The Equestrian Gala of this year was held in a ceremonial setting on March 18 in Remetea, where equestrian athletes with outstanding performances in the 2025 competition season were awarded. The event, hosted at the Community House, was one of the prestigious gatherings of the county’s equestrian sport, placing athletes’ achievements at the center of attention.

The event was organized by the Harghita County Council, the Harghita County Council’s Rural Development Association, the Remetea Equestrian Club, and the Municipality of Remetea, with the aim of presenting and rewarding athletes’ performances.

Among those present were Lőrinc Nacsa, State Secretary for National Policy of Hungary, Barna-Botond Bíró, President of the Harghita County Council, Marilena Mladin, President of the Romanian Equestrian Federation, Csaba Borboly, President of the Harghita County Council’s Rural Development Association, Elemér Laczkó-Albert, Mayor of Remetea, as well as representatives of equestrian sport at local and national level, coaches, athletes, and invited guests.

A total of 39 athletes received recognition during the Equestrian Gala, with awards granted based on results across several competition categories and disciplines. The recognitions were based on the First Harghita County Show Jumping Championship, the 10th Sekler Regional Show Jumping Championship, and the National Championship Final. In addition, outstanding athletes in dressage, eventing, carriage driving, and horse archery were also awarded.

As host, Elemér Laczkó-Albert, Mayor of Remetea, welcomed the participants, highlighting that the event is both a tribute to the past and a message for the future.

– The relationship between the horse and the Sekler people is not only a tradition but a heritage. The horse was once a working partner, a companion in labor, a comrade on the road, and often a symbol of freedom. Therefore, today is not only an award ceremony, but also pride, a tribute to our past, and a message to the future. The tradition lives on: not in museums, but on the field, in the saddle, and in people’s hearts and souls – emphasized the mayor.

Barna-Botond Bíró, President of the Harghita County Council, underlined in his speech that equestrian sport is not merely competition, but a value system that teaches discipline, perseverance, and responsibility, and provides guidance for the community even in difficult times.

– When a young person chooses equestrian sport, they do not only choose a discipline, but enter an order. They learn how to move forward even when the path is difficult. A rider knows that when reaching difficult terrain, one should not speed up but slow down. This is not a sign of fear, but of responsibility: one must take care of both oneself and the horse, while keeping the goal in mind. This is a lesson for all of us: in difficult situations, we should not amplify the noise or rush, but slow down, focus on the goal, support each other, and make responsible decisions.

He also emphasized the importance of representing the community where decisions are made, both in Bucharest and Budapest, to ensure that decisions serve the interests of the community.

Marilena Mladin, President of the Romanian Equestrian Federation, stressed that the participants were not only attending a ceremonial event, but were part of a community where tradition is actively lived. As she noted, equestrian sport requires discipline, respect, and perseverance, and true performance is built through everyday work. She added that not only results are being celebrated, but also the invisible work and inner strength behind them, and that the future must be built together by strengthening one another.

Lőrinc Nacsa, State Secretary for National Policy of Hungary, highlighted the importance of equestrian traditions and communities, and announced that from March 23, 2026, the Secretariat for National Policy will launch the Carpathian Basin Equestrian Program.

– It is very important that Hungarians are a horse-riding nation, therefore it is a value for us to preserve our equestrian traditions and communities, and to give more and more people the opportunity to connect to them in some way. This is a targeted funding scheme specifically serving equestrian communities, and in recent years we have already seen its results: in young people, in performances, and in the successes coming from Sekler as well.

Every sporting achievement, every award, every such community event makes the entire Hungarian nation stronger – he emphasized.

Csaba Borboly, President of the Harghita County Council’s Rural Development Association, drew attention to the changing role of equestrian sport and its future opportunities.

– Many say that the horse is disappearing from the fields, but it is not the horse that is disappearing, rather the agricultural work carried out with horses is transforming. A quiet but profound transformation is underway, where the working horse is increasingly being replaced by sport, tourism, therapy, and heritage preservation. As he said, equestrian life has a future both in Europe and locally, and the opportunities must be seized and prepared for.

The message of Gyula Dallos, ministerial commissioner, was also read at the event, emphasizing that the horse is a symbol of freedom and unity for Hungarians living in the Carpathian Basin, praising the work of equestrian communities and the importance of the Carpathian Basin Equestrian Program, while wishing further success to the participants.

During the award ceremony, 39 athletes received recognition, reflecting the diversity and development of the county’s equestrian sport.

Awardees – Equestrian Gala 2026

1. Sarolt Kolumbán – Astoria Horse Center – show jumping – First Harghita County Show Jumping Championship, Children I Criteria category (90 cm), 1st place – coach: Adél Lakatos
2. Franciska Bindea – Remetea Equestrian Club – show jumping – First Harghita County Show Jumping Championship, Children I Criteria category (90 cm), 2nd place; National Championship Final, Children Criteria category (90 cm), 4th place – coach: Sándor Balázs
3. Daria Ilisan – Remetea Equestrian Club – show jumping – First Harghita County Show Jumping Championship, Children I Criteria category (90 cm), 3rd place – coach: Sándor Balázs
4. Boglárka Bodó – Remetea Equestrian Club – show jumping – First Harghita County Show Jumping Championship, Amateur category (100 cm), 1st place – coach: Sándor Balázs
5. Dominik Dombai – Remetea Equestrian Club – show jumping – First Harghita County Show Jumping Championship, Amateur category (100 cm), 2nd place – coach: Sándor Balázs
