ISG and MALE Presidents write
Babolna Support Letters

The ISG (International Shagya Araber Gesellschaft) and MALE (Hungarian Arabian – Shagya Breeders Group) presented letters to the President of Hungary, Dr. László Sólyom: asking what is to become of the State Stud Babolna? Both Ahmed Al Samarraie and Dr. Walter Hecker, President of their respective Arabian Associations inquire what is the plan for Babolna.



The letters listed below were translated into English from their originals and then provided for information to the public from their writers. (Not translated by the ASAV). It has been suggested that persons concerned with the status of Babolna contact their ambassador to Hungary.
In the USA that is:
April H. Foley
Embassy of the United States of America
Szabadság tér 12
H-1054 Budapest, Hungary

The Ambassador from Hungary to the USA:
H.E. Dr. Ferenc Somogyi 
Hungarian Ambassador 
3910 Shoemaker Street NW 
Washington, DC 20008 

Agricultural Section: agbudapest@mail.datanet.hu
Found on the Secretary of States Office websight.

Or the President of Hungary, Dr. László Sólyom

More information can be found by scrolling down the page to the original post and a PDF to an article translated from Hungarian to English from the Hungarian Horse World Magazine. Lovas Nemzet.

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Letter of the Board of ISG to the President of Hungary, Dr. László Sólyom:

Dear Mister President!

We have heard, that the Hungarian government is planning to give the National Stud Bábolna to a Asset Management Company in the near future, because it is not willing to carry the losses anymore.

Furthermore we notified that the director has been discharged without any reason. He was managing the stud since five years with tremendous success.

Please allow me to introduce our association shortly. This also will explain why we are interfering in this case although it is a national affair of Hungary.

The ISG (International Arab- Shagya Association) was established in 1978, based in Hamburg, by private persons, to preserve the in Bábolna breed, distinguished purebred Arabs for the future (back in those days several hundred of these horses have been sold to the West) – this happened to avoid the disintegration of the Shagya in other sport – horse breeds. This would have meant the end of this extraordinary race. Also we wanted to name this race Bábolna – Arab, but this was rejected by the former General Manager, Dr. Robert Burgert. So we named it “Shagya – Arab” after the oldest line.

At this time this extraordinary race is being bred in over 20 member states, but the source is still Bábolna. Maybe you do not know what kind of treasure your country is holding in his hands. Please note, that it was the Shagya – Arab “Hungares”, breed in Bábolna, which became World Champion/ Endurance riding about 160 km at the FEI World Equestrian Games 2006 in Aachen.

Since 1990 the new management opened up a new era by resume the breed with verve. Bábolna asked us for help and we have been happy about the circumstance that the stud is managed by professionals and so save the future of this race. I provided my own brood mare “Tisza”, to save the genetic values, because this mare family died out in Bábolna.

Along the last years Bábolna leased 15 stallions out of Germany and Switzerland, bought three and sent 80 mares to the best stallions for covering abroad. In most of the cases the members of our Association renounce the covering fee or reduced them severely.

The success of this relief operation was enormous, so today Bábolna can be proud of the high quality of its horses. And this quality is unique. Worldwide! It is essential for the preservation and development of this breed.

All of us are proud about the tremendous success of this collaboration. The specialists of our Association were shocked about the circumstance, that apparently you have not recognized what a high national value, potential and responsibility you are holding in hand.

The horses bred in Bábolna do have a very large international circle of friends. Such people, who do not know Hungary but are willing to travel to your country just because of these horses.

During the regularly hold ISG Europe Championates and other international events we could persuade ourselves about the Hungarian hospitality, which is also known worldwide. This combination makes Bábolna a cultural and professional centre and interesting for more and more National Associations.

Bábolna is a real good Ambassador for Hungary. All appearances of horses and riders from Bábolna, starting with Equitana to the FEI World Equestrian Games, were well organized, disciplined and have been huge successes. And rightly so!

Whose opinion is, that things are not going well in Bábolna, has never seen Bábolna before.

As a matter of course the financing of these kinds of national institutions is a problem all around Europe. Of course we do not know the exact figures, but it would be a big mistake, because of financial problems, to risk a deprivation, which later on can not be made up.

