Horse Show

Zsuzsa, Aliz, Zsolt
We were treated to an exhibition of superior Hungarian horsemanship.

Back in the day where there was much fighting, the horsemen had to train their horses not to shy and bolt when there was gunfire going off all around them . Hence the bullwhips. We watched a trio of horsemen ride around the covered corral cracking their whips as the horses galloped past us, throwing up little tufts of soil. Then the horses were instructed to lie flat on their sides, a position in which you rarely see horses. Their riders stood on the horses' flanks and continued to crack their whips. I really wanted to try it, but it wasn't offered. You could, however, ride one of the horses so Hans did. Zsuzsa and Aliz also went for a ride around the corral and that seemed to be very popular with the little 2 1/2 year old girl.


The saddles are very different in that first of all, they only weigh about 2 kilos, including stirrups. There are no straps. The saddle just sits on the horse and the stirrups hang down on either side. I'm still not sure how the horsemen mounted them without pulling the saddle down on one side.

The horses' final trick was to sit on their haunches like a dog. Never saw a horse do that before.

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