The Equestrian Academy, which has been fully owned by the University of Debrecen since 2000, plays a significant role in education, leisure sports and the third-mission activities of the university as well.
“It provides an infrastructural and scientific background for the horse owners and breeders programme offered at the Faculty of Agriculture, as well as for the sports sciences programme, by way of introducing students to equestrian culture. At the same time, an increasing number of students also choose horse-back riding as a leisure-time activity or even as their chosen sport in lieu of physical education classes, and an interesting feature is that almost half of the approximately one hundred students involved are international students,” said Zoltán Bács, chancellor.
Currently there are 52 horses kept at the Equestrian Academy, 16 of which are owned by the university. By way of keeping and breeding Gidran horses, the university also participates in the gene conservation program aimed at preserving this ancient Hungarian breed.
“In the past one and a half years, developments in the total combined value of one hundred million HUF have been implemented at the facility. We surfaced the standard-size indoor riding arena with a special quartz sand, which is the state-of-the-art technology used in the leading equestrian facilities around the world. We also renovated the outdoor riding arena, improving the soil and adding a tent roof, which means that the equestrian centre now how two covered riding courses. In addition, we have completed the new, 18-box stable, which allows us to increase the number of horses kept at livery,” said István Wachter, the managing director of Debreceni Lovasakadémia Közhasznú Nonprofit Kft., the company operating the Equestrian Academy.
After the upgrading of the arenas, stables and roads, in the second phase, the renovation of the main building, changing rooms and storage spaces is also planned at the facility in Kartács Street.
In addition to the university students and the 15 athletes of the Debrecen Equestrian Academy Sports Association, approximately 40 to 50 children also regularly come to Kartács Street where they learn to ride on ponies. There are also camps organized each summer; last year, 120 children participated in weekly turns. The aim of the non-profit company operating the equestrian centre is to ensure that, in addition to the educational and research objectives, the complex can also provide high-quality sporting and leisure services to the general population.
The Equestrian Academy of the University of Debrecen also joins in the national tour route development programme of the Hungarian Equestrian Tourism Association. After a successful recent application, the centre can become one of the two designated stations along the proposed national equestrian tourist route.
Press Office
