|
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Beth Gold, Cross Country International (508) 698-6810, classic.pr@verizon.net
Cross Country International Presents Unique Chance to Ride Lipizzaner Horses
New Horseback Riding Vacation to Hungary Features Two Optional Pre-Tours
Millbrook, NY—September 15, 2005—Have you ever dreamed of galloping on a powerful, medieval destrier just like the ones the knights of old used to ride? What about dancing with your elegant equestrian partner, performing for emperors and distinguished nobility? Then the moment you have been waiting for is here!
Cross Country International, the world’s largest provider of equestrian vacations, is pleased to announce the newest addition to its already exciting lineup of fabulous equestrian adventure vacations—an unforgettable trail riding expedition in Hungary, featuring Lipizzaner horses. The “Hungarian Castle Trail Ride” is the premier way for visitors to experience the best that Hungary has to offer, aboard Spanish Lipizzaner and native Hungarian Kisbér horses.
Cross Country International’s five-day “Hungarian Castle Trail Ride” also features a choice between two optional, two-day pre-tour trips. Throughout most of the year, guests travel to Vienna, Austria to visit the Spanish Riding School, home of the world-famous Lipizzaner Stallions. In the summer months, when the Spanish Riding School is closed, guests will enjoy a brief stop in Budapest for some shopping, dining and sightseeing.
Pre-Tour in Vienna, Austria
For most of the year, guests on the “Hungarian Castle Trail Ride” kick-off their exciting experience with a two-day stop in Vienna, Austria. Visitors get the chance to walk in the footsteps of the historic Habsburg Dynasty. Available highlights include tours of the splendid baroque Schönbrunn, Belvedere and Imperial Palaces; a stroll along the magnificent Ring Boulevard; and visits to St. Stephan’s Cathedral, the Giant Ferris Wheel at the Prater, and the sarcophagi in the Imperial Vault.
Other available activities include visits to the Vienna State Opera, one of the world’s first opera houses, and the museum at Palais Liechtenstein (only recently opened to the public), housing numerous treasured works of art by some of Europe’s most notable artists: paintings, bronzes, weaponry, and even one of the most beautiful remaining French state coaches.
Day two of the Vienna pre-tour takes visitors to the Spanish Riding School where guests are treated to breathtaking performances by the famed Lipizzaner Stallions. There are individual presentations and pas de deux (two horses at once), the Grand Quadrille, consisting of six to eight horses working together in formation, and displays of classical horsemanship’s awe-inspiring “airs above the ground.”
After the show at the Spanish Riding School, visitors take a tour of the old city via streetcar, which offers views of Otto Wagner’s Post Office Building, the Museum of Applied Arts, Vienna’s City Park, the Museum of Fine Arts and Natural History, the Parliament Building, the Burgtheater, the Stock Exchange, and other well-known structures. In the evening, guests are transported to Budapest where they spend the night and prepare for their exciting trail riding experience the following day.
Pre-Tour in Budapest, Hungary
During the summer months, when the Spanish Riding School is closed, guests can enjoy an alternative pre-tour in Budapest, Hungary’s capital city. Guests have ample opportunities to take in the sights and sounds of this magnificent city. Available highlights include a refreshing visit to the famous thermal baths, considered some of the best in the world, plus opportunities for massages and other therapeutic treatments. There are also chances to do some shopping on the beautiful Váci Street and tour the historic monuments in downtown Budapest.
Day two of the Budapest pre-tour features a sightseeing tour by bus where travelers see: Erzsébet Square and Bridge, the Opera House, Heroes’ Square, the Millennium Memorial (photo stop), Downtown, the Danube River with its famous public buildings, the view from Gellért Hill (photo stop), Matthias Church, Fishermen’s Bastion, and the Margit Bridge. There is also a special stop for a memorable walk in the Castle District.
After the city tour, guests visit the Parliament Building, home of the Holy Crown of Hungary. Following a tour of the outside of the building from the bus, visitors enter the impressive Houses of Parliament with neo-gothic chambers and staircases, and take a 30-40 minute guided tour.
