World class Driving returns to its historic heartland for the 26th FEI Driving World Championship for Four-in-Hand when the Hungarian Equestrian Federation will welcome 43 athletes from 14 nations to the State Stud Farm at Szilvásvárad, a breeding centre for the country’s ‘national treasure’ Lipizzaner horses.
It’s been 40 years since the 7th World Championship was held here at a time when Hungarian drivers dominated the horse fours – the home team won gold and all three individual medals. The nation last hosted the World Championship 20 years ago in Kecskemét, when they also won team and individual golds. Two of those athletes from 2004 will return, winner Zoltán Lázár and teammate József Dobrovitz, whose son József Jr. is also now a regular member of the Hungarian squad.
President of the HEF is Zoltán’s brother, Vilmos, himself a former World Champion who states, “This will be a jubilee event, like the 1984 World Championship in Szilvásvárad, which was the pinnacle of the sport. The main goal for this event is to have the same significant impact it did 40 years ago, and to give this wonderful sport new momentum.”