horses

Hosok Tere (Heroes Square) is a square on the main street in Budapest where there is a monument to the founders of Hungary. They were warriors called hussars who rode in on horseback from Asia over 1000 years ago and founded Hungary. The Hungarian language, as well as the race, has roots in Asia. There is a statue of the hussars on horseback in the middle of the square.

Right now, there is a big temporary horse race track in the square. Truckloads of sand were brought in, and a stadium was set up. It's a new annual tradition (this is the second year) called the national gallop. Each town in Hungary sends a horse and jockey to compete for the trophy and the honor of being the fastest. It is modeled after a historical race among the warriors. The event is accompanied by a festival where all the towns bring local food for people to try, and there are rides for the children. We attended the opening ceremony, where riders dressed in traditional costume paraded around. Each of the (nine I think?) founders of Hungary were represented in their traditional costume, and they did tricks on the horses, and shot arrows at small targets while moving fast.
















The hussars had to shoot a small target while riding fast. The target was a little gong-like piece of metal. I would hate to be the guy holding that! They missed about half the time, but always away from the guy holding it. When they were on a roll, it was cool to hear the clang, clang, clang of the metal as the riders circled the ring shooting the arrows.
















Each town was represented in the race, and each town has their own crest. I liked the crest of Oriszentpeter best, so I rooted for them. How awesome, a lion holding a sword!
















The event drew a huge crowd. There were booths set up all throughout the streets surrounding the square. This seems like their national fair. Actually, there always seem to be public events happening in Europe. Everywhere you go, there is something happening out in the streets, whether it be a protest, demonstration, concert, party, or government organized festival. At first, I thought I was just lucky to be at the right place at the right time, but there truly are events happening all the time, especially now that summer is here. Walking through the Buda castle, even, there was a band set up in an archway that had nice acoustics, and a large crowd had gathered. It just seems like this sort of thing does not happen much in the states.