in the sunset of the wilderness. On Friday, Saturday and Sunday, from 9 a.m. to early evening, eye-catching and often surprising equestrian programs and demonstrations await visitors. Several national equestrian competitions take place at the event, such as the Hortobágy Derby and the Grand Prix, as well as the national foal championship, combined cog driving competition, cog driving relay competition, simultaneous cog driving competition and the Csaba Dunka memorial competition. Horse shows cannot be missed, which amaze people every time and prove the harmony and wordless harmony that can exist between animal and man, horse and rider: colt and pony shows, hussar and police carousel, stunt riders. This year, the Hortobágy Gallop awaits visitors on the Sunday of the event: the winners of the regional qualifying race can test their skills at the big National Gallop in the fall.
On Saturday and Sunday, the host of the event, Gábor Gundel Takács, awaits the visitors on the stage, during the competitions and in the entire area. One of the highlights of the Hortobágy Equestrian Days is the grandiose folk dance production entitled “Arra van egy kőhíd rakva” starting at 6 p.m. on Saturday. It got its title from a shepherd’s anecdote, which can be found in a book edited by ethnographer András Béres, director of the Déri Museum and founder of the Debrecen Népi Együttes. On this evening, the audience can see the joint production of the Forgórózsa Dance Ensemble, the Főnix Children’s and Youth Folk Dance Ensemble, the Hajdú Dance Ensemble and the Debrecen Folk Ensemble, as well as the Aranyszalma Folk Dance Ensemble of Hajdúnánási with 100-150 dancers.
In the whirlwind of the 2,000 m2 Children’s Equestrian village, Bazarózsa folk games, a huge straw castle, Paprika Jancsi’s Czúlizdá and live folk storytelling await the little ones on all three days. Thanks to Kádár Ferkó’s Photo Theater, interested parties can become time travelers for the duration of a picture, while timeless craft activities take place. In the equestrian village, the Miskolc Csodamalom Puppet Theater, the Langaléta Garabonciások, the Debrecen Hajdú Dance Group, the Debrecen Népi Együttes, the Ládafia Puppet Theater, the Winged Dragons, the Garagulya Gólyalábas Komédiás Kompánia bring the witchcraft skills of the old fair comedians, traveling actors and musicians with their unique atmosphere. Also commemorating the Petőfi anniversary, Gábor Boka will appear, whose valiant János play is about the joy of storytelling.
The program is complemented by traditional shepherd’s dishes – including 400 kg of gray cattle prepared in a pot – and visitors interested in domestic, handmade products can have an adventure at a craft fair.
More information and tickets are available on the Hortobágy Equestrian Days website.
JULY 14 (FRIDAY)
Arena
10:00 Csaba Dunka Memorial competition
11:30 Combined carriage drive
13:00 Hortobágy Life Picture: a parade of colts and carriages, Puszta Five Tooth
16:00 Stud drive
Show jumping competition track
7:00-10:00 80-100 cm show jumping competitions
12.00-16.00 110-130 cm show jumping competitions
JULY 15 (SATURDAY)
Arena
10:00 Hortobágy Derby
11:30 Hortobágyi Élétkép: a parade of colts and carriages, and Puszta Five Tooth
12:00 Opening
13:00 Horsepower competition
14:00 National foal championship – 1st round
15:00 Equestrian show: presentation of Puszta Five Tooth and Devil riders
16:30 3v3 teeth relay competition
18:00 “Arra van egy kőhíd rakva”: show by dance groups from Debrecen
19:00 Stud drive
19:30 Dance House
Show jumping competition track
7:00-10:00 80-100 cm show jumping competitions
12.00-16.00 110-130 cm show jumping competitions
Children’s Equestrian village
11:00 a.m. Miskolc Csodamalom Puppet Theatre: ”Mindentjáró malmocska”
12:00 Garagulya Gólyalábas Komédiás Kompánia: Bitang Dezső zsinnyegtet
13:00 Debrecen Hajdú Dance Ensemble – folk dance performance and dance hall
14:00 Ládafia Puppet Theater: “Lóvá tett kupac”
15:00 Garagulya Gólyalábas Komédiás Kompánia: “Vásári komédia Garagulya módra”
16:00 Gábor Boka: John the Valiant
JULY 16 (SUNDAY)
Arena
09:30 Hortobágy Grand Prix
11:30 National foal championship – 2nd round
12:30 Hortobágy Life Picture: a parade of colts and carriages, Puszta Five Tooth, mounted police, hussars
1:00 Equestrian show: presentation of Puszta Five Tooth, Devil riders, police carousel, hussars presentation
14:30 National foal championship – Síkvágta
15:30 Simultaneous gear driving competition
18:30 Stud drive
Show jumping competition track
7:00-12:00 80-100 cm show jumping competitions
12.00-16.00 110-130 cm show jumping competitions
Track race
10:00 Hortobágyi Vágta – Qualifier -National Gallop preliminary race
16:30 Hortobágyi Vágta – Final – National Gallop preliminaries
Children’s Equestrian village
11:00 Wandering musician László Gulyás: The story of Csiczöri
12:00 Winged Dragons: Old woman and death
13:00 Debrecen Folk Ensemble – folk dance show and dance hall
14:00 János Pályi: László Vitéz and the cursed mill
15:00 Langaléta Garabonciások: “Háry János, avagy a nagyot lépő obsitos”
16:00 Csicsogó Theatre: Matyi Kökeny