Hungary is a Riders Nation. This is not only alleged by you but accepted all around the world. It can not be true, that the Hungarian budget would be influenced positively by giving the National Stud to an Asset Management. We further on would like to help Bábolna – like beofer - in selling the horses. The members of our Society buy with pleasure horses bred in Bábolna. Also we would like to give a hand to the Stud with the marketing, if it is necessary.

Dear Mister President!

We are kindly asking you to rethink your decision about the sale to an Asset Management Company. Is it really in the interest of the Hungarian state or are there other interests behind? This would arouse an international scandal for sure.

As mentioned before we are willing to give you every helping hand we have to raise the degree of popularity of the stud and so assure an even bigger success on the world market as it already is.

Signed sincerely:

Ahmed Al Samarraie

President

Siegfried Frei

Former President for long, President in honour

Bruno Furrer

Establishing Member of ISG

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The Hungarian Arab Horse Breeding Association was writing a letter to the president of the Hungarian Republic in which it is expressing its displeasure about giving f the National Stud Bábolna to Trusteeship and the discharge of Mr. Tamas Rombauer.

Budapest, February 7th 2008-03-11

Dear Mr. President!

The National Property Board has dismissed Mr. Rombauer, the Managing Director of the National Stud Bábolna, with immediately effectiveness out of his charges on its meeting on the 16th January 2008.

According to our information this was indicated by Mrs. Klara Horvath, a represent of the MSZP (Hungarian Socialist Party) in the Parliament, and mayor of Bábolna, who is surrounded by a economical interest group. The media is already informed about a profiteering real estate deal.

The stud was established 1789 and survived the vitiations of the Napoleon war, the first and the second WW and is one of the biggest national treasures of Hungary. Since the visit of president Roosevelt in 1910 shimmering personalities continued this tradition till our days such like Haile Selassie, Chruschow and HRH Juan Carlos of Spain and is a fix item on every protocol when you have state visitors from all around the world.

Bábolna is the cradle of the Shagya- Arab, former called Bábolna Arab, which was pronounced a national treasure, which needs to be protected, according to the resolution 32/2004 (IV.19) of the Hungarian Parliament.

The Hungarian animal breed law assigned the Hungarian Arab Horse Breeding Association to preserve the thoroughbred Arab, the Shagya- Arab and the Anglo-Arab. When The National Property Board discharged Mr. Rombauer, a worldwide distinguished specialist without asking for the opinionof the orgaanisation responsible for the preservation of the breed and put the future of the stud into the hands of dilatants, which have now clue about horse breeding, it endangered the future right of this institutions.

How can you trust in the words of people, who are saying that they will save the conservatory, if they are not even able to read music?

According to our information this whole decision is based on lies up on which the work in Bábolna wasn’t done professional. The truth is, that Bábolna, since the regime change, recapture his glory which is based in the years before WW II. This is owed to the unselfish effort of many people of the ISG(International Shagya Association) and many more. This is proven by the results of the international horse shows organised regularly in the stud, (latest in 2007) and those of the ISG Championships, as well as by the result of Hungares, a Shagya Arab horse bred in Bábolna, won the Endurance Race World Championship in Aachen 2006. ŰThe Bábolna National Stud is now the nucleus breed of the line, which also by taking the biodiversing within the breed, was successful in purchasing back the excellent last representative of the Jussuf line from Norway. Now developing the Shagya breed and further the revivification of the extinct clade of Siglavy is the aim.)

The Shagya race is being bred in over 17 countries in Europe and North and South America, handled by the ISG which closely works together with Bábolna. There are 17 member associations of the ISG which are all regularly coming together in Bábolna to breed and develop the clade to the top.

Behind the decision to give the Stud to private hands, which can be the end of the Bábolna Stud and that of the Shagya Breed, there is the aim for privatisation of the people being on power. That would destroy everything for ever. And the jurisdictions can do nothing or is not willing to do something.

We can assure you, that we’ll fight this shameful decision with all the legal methods which are given to a civil institution.

Herein we ask you for your help.

