It is us who make a decision about our present and future, not our past or our heritage. It all depends on whether we are willing to learn about and discover our national heritage for ourselves- Defence Minister Dr. Csaba Hende said during the opening ceremony of the National Gallop in Heroes’ Square on 17 September.
„Everything that brings together patriots, even the slightest reason, is useful and good, and has innumerable blessed benefits” – Csaba Hende welcomed the guests present at the event by quoting from István Széchenyi. „Our common heritage has brought us together today: the traditions of an equestrian and military nation. The traditions of those excellent men who carved out our history with their swords as hussars, and to whom we’ve just paid tribute by bowing. These traditions went down in the annals of the world and are also known to the armed forces around the globe”- the Defence Minister went on saying.
Csaba Hende reminded those present that after the Ottoman wars, the Hungarian hussar officers and NCOs were instrumental in forming a number of hussar units. The Minister made special mention of László Bercsényi’s activity, who was a Captain of the Guard to Prince Ferenc Rákóczi II, and subsequently established the Bercsényi Hussar regiment in France. The Defence Minister noted that we were an equestrian nation in the past, and someday perhaps we will be one again. „People travel to Austria in order to ski, to Spain in order to enjoy the sea. Someday perhaps those who want to ride horses will come to Hungary. I hope that this day is a great step towards achieving that aim”- Csaba Hende said.
After Csaba Hende’s speech Tibor Székely, the captain-in-chief of the National Gallop welcomed the contesters and the audience. He drew attention to the community-building effects of the event and the recent results in popularizing equestrian sport. He stressed that since the first National Gallop, a total of 12 new racecourses have been constructed inside and outside the borders of Hungary. For the first time this year, a qualifying heat known as “Székely Gallop” was held in Sepsiszentgyörgy (Sfantu Gheorghe, Romania).
Each year the organizers offer the event – which is aimed at popularizing the Hungarian equestrian traditions – to an outstanding family or person in Hungarian history. In 2011, the choice fell on Miklós Bercsényi, Ferenc Rákóczi II’s general and his son, László Bercsényi, the Captain of the Guard to the Prince. At the opening ceremony of the National Gallop, Defence Minister Dr. Csaba Hende, Géza Szőcs, the State Secretary for Culture and the presidency of the National Gallop laid wreaths at the Heroes’ Memorial Stone.
(Ministry of Defence, Zrínyi Média)
