Our living heritage: the Shagya Arabian
The Bábolna Arabian – better known today as the Shagya Arabian – is a purebred Arabian breed developed in stud farms established in historical Hungary and later in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, in Bábolna, Mezőhegyes and Radautz, which, following its spread throughout Europe, is now bred in seventeen countries according to the closed studbooks of various nations. The cradle of the horse breed known today as Shagya Arabian, the Bábolna Stud Farm, was founded in 1789 as a branch of the Imperial and Royal Stud Farm in Mezőhegyes. The founder and first commander of the Mezőhegyes stud farm, József Csekonics, sent a memorandum to the emperor requesting the establishment of a branch stud farm on the route from Mezőhegyes to Vienna. His arguments were accepted, and in 1789 the court council issued a decree on the purchase of Count József Szapáry's estate in Bábolnapuszta, near Győr, and the establishment of a military stud farm. The breed owes its development to an order issued by the court council on March 18, 1816, which decreed that the horse stock in Bábolna, primarily of Eastern blood, could only be covered by Arabian thoroughbred stallions in the future in order to ensure endurance and usability.
"The Shagya breed, which today enjoys international prestige, popularity, and widespread distribution, is descended from 41 mare families. Among the founders were one English thoroughbred, 27 Arabian thoroughbreds or Arabian mares, and 13 mares originally purchased by the army. The latter mares – as founders of mare families – are listed under the names Transylvanian, Moldavian, Circassian, Hungarian, and Radautian, meaning that they indicate their place of origin rather than their breed." (Dr. Hecker W.)
The breed was initially called the "Arabian breed" and later the Bábolna Arabian. The name Shagya Arabian has been used since 1978, following a decision by the International Shagya Arabian Horse Breeders Society (ISG), after the then management of Bábolna refused to allow the use of the name "Bábolna Arabian".
Beauty and endurance
"The Shagya Arabian horse breed has characteristics that are not found in any other horse breed, and these characteristics are reliably passed on due to strict selection and blood purity. The Shagya Arabian combines the beauty, stamina, physical strength, and temperament of the Arabian thoroughbred with excellent learning ability, good movement, healthy leg structure, and a massive but not coarse bone structure and build. Their stamina is excellent both in harness and under saddle, which is why the breed is so successful in endurance riding." (Rombauer T.)
Breeding objective
The Shagya Arabian carries the characteristics of the Arabian breed, but is more massive, well-proportioned, and elegant than the thoroughbred Arabian. Its head is dry, noble, wedge-shaped, with a broad forehead, large, protruding, dark eyes that radiate intelligence, and fine nostrils that take on an almost square shape when excited. The ears are small and graceful, with tips curving toward each other. The neck is set high, of moderate length and curvature, adorned with a thin mane. The withers are well muscled, the back is medium length, flexible, and well connected to the broad hindquarters. A high tail set and flag-like tail carriage are characteristic. Muscular, sloping shoulders and upper arms, broad, clean, dry joints, clean legs, and regular, sound hooves are also desirable. Its gait is energetic and fast, its trot is lively and flexible, and its canter is round, smooth, and ground-covering. Desirable measurements: stallions (at the withers) 155-165 cm, mares: 150-160 cm.
Loyalty in breeding – success in sport
With the right training and a good rider, some individuals are capable of performances that belie their size in show jumping and dressage, while heavier individuals can be successful in carriage driving. Due to all these characteristics and its long life span, it is ideal for the sporting needs of hobby horse owners and is particularly popular among young riders.
"In the era of sport horse breeding, the Shagya Arabian is considered a successful breeding breed, alongside the English Thoroughbred, in the refinement of sport horse breeds. The Anglo-Arab Ramzes (sired by the English thoroughbred Rittersporn xx and out of the Shagya Arabian Jordi) ushered in a new era in the history of sport horse breeding. The Shagya Arabian Bajar is the sire of White Girl, an excellent German military horse, and Bachus, an internationally successful show jumper. This excellent sire still has a living stallion line in Holstein breeding. From this genealogical line, the Hungarian O'Bajan XX offspring Pamír came third among sport horses in dressage at the Hungarian Championships and has also been successful in international show jumping competitions. O'Bajan XXII Csillag and O'Bajan XX-6 Pagát also won the European Shagya-Arabian Championships in Kreuth, Germany. A descendant of the Siglavy Bagdady VIII line, known as "Hungares", became world champion in endurance riding at the 2006 World Equestrian Games in Aachen a few years ago. (Dr Hecker W.)
Stallion lines
Shagya (1836) b:1830 Siglavy Bagdady (1895)
Gazlan-Gazal (1852) b:1840 Dahoman (1846)
O’Bajan (1885) b:1881 El Sbaa (1920)
Siglavy (1811) Ibrahim (1907) b. 1899
Jussuf (1869) Hadban (1897) b. 1891
Kemir (1905) Lenkoran (1891)
Koheilan Adjuze (1885) born: 1876 Kuhaylan Afas (1930)
Mersuch (1898) Krzyzyk (1876)