Signed sincerely:

Dr.. Walter Hecker

President MALE

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Hungarian Arabian Stud Babolna Slated To Close?

PDF ofan article translated from the Hungarian Horse World Magazine

In a open letter (January 19th, 2008) to Arabian and Shagya breeders all over the world ,Tamas Rombauer, past director the Hungarian Arabian State Stud of Babolna, announced that he was withdrawn from his position as it's director. He mentioned that the horses would be placed in to conservatorship of private breeders, basically disbanded. See letter which follows this intro.

This 200 year old stud is a former fortress with large stone walls that enclose the main court yard of the stud. Today it is the main offices for the Babolna chicken breeding corporation, along with other agricultural business run by the former Agricultural Co-op. .The historical fort also houses the main headquarters of the Hungarian Arabian Stud, Babolna.

 

Within the enormous rectangular walls is the formal garden area with main fountain and the bronze of Shagya db. It is so massive inside, the entire Olympic dressage indoor arena building is positioned width wide. It also contains a coach house to store the large ceremonial carriage collection used for special events. The traditional Hungarian harness with their long leather braided stallangs have been paraded since the time of Empress Maria Theresa in the mid 1700’s. This empress of the Austro Hungarian Empire was responsible for driving the Ottoman Turks back into Turkey and bringing in the finest Arabian stallions, who’s blood was so desired at this time at the farm which surrounds the Fortress Babolna.

From her proclamation, Babolna was to create a horse breeding farm to continue the lineage of the purebred Arabians and create a breed of horse for the Hungarian Calvary originally referred to as Arabe- rasse, now referred to as the Shagya Arabian. She further more created an entire system throughout the countryside, where stallions would rotate in to smaller local studs for breeding better horses in that area. The plan showed that it was much easier for one good stallion to create many good offspring, while a mare would only conceive a limited amount of offspring in her lifetime. In recent time the Anglo Arabian has also been bred there from English Thoroughbreds.

To lose such a magnificent stud with a very old tradition would be a loss to the heritage of the Arabian horse. In the mid 1990’s there was a political movement to close the stud and disband the horses, with such a world wide out cry, the farm was re-instated and actually enlarged, with a multi million dollar renovation of the entire property.


Although this up grade was made for the entire agricultural main offices for Babolna, it also allowed the State to continue the breeding Arabian horses.

This beautification project benefited the Arabian State Stud to a great extent, by the increase of tourism during horse events held at their new facility. It allowed the stud to host not only horse shows, but judging seminars, and breeder conferences. Today, the complex is now known for its grandeur and fine care of its horses.


In his letter Rombauer, explained that although this is a particular problem now for the Hungarian Arabian Estate Stud, it is actually an entire problem for all historically based horse breeding operations throughout Europe on state owned property. As the population grows and land becomes more valuable, these very old state studs will become political pawns in government programs as they try to reclaim the land for other uses.


Although the Arabian horse is not considered a rare endangered breed, the Shagya Arabian is, as their numbers have been sustained at around 2000 breeding animals worldwide. In the United States and Canada the number is less then 150 breeding animals. For many Shagya Arabian breeders they consider Babolna the birthplace of this 200 year old Hungarian breed of horse and to loose such a shrine like Babolna to development, is not only a loss for the Arabian community, but a Hungarian cultural icon to the past.

Letter from Tamas Rombauer

Dear Friends!

I would like to inform you, that with 17th January 2008 I have been withdrawn as director of B·bolna National Stud Estate Ltd., and at the same time my employment with this company has come to an end.

The decision has been made by the National Council of Property Agency and has been executed by the director general of the Corporation Responsible for National Properties. In the background of the affair is the acquisition of 11.000 hectare of land of the earlier company, the B·bolna Corporation, from which until today the Stud could not get any hectare. Moreover, the decision of the government regarding this (namely that the B·bolna National Stud would get 760 hectares of land) has not been executed for one and a half years. Their intention is to give the stud together with the horses to trusteeship, for which there is no operable pattern in the world.

