The Hortobagy Stud of the Town of
Debrecen has the longest past among Hungarian historical studs.
The first written documentation about it was dated in 1671.
Its operation and history is unique in Hungary and extensively
different than the military purpose studs established by
Kaiser's orders (Mezőhegyes, Bábolna etc) and the private
studs linked to lords' estates.
The horse stock on the Hortobágy was always owned by
the civil community of the neighbouring villages and towns. The Stud
of the Free Royal Town of Debrecen has always excelled from these
community studs and its stock influenced the horse breeding of the
whole country. Under these special circumstances it took a long time
to form a breeding center that would make it similar to other
historical studs. In spite of its 300 years history Máta became Stud
Center only in the 1880's, and then served as the seat of the Máta
Commissioner and of the Debrecen's Civil Farming Community. The
dominant buildings of the present stud center were built in the 1940's
in the style of Debrecen's buildings.
After several owners The Stud is now owned by the Hortobágy National
Park and operated by the Hortobagyi Kht. The traditions that made the
horse breeding of the Hortobágy world famous have always been an
integrated part of the life of the Hortobágy National Park. Grazing
animals are essential to maintain the steppe habitat and landscape,
and the roles of the traditional animal breeds are newly appreciated.
Their preservation became an important present-day task due to their
values disappeared from the modern breeds.
The Máta Stud with its 250 horses is
now Hungary's most significant horse breeding center. The main
purpose of The Stud is to preserve the Nonius breed and to raise
a Hungarian Sport Horse breed that is able to fulfill the sport
and hobby requirements.
The Stud in the heart of the National Park is
revered for several reasons:
The area is the largest and most genuinely
preserved part of the Hungarian Puszta. The Hortobágy and The
Stud are one in the same, because The Stud is the symbol of
the Puszta.
The first and largest national park of
Hungary is the Hortobágy National Park, that was declared to be
part of the World Heritage due to its natural and cultural
values by the UNESCO in 1999.
As the turistical center of the National Park,
Máta forms the opinion of the visitors about the Park and the
Hungarian Puszta.
The Máta Stud -as a horse breeding center- is
not only engaged to fulfill breeding tasks on high standards but
also combines the requirements of a world heritage with the
professional and popular elements of Hungarian horse riding sport.
Apart from the very popular Hortobagy Equestrian Days, Máta gives
place to numerous professional programs such as Indoor Pair and
Four-in-Hand Championship, Show Jumping Winter Cup, Indoor
Championship of Amateur Horsedrivers, Horse Breeding Judgement of
the Hungarian Sport Horse Breeders Association and of the Nonius
Breeders Association.
The Nonius
The forefather of the breed, a stallion called Nonius born
in the Rosieres Stud in France, was captured in the Napoleon
Wars by the Austrian Kaiser's Army. The young Anglo-Norman
stallion that was "without special beauty in its looks", and
did not resemble the breed later named after him, arrived to
Mezőhegyes in 1816. During his mating years until 1832, he
fathered offsprings with the Arabian-impressed Spanish-Napolitano
mares resulting in excellent features in the horses. His 15
stud sire sons mated alltogether 100 mating seasons in Mezőhegyes.
As a result of the strong inbreeding among his offsprings,
the consolidated type of the breed developed soon and suited
the requirements of a semi-heavy army saddle and cart horse.
Due to this inbreeding, however, the defects of the breed
appeared in its rugged and rough looks. That was corrected
with Arabian and Thoroughbred crossing.
After the Austro-Hungarian Conciliation (1867) the Mezőhegyes
Stud and thus the Nonius breed had its golden age under the
directorate of Ferenc Kozma. This is proved by a range of
Exhibition Awards. The "Ideal Horse" (the Gold Medal) title
in the Millennial Paris World Exhibition was the first
international recognition of the breed. The genealogical line
founder sires - Nonius XXIX /A/, Nonius XXXI /B/, Nonius XXXVI
/C/ and Nonius XLII /D/, that were defined as such in 1943 -
mated in the 1880's and their offsprings determined the breed
characteristics through several generations.
