Adventure Horse Star Trail / Hungary

Active Adventure

Program: guided star tour
Date: January - December
Board: full board
Rooms: double room, single room (farmhouse)
Language: English, German and Hungarian Participants: Min. /max. 3-6 riders
Level & Experience: Strong Intermediate+.
Pace: Trots, lots of canters. 4- 6 hours/day, up to 30 miles/day

Typical Day

1. Day: Transfer (shuttle) from Budapest Ferihegy Airport to Ruzsa. This 1 ½ hour trip will take you through the Hungarian Southern Great Plain
with its distant horizon where the sky is touching the ground. After passing charming villages, leave the public streets and continue on sandy roads leading to the secluded farmstead “Virág Tanya” (Winner of Hungarian Tourism-Award). Meet your local hosts Daniela & Oliver Christen (native Austrians living in Hungary since 2001) and their staff who will show your guestrooms, the farm and the horses. In the evening they will arrange the typical Hungarian meal “Bogrács” Goulash cooked in stew-pot on open fire. Dine and get to know each other. Then your tour-guide will give details of your week-long program.
2. Day: Farmers breakfast with Hungarian specialties will surely make a real good start for your first day. Then off you go to meet a special breed, the Hungarian Sport Horse – Warmblood on hand in a well-equipped stable. All horses stand tall with a good appearance and will carry you with confidence and sure trots and gallops through the terrain. In the round pen you may find your best horse and saddle for your own comfort. A first ride into the neighbourhood will give you a chance to taste how it feels like to be in the middle of

the endless meadows and fields. In the evening you will be served some traditional Hungarian meal together with the indispensable local moonshine, the infamous “Palinka”!
3. Day: After breakfast, saddle your horse, take your picnic lunch pack then off you ride on your first trail. You will ride past local farmlands under crop, homesteads and barns run by farmers in traditional ways. Do not miss to have a close encounter “type three” with the world-famous Hungarian red pepper or paprika. It is so hot that it takes your breath away. Then have break at the hot springs at Érszebéth Spa in Mórahalom. Dine at the tavern to taste the splendid local dishes.

4. Day: Meet for an early breakfast. This morning you will set off for a long ride
through the forests with a good chance to see some of the local wildlife like pheasants, rabbits, red-deer’s or even wild-boars. A remote spot will surprise you with a traditional menu cooked by local hunters.
5. Day: Fine breakfast followed by a half day ride across a wild and romantic Puszta-landscape – a revelation of sheer natural beauty. In the afternoon you will leave the tranquil puszta and visit Szeged, the city of sunshine. Along the river Tisza the avenues and boulevards with a strikingly homogenous architecture that preserves the Eclecticism and Art Nouveau of the turn of the century stun visitors with the atmosphere of a quiet college town. You may have a break at a classy café, visit the cathedral, the unique synagogue or just relax at the Thermal Spa. At the end of the day taste the famous spicy fish-soup called Halászlé cooked from a selection of local freshwater fish.
6. Day: Hearty breakfast. Then off you ride again to see the Hungarian longhorn, the formidable and exceptional ‘Mangalicza’ pig (Revoke your memories of tasty bacons and hams.) and longwool sheep. Watch some herds moving and grazing in endless and undisturbed meadows. In the evening you shouldn’t miss to taste some local specialities at the so called “Szalonasütes” a barbeque from pig fat with delicious spices and side dishes.

THIS ITINERARY IS FLEXIBLE. CHANGES MAY OCCUR DUE TO WEATHER OR OTHER UNFORESEEN CIRCUMSTANCES.

7. Day: Fry-up. Today's ride will lead past wine yards and a National Park area with old oak-trees then you will have to gallop through water and a Sea of Reeds. Have a picnic-break in the fields or under a nice tree to energize for some long distance trots and gallops along fields and sandy roads. Say good by to this land and the horses, but promise to come back again. A chill-out in a well temperate wine-cellar awaits you to taste of the regional wines served with typical homemade salami, ham and cheese.
8. Day: Breakfast. Transfer to Budapest.
Special:
Moonlight-ride*Experience a night trail during the full-moon period. Observe the clear sky, the Milky Way and dive into the so called pusztasea with its pure silver glance accompanied by the sound of silence. What an unforgettable experience for rider and horse! *(depends on the weather +/- 2 days before and after full-moon).

Sleeping and meals

During your stay you will be lodged in a traditional farmhouse “Tanya” built from adobe-bricks with thatched roof. Savor the big outdoors and natural walk of life traditionally based on the use of local produce and raw materials.
A little pond near the farm invites you for a swim.
Enjoy the romantic evenings at open fires while tasting delicious specialities made by customary Hungarian Sheppard style. Dishes are being served with the typical dry wines from this sandy region. Do not miss the gorgeous meals offered at characteristic taverns.
After a long ride relax at one of the famous spas of the area.

Restrictions

Adults only max. 90 Kg

Other Information

Trail dates:
Code Type Days Date
ST/NY/M/0106-7 Star trail/New Year/Moonlight ride 8 2006 Dez/30 - 2007 Jan/06
ST/0207 Star trail 8 2007 Jan/13 - Jan/20
ST/M/0307 Star trail/Moonlight ride 8 2007 Jan/27 - Feb/03
ST/0407 Star trail 8 2007 Feb/17 - Feb/24
ST/0507 Star trail 8 2007 Mar/10 - Mar/17
ST/M/0607 Star trail/Moonlight ride 8 2007 Mar/31 - Apr/06
ST/0607 Star trail 8 2007 Apr/21 - Apr/28
ST/0707 Star trail 8 2007 May/5 - May/12
ST/M/0807 Star trail/Moonlight ride 16 2007 May/19 - Jun/02
ST/0907 Star trail 8 2007 Jun/09 - Jun/16
ST/1007 Star trail 8 2007 Aug/11 - Aug/18
ST/M/1107 Star trail/Moonlight ride 8 2007 Aug/22 - Sep/01
ST/1207 Star trail 8 2007 Sep/08 - Sep/15
ST/M/1407 Star trail/Moonlight ride 8 2007 Sep/22 - Sep/29
ST/1507 Star trail 8 2007 Oct/06 - Oct/13
ST/M/1607 Star trail/Moonlight ride 8 2007 Oct/20 - Oct/27
ST/M/1707 Star trail/Moonlight ride 16 2007 Nov/17 - Dec/01
ST/NY/1807-8 Star trail/New Year 8 2007 Dec/29 - 2008Jan/06

Individual schedules or additional days are possible.