I have been in charge of the breeding program of B·bolna Stud for 17 years and during the last 5 years I was the director of the whole National Stud Estate Ltd. (2 studs, the Arabian Stud B·bolna and the Englisch Thoroughbred Stud in DiÛspuszta, the tourism, botanic and zoological park, operating of the electric network, maintenance of the traditional buildings, organising fairs and exhibitions, school). We have reached significant results, in which our breeding, professional co-operation with international organisations and breeders played an important role. All this needed all my time and attention, and so I could not accept many invitations that I received in the last years. Thank you for your understanding!

I would also like to thank everybody, who granted help to B·bolna in the past, mainly since 1990. The place would not be enough to make a list of these people, and I am sure, there were some of them, whom I would forget to mention, but Mr. Krzysztalowicz/Janow, Mr. Eckehard Frielinghaus (ISG) and Mr. Jay Stream (WAHO) are lucky, that they do not see, how the breeding work of 219 years will be eliminated.

Depending on my free time I will go on to assist the activity of the MALE (Society of the Hungarian Arabian Horse Breeders) as “volunteer”. Together with the directors of other European State Studs, we have begun to co-ordinate the activities of the National Studs of Europe, and have planned to create a Society, the European State Stud Assembly (ESSA). The necessity of this is now confirmed by what is happening in B·bolna and in Hungarian horse breeding.

Only the loud protest of the national and international public can help Babolna and prevent similar actions. At least, such a protest will probably make those responsible to re-consider what they have done.

This is by no means only a national problem, since the question to preserve a cultural heritage of Europe, in this case the Shagya-Arabs, is to preserve a horse breed, which has been qualified by the Hungarian Parliament as an endangered one. Regarding preservation of this breed, the President of Hungary, Mr. L·szlÛ SÛlyom has committed himself. Decision regarding the future of the B·bolna National Stud can be made by Prof. Dr. J·nos Nagy, President of the National Council for Property Agency, as well as the Financial Minister, Mr. J·nos Veres.

“Today us – tomorrow you” - this could be the slogan, since every breed, which is in state ownership is threatened by this danger. And without any basis, the private breeders are not able to preserve what is considered a “not so modern” breed.

Your protest can be successful if the press is also informed about what is happening. In case, you are going to do something in this regard, is our Society ready to help you.

Once more thank you for your co-operation.

With best regards,

Tam·s Rombauer

2943 B·bolna, WesselÈnyi u. 46.

e-mail: rombauer@vivamail.hu

Tel: +36-34-568-086 Mobil: +36-20-569-5503

PRESS RELEASE

The Kentucky Equine Eduational Project - KEEP, has awarded the American Shagya Arabian Verband Inc, a horse registry for the rare 200 year old breed - Shagya Arabian a KEEP Grassroots funding Grant of $1000.00. This grant was allocated to the ASAV organization to procure the International Judge and Arabian horse expert, Tamas Rombauer. As the past director of the Hunagarian State Stud, a breeding farm for Arabian, Shagya Arabian, Anglo Arabian and Thoroughbred breeds, he is the world renowned expert for these horses throughout Europe.


Rombauer will speak during the ASAV Weekend of Clinics and Seminars March 14-16, 2008 at Darlene Steven Stables, Finchville. He will showcase one of his presentations with a picture show of Shagya and Arabian bloodlines. He will also talk about the Hungarian State Stud, Babolna, built as a fortress for the protection of the Arabian and Hungarian Horses of Empress Maria Theresa of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in the mid 1700's.

"Without the support of KEEP's grassroots funding, the ASAV would not be able to bring Tamas Rombauer from Hungary, for a short stay. After the event he will tour the Bluegrass and is looking forward to seeing American Saddlebreds for the first time." said Darlene Steven, Director on the ASAV board. She went on to say how generous KEEP was for helping fund this weekend of clinics. Steven gave a presentation to the KEEP Grassroots Funding Committee in mid Feburary and only received notice last week of its procurement. This also allows the ASAV to open this weekend to the general public.

It is free to horse youth groups, and 4-H members. The ASAV is still looking for sponsors to help and has found some private funding for the event. For updates and information www.shagyaregistry.com

 

  
 

 


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