Four decades after the unsurpassed seventh four-wheel drive world championship, the hoof tracks led to Szilvásvárad again.

With the Hungarian heroes of the World Championship forty years ago, which had a great impact on the entire sport, the top event of the four-wheel drive, which lasted until Sunday, was opened again after four decades in Szilvásvárad.

The ninety-minute program began with a performance by the Budapest Garrison Band of the Hungarian Armed Forces, and then, amid a storm of applause, the Hungarian contestants of the 1984 World Cup arrived at the Lipica Equestrian Center in two foursomes, among whom the gold medalist László Juhász will take part in the world championship as a runner-up - i.e. out of competition .

After the previous heroes, the current competitors, 43 drivers from 14 countries - including nine Hungarians - walked onto the field.

In his greeting, Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky, Minister of National Defense, reminded that the Hungarians have proven in recent years that they have a lot of experience in successfully organizing international sports events, citing the World Aquatics Championships and last year's World Athletics Championships as examples.

This event shows the commitment of the Hungarian people and the government to dental sports. "Hungary has a great heritage in gear driving," said Szalay-Bobrovniczky in English, who said that Hungary had a very successful Olympics with six gold, seven silver and six bronze medals. Since 1996, he was the first Hungarian rider at the five-ring games.

Continuing in Hungarian, Szalay-Bobrovniczky spoke about the fact that the State Stud Farm and the Lipica Equestrian Center in Szilvásvára have been on the path of growth since 2018, thus becoming one of the recognized centers of equestrian sports in the world, thanks to which they can host the world four-wheel drive championship again after forty years.

Tibor Pettkó-Szandtner looks down from above with a smile on his descendants, who are trying to be worthy of him and his generation - the Minister of National Defense referred to the general, who in 1931 wrote a book entitled Magyar Kozizás, and later was responsible for horse breeding in the entire country at the Ministry of Agriculture.

The Minister of National Defense concluded his speech by saying that, as a horseman, he knows that "the relationship between a horse and a man cannot be compared to anything".

"Four decades after the unsurpassed seventh four-wheel drive world championship, the hooves once again led to Szilvásvárad. Prince Philip, the respected former president of the International Equestrian Federation, who won a bronze medal here in Szilvásvárad as a member of the British team in 1984, wrote the following in the memorial book: Hungary has always taken a pioneering role in driving the world. We prepared with this sense of mission and responsibility, and I can say that thanks to the hard work, everything is available for the competition to start," stated Vilmos Lázár, president of the Hungarian Equestrian Association.

Finally, Joaquin Medina Garcia, the Spanish president of the international association's host committee, greeted the participants and wished them a memorable and sporting fight.

At the end of the opening, Count Nádasdy Ferenc Huszár Division's eight horse and rider pair, then the National Equestrian Decoration Unit with 17 horses, then the audience could see a show and dressage production.

The races start on Thursday and Friday at 10 a.m. with the prize drive, on Saturday there will be the most spectacular and free-to-view marathon drive, and on Sunday also at 10 a.m., the World Championships in Szilvásvárad will end with the obstacle drive.

MTI

Cover photo: Soldiers holding the flags of the participating countries at the opening of the four-wheel drive world championship at the Lipica Equestrian Center in Szilvásvárad on September 4, 2024.
Source: MTI/Péter Komka