Following World War II, the army use of the Nonius practically
ended and the breed became popular mainly as the workhorse of the
Great Plain in Hungary. Sport purpose crossing attempts were made
in the 1970's but it did not gain wide acclaim. The Nonius Breeders
Association was founded in 1989, and then the purebred breeding and
gene preservation became the dominant breeding purpose again.
The breed concerning its origin is a heavy English half-blood, one
of the heaviest warmblood cart horses. Two main types developed: the
larger and usually black Mezőhegyes type and the smaller, wirier and
usually bay-coloured Hortobágy type. The main characteristic of the
breed is the heavy half-convex or convex head, that is proportional
to its body size.
Its neck is high arched, medium long,
wither is medium high, back is well muscled and rotund, groin is
medium long, wide and well muscled. Its rump is large, slightly
aslope, chest is wide and less deep. Due to its cart type the
breast is wide and very well muscled, the joints are large and
the legs are dry (well visible tendons). Its wither height is
155-165 centimeters when measured with a stick, 167-180 centimeters
with string, chest girth is 180-210 centimeters and cannon bone
circumference is 22-24 centimeters.
The breed has supreme working spirit, calm temperament,
and is capable of lasting performance. It can be well used both as
draught-horse and horsedriving sport. Its role in the future is defined
by its special image, outstanding characteristics, typical outlook and
constant pedigree. According to these characteristics the breed
represents significant value as a gene reserve.
The two traditional studs of the breed, Mezőhegyes (40 mares) and
Hortobágy (60 mares), are still dominant. The public stock is considerable
only around Mezőhegyes and Makó and in Hajdú-Bihar County.
The total stock of the breed today consists of 450 mares and 80 stallions
in the main register. There are small-sized, pure-blood Hungarian origin
stocks in Romania and Serbia-Montenegro.
Hungarian Sport Horse
A magyar mezőgazdaság szerkezetében az 50-es évek végén bekövetkezett
változás, a szövetkezetesítés, a kisparaszti gazdaságok megszűnése,
az igaerő használat csökkentésének szándéka jelentős lófelesleget,
illetve újszerű hasznosítási igényt eredményezett. Ez elsősorban
a sport, illetve a szabadidős lóhasználat volt. E célt a hagyományos
magyar fajták nyugat-európai sportlófajtákkal folytatott fajtaátalakító
keresztezésével kívánták elérni, melyhez sikeresen alkalmazták
a holsteini-, illetve később szinte valamennyi eredményes
sportló fajta egyedeit.
The structural change of the Hungarian agriculture at
the end of the 1950's, the collectivization, the cease of small-sized
rustic farms and the efforts to decrease the use of draught animals led
to a significant surplus of horses and thus a new type of use - the sport
and hobby utilization. This aim was to be reached through crossing
traditional Hungarian horse breeds with Western European sport breeds,
that was successfully conducted with Holsteiners and then with almost
all sport breeds.
The beginning of sport horse breeding in Hortobágy are also dated back
to this time. Due to the modernization efforts of Nonius breeding, a stock
of horses was formed, that had been tested in sport but were not ranged into
the Nonius stock. Their excellent qualities reasoned their further sport
purpose breeding.
The connection with the Holsteiner Verband (Holstein Horse Breeders Association)
opened the way to join the system of international sport horse breeding. The
high quality was ensured by the rented sires from the frontline of Holstein
breeding. Larinero, Lucky Lionell, Calgary, Campione, Romino, Cassini II.,
Leonid, Coriander and Alcatraz crosses are often found in the pedigrees of
the world's leading sport horses, thus we can guarantee the breeding value
of the sport stock of the Hortobágy Stud.
The desired type of the Hungarian Sport
Horse is characterized by its size. The head is well-proportioned to the body,
the forehead and the scrag is wide, the neck is long and medium or high arched,
withers are long and medium high, back is well muscled and medium long, groin
is short and strong, rump is large. Breast is wide and deep, joints are large,
leg conformation is sound. Its wither height is 165-170 centimeters when
measured with a stick, 177-183 centimeters with string, cannon bone
circumference is 21.5-23 centimeters. The breed supporter Hungarian Sport
Horse Breeders Association records 1700 mares of which 20 mares belong to
the Hortobágy Stud's five mother lines.
