On 30th April Ambassador Szalay-Bobrovniczky hosted the annual black tie dinner in honour of Bertalan de Némethy at the Embassy of Hungary.
Hungary aims to be recognized once again as a center for excellence in equestrian sports, where the United Kingdom is one of the major players. Therefore this occasion provided the opportunity to introduce the Hungarian bid to host the 2021 FEI European Championships and to introduce Vince Jármy, a talented young Hungarian showjumper. At this dinner we had the pleasure of welcoming Simon Brooks-Ward, organizer of the Royal Windsor Horse Show, Colin Brooks, Chairman of the Royal Windsor Horse Show, Lord de Mauley, Conservative MP and supporter of the equestrian sports, Nick Skelton Olympic champion in show jumping, representatives of the organizing committee of the Olympia Horse Show, Brigadier Archie Miller-Bakewell, Private Secretary to The Duke of Edinburgh and Justin Maciejewski, the director of the National Army Museum. Moreover prominent representatives of the equestrian sports, horse breeders, organizers of competitions and representatives of cavalry regiments were among the distinguished guests.
Bertalan de Némethy (1911-2002), the former show jumping coach of the United States Equestrian Team was a legendary figure and icon in the horse world. He was born in Győr, Hungary and began his career as an officer in the Hungarian Cavalry and a member of the Hungarian Olympic Jumping Team. After emigrating to the United States, he became the coach of the US Equestrian Team, a post he held between 1955-1980. De Némethy formulated his own training techniques for both horse and rider based on his Hungarian Cavalry School background and the principles of classical equitation. From this evolved the celebrated “de Némethy style,” the precision and elegance of which are emulated throughout the world today.
