Hungary, Budapest Ranch Stay

This beautiful and diverse landscape offers almost endless trails over sandy roads and rolling hills. There are also basic western lessons.

The riding schedule is between these times : 9.30 AM - 11.30 AM and 2.00 PM – 16.00 PM and total 4 hours per day + 2 hours on arrival- or departure day.
So depending on when your flight arrive and depart, you might be able to ride either on the arrival day or the departure day.
In order to have time to ride on the first day it's arrival at Budapest airport no later than 11:30 AM. Or to be able to ride the last day, it is departure from Budapest airport at the earliest 3.15 PM.

The programs always start with 1 hour in the paddock. The riders and horses are matched and the instructor is going through the basic in western style and horseman ship.

A week is Sunday - Sunday and includes 26 hours of riding.

A short week is Sunday - Thursday and includes 14 hours of riding.

A weekend is Thursday - Sunday and includes 10 hours of riding. 
 

 

We are happy to introduce a new and fantastic opportunity for our intermediate or advanced riders. The National Park Trail ride will take you around Kiskunsag National Park. The whole ride will be on fantastic grounds, mostly on sand and with breathtaking scenery around the whole National Park. Lunch is usually picnic lunch packed in saddle bags.
Six nights and five days riding, ca 150-160 km and 4-7 hours riding/day.  

Dates 2020: 4/4, 2/5, 6/6, 4/7, 1/8, 12/9, 3/10
Dates 2021: 22-25.04, 20-23.05, 24-27.06, 22-25.07, 26-29.08, 23-26.09, 21-24.10

Group size: Minimum 3 and max 8. The ride can also be run with two riders for an additional cost of 200 EUR /person or three riders for additional cost of 100 EUR/person.

Preliminary day-by-day-program.

Day 1 Saturday: You will arrive on Saturday. You need to arrive by 12 noon. It is possible to arrive the previous day and there will be an additional cost for the stay. Today you will take a short test ride to check you are happy with the horse they have chosen for your abilities and that you are competent enough to make the long trail. The test ride will finish by 4 pm. For those who are not fit enough or considered experienced enough, it will be possible to stay at the ranch and ride out from there. You will enjoy a lovely dinner.

Day 2 Sunday: You will start the trail ride on Sunday morning. After around 18 km you will reach the first station the medieval temple Csonka Torony. The riding is mainly on the beautiful Hungarian Pusta and it takes about 3 h one way.  There will be served picnic lunch (hot meal) here. The lunch break is 1-1,5 hour then riding back to the ranch about 10 km.  Arrival time is about 16:00h. You will have dinner from 18:00h and are welcome to use the Welness centre (Jacuzzi, finn sauna, steam bath).

Day 3 Monday: After another delicious breakfast you will groom and tack up your horse. From here you will ride onto Kunadacs around 26 km where you will stay in a wooden guesthouse which also has an outdoor pool.

Day 4 Tuesday: After breakfast you will groom and tack up your horse and continue the trail to Ballószög. You will stop for another picnic lunch which you will bring in your saddle bags. Today you will ride for about 26 km and eventually find a resting place for the horses at a western ranch. If the ranch owner is home, you will have the opportunity to see real cutting training with cows and buffalos. From here you will leave your horse and a car will take you to the hotel (10 minutes drive) where you have another lovely dinner and well earned night's sleep. 

Day 5 Wednesday: You will return to your horses at the ranch, once again by car. You will ride to Old Nice Farm/Venyige Farm around 28km of riding. At this place there is a pálinka tasting. It is a classical Hungarian farm, with thatched roof village houses. The guests will stay in semi private rooms with exclusive bathrooms. For dinner there will be oven-baked delicacies served. The pálinka tasting and the dinner are included in the price. The guests can also taste delicious homemade wines, but are not included and need to be paid on site.

Day 6 Thursday: After tacking up your horse for the last time, you will mount up and ride back to the ranch, 15 km, where you can relax, enjoy the sauna or jacuzzi or even request a massage.

Day 7 Friday: Breakfast and transfer back to the airport.

Riders will have to groom, feed, and tack up their horses. You will be shown how to tack up Western style on the Saturday your arrive. There will be roomy saddle bags provided for your daily requirements but your main luggage will be transferred for you and will be waiting at your guesthouse.

We are happy to introduce a new and fantastic opportunity for our intermediate or advanced riders. The National Park Trail ride, Weekend will take you around Kiskunsag National Park. The whole ride will be on fantastic grounds, mostly on sand and with breathtaking scenery in the National Park. Lunch is usually picnic lunch (sandwiches) packed in saddle bags.
Three nights and three days riding, ca 4-7 hours riding/day.  