In the evening, guests enjoy a candlelit dinner aboard a boat and are treated to a spectacular show. Fashionable actors and actresses from the Budapest Opera House perform operetta scenes and folkloric music and dance.
Hungary’s Castle Trail Ride
The five-day main attraction of Cross Country International’s new horseback riding vacation begins in the Fertő-Hanság National Park, located along the Austrian border in northwest Hungary. The region is famous for its unique plants, animals, and cultural assets. Guests travel in the footsteps of the ancient Celts and Romans that once resided there.
Visitors spend the first three days riding Hungarian Kisbér halfbreds. The old-style Kisbér was developed from mixed origins, including Arab, Circassian, Spanish, Piber, Norfolk, Percheron, and Mecklenburg influences, among others. This stock was carefully selected over several generations and bred to the elegant English thoroughbred stallions to produce a saddle horse type and appearance with a noticeably calmer demeanor, greater capacity for work and neater appearance.
During the first two days, guests ride through flat areas along lakes, rivers and canals and spend the night at Szidónia Castle. The castle began as a chateau that served as a hunting lodge, but was later turned into a castle in the mid-18th century. Guests also spend two nights at Pokvar Castle, with a history going back to the 13th century. Last rebuilt in neo-Tudor style in 1869, the castle has become a notable riding establishment.
On the fourth day, riders leave the flatter areas and travel through Budapest to the Mátra and Bükk Mountains in the eastern part of the country. There, riders get acquainted with their new mounts—majestic Lipizzaner horses—on a four-hour ride through Bükk National Park, Hungary’s largest national park.
Lipizzans are known for their excellent temperaments. The breed is characteristically willing to learn, very obedient, and ready to work. Its movements are distinctive and expressive. A representative of the classical Baroque style, the breed has its origins nearly 2,000 years ago in the Pyrenees horses, with refined Arab and Barbary strains. The resulting type of Andalusian breed of ancient Spain and Portugal was further refined through fresh Arab and Oriental blood. In the 16th century, Archduke Karl, ruler of four Austrian provinces, established a royal stud farm in Lipizza to produce outstanding, durable horses that embodied the majesty and splendor of the Imperial Court. Eight Spanish stallions were chosen to help further develop the breed.
With the breakup of the old Austrian empire in the early 1900s, Lipizza became part of Italy. The Austrian and Italian governments divided the Lipizzaner herd equally. The Republic of Austria took its horses to Piber, a privately owned stud farm originally founded in the 18th century to breed cavalry mounts for the Austrian Imperial Army. Other premier Lipizzaner breeding farms are located in Croatia, Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia, and in Szilvásvárad, Hungary.
The opportunity to ride these magnificent horses on Cross Country International’s “Hungarian Castle Trail Ride” is a truly unforgettable experience that is not to be missed!
Program Includes:
Six nights accommodation in 4-star hotels, castles and 4-star manor estates
Five days of guided trail riding
All meals
Friendly, knowledgeable, English-speaking guides
Horses, transfers, tack and tax
Program Dates:
Vienna pre-tour: April 15-16, 29-30; May 13-14, 20-21; June 3-4, 10-11; September 9-10, 23-24
Budapest pre-tour: June 24-25; July 8-9, 22-23, 29-30; August 12-13
Hungary Riding Tour: April 17-21; May 1-5, 15-19, 22-26; June 5-9, 12-16, 26-30; July 10-14, 24-28; July 31-August 4; August 14-18; September 11-15, 25-29
Program Pricing:
Vienna pre-tour: $550 per person
Budapest pre-tour: $350 per person
Hungary Riding Tour: $1,570 per person
For more information on the “Hungarian Castle Trail Ride” vacation or any of Cross Country International’s numerous other exciting vacations, please call Cross Country International at (800) 828-8768, email to info@xcintl.com, or visit www.equestrianvacations.com.
###
|