Dates 2020: 23-26 April, 21-24 May, 25-28 June, 23-26 July, 20-23 Aug, 24-27 Sep, 15-18 Oct
Group size: Minimum 3 and max 8. 

1st Day (Thursday):
Arrival to the ranch. Dinner in the evening.
  
2nd Day (Friday):
The meeting point is at the bar at 8:00am. The trail starts on Friday at 9:30 am. First, we will go to the arena for a half an hour to interface with the horses. Then we will start to explore the National Park. We will spend about 6 hours in the saddle; we will have a short picnic at noon when we can eat our sandwiches. Our first stop is the Kunadacs fishing lake, where first, we will give our horses food, and then we can have a rest before dinner. The dinner will be at 6pm in a restaurant suitable to explorer.

3rd Day (Saturday):                                         
We will feed our horses at 7:00am before breakfast which starts at 8:00am at the restaurant. After breakfast we will saddle our horses, fill our bags with food and then begin the second day over the sodic terrain. We will spend 7 hours in the saddle to arrive at Kigyosi tavern, where we will have dinner and accommodation. Before we take our rest, we will keep and feed our horses.

4th Day (Sunday):
Sunday will be more comfortable than Saturday. First we will provide food for the horses, after that we will have breakfast as well. Our last riding starts at 10am, because this section is shorter, it  takes 4 hours in the saddle. We will have hot lunch back at the Ranch around 14:00-14:30h.
After lunch the trail weekend is finished. For guests with flights the same evening departure from the ranch can be from 16.00h. But flights should not be earlier than 20.00h from Budapest airport, as departure can be from 16:00h from the ranch.
 

BARRELl RACE COURSE 2020.03.19 – 2020.03.22 WITH JÓZSEF DÖRNYEI alias DÖDE

Because of the huge interest, we are now offering the extraordinary opportunity for just 10 guests at the Ranch.
One of the most popular sports in western is barrell racing.

This course is not only for those interested in showing, but for anyone who would gain some experiences and try themselves in this sport. The course will be held in English by József Dörnyei, Barrell World Cup finalist.

The program:

The program takes 3 days: arriving on Thursday evening until 6pm, after allocating rooms and dinner, then there will be a presentation by Döde to discuss the program and he will make a presentation about the equipments.

After breakfast on Friday, horses will then be allocated to riders who will also form pairs, and in the first hour will be shown basic control and the ease with which the horses respond. The second hour will be riding in the beautiful sand dunes of the Kiskunság National Park.

On returning from the ride lunch will be served, then the workshop starts at 1 pm.
Döde will work with each five horse-rider pairs giving sequential lessons from Friday afternoon, to Saturday all day and until Sunday morning.

Through this rotation each pair will receive personal training 4 times. The most brave guest can ride Döde’s champion horse. On Sunday after lunch, there will be a little competition where everyone can show what they have learned over the past few days.
After guests have each received a certificate the course will end early Sunday afternoon.

The three-day course includes horse rentals, lodging, wellness use, full board, 4 personal consultations.

The course ends Sunday afternoon.

A TRAIL WORKSHOP 2020.03.05 – 2020.03.08 WITH EUROPEAN TRAIL CHAMPION VERA LEDNECZKI

We are now offering the extraordinary opportunity for just 10 guests at the Ranch.
One of the most popular sports in western is trail riding.

This course is not only for those interested in showing, but for anyone who wants to build a better relationship with their horse helping with the day to day tasks and discipline required in every day work. The course will be held in English by Vera Ledneczki, a European Champion Trail Rider.

The program:
The program takes 3 days: arriving on Thursday evening until 6pm, after allocating rooms and dinner, then there will be a presentation by Vera to discuss the program and trail riding.

After breakfast on Friday, Vera will be giving a presentation with her European Champion horse.

Horses will then be allocated to riders who will also form pairs, and in the first hour will be shown basic control and the ease with which the horses respond. The second hour will be riding in the beautiful sand dunes of the Kiskunsági National Park.

On returning from the ride lunch will be served, then the workshop starts at 1 pm.
Vera will work with each two horse-rider pairs giving 45 minute sequential lessons from Friday afternoon, to Saturday all day and until Sunday morning.

Through this rotation each pair will receive personal training 4 times. On Sunday after lunch, there will be a little competition where everyone can show what they have learned over the past few days.
After guests have each received a certificate the course will end early Sunday afternoon.

The three-day includes horse rentals, lodging, wellness use, full board, 4 personal consultations, and Friday morning track and trail riding.

The course ends Sunday afternoon.

Vera Ledneczki
My name is Veronica!

I am currently working as a Western horse riding trainer in Hungary at my family’s equestrian centre. Here we are training young horses, show horses and run a riding school.

Since a young age I have grown up with horses, and has always been my ambition to work with horses. I graduated at the University of Kaposvar, studying horse breeding, organising equine sports and agricultural engineering.

I have always been attracted to the general class of horse and the precision and harmony that exists between horse and rider. In the general class trail riding is my preferred favourite, as there is always the unexpected obstacle to anticipate and would like to participate a high level due to the exciting challenge. I would compare.

Trail riding to ballroom dancing for the synchronisation between horse and rider and the rhythm and pace. And the need for a constant need to adapt the gait to suit and obstacle, sees the horse and rider. Performing in perfect harmony. I have been participating at National level in Hungary since 2007, and international level since 2013. Such as the Middle European Cup in the Czech Republic, Americana in Germany, and the Appaloosa European Championship in the Netherlands.

My first major success was in 2017 when I became European Champion in two trail classes with a horse trained by myself. Throughout this time my main trainer has been my Father, but in order to develop my skills and knowledge further, I attend 1 to 2 clinics per year held by well know talented horsemen.

There are 12 guestrooms at the ranch divided into three houses with double- and triple rooms. All rooms have a private bathroom with shower, A/C, TV. Wi / Fi coverage is available in most rooms. Towels and sheets are available. You can book a single room subject to availability. Paid on location (13 EUR / night).

For breakfast there are different kinds of bread with lots of cold cuts, cheese, ham, sausage and vegetables. Yogurt or milk with muesli and fruit are also available. For lunch and dinner, you will get to have warm traditional Hungarian dishes such as stews, casseroles and pasta.

There will even be hot food for you out on the trail ride. There are many good options for vegetarians. Different salads are served with meals and often it is the local pickled lettuce and pickled cucumbers. Seasonal fruit is available as a snack. Drinks can be purchased in the bar at reasonable prices and is payable at the end of the stay.

There are different types of tours and activities on offer, everything from horse and carriage driving, to cheese testing and massage. These are not included in riding tour and can be booked and paid for at the ranch.

The ranch breeds its own Quarter Horse, Appaloosa and Paint horses that have been successful in western shows.

In the spring, it is about 15-20 C (60-68 F) during the summer it can vary between 20-30 C (68-86 F) and in the autumn of about 15-20 C (60-68 F). The evenings are cool and you have the chance to see a stunningly beautiful starlit sky.

Ability description: Trail ride level 1-3 >>

Included in the price: Accomodation, riding according to program, full board incl. water.

Not included: Flights, transfer,  insurance, drinks and extras not mentioned. 

Accommodation: There are 12 rooms at the ranch divided into three houses. All rooms have a private bathroom with shower, A/C, TV, DVD. Wi / Fi coverage is available in most rooms. 4 double rooms, 3 single rooms, 1 room with several beds rooms, 3 twin- or triple rooms.

Travel: Book flight/rental car >> We help you book your flight if you wish.
Fly to Budapest. 

It is also possible to drive by taking the ferry to Poland. From northern Poland, it is about 1,000 kilometers (620 miles).

Transfer: Book in advance with HorseXplore and pay on spot.
From the airport to the ranch, just over 1 hour drive (90 km).
Price: 110 EUR/person/round trip for 1-3 persons or 90 EUR/person for 4 persons or more
Meeting point: When customers have checked out at the airport they will be called to meet the driver. It is important to have the mobile turned on when off the plain and also check that you have given correct phone number (incl. country code) to horseXplore when booking.

At times you may have to wait for other guests arriving on different flights but never longer than 2 hours.

Arrival-/departure day: In order to have time to ride on the first day it's arrival at Budapest airport no later than 11:30 AM. Or to be able to ride the last day, it is departure from Budapest airport at the earliest 3.20 PM. Normally room checkout is by 10:00am. This is only insisted when a new arriving guest will need the room that day. In this case lugagge can be stored in an appropriate area, and the Wellness Centre is available to use with showers , toilets and changing area.

Optional arrival/departure: You can choose another arrival and departure day, just mail us on info@horsexplore.com

Season: Low season  October - April. High Season May  - September.

Currency: Forint (HUF). At the airport there are  ATMs.
Credit card: The ranch does not accept credit cards, but they can help you to the nearest village for withdrawl. They accept EUR at the ranch.

Wifi: Yes

Group size: Minimum 1 and max. 12 riders. Natural park ride: Minimum 3 and max 12 riders.
Child discount: Child up to 14 years of age get 20% discount.

Return Guest Discount 2020/2021: Returning guests are now eligible for low season prices also during high season. Can not be combined with any other offers/discounts.

Group discount: Group of 7 adult riders = 1 pers goes for free.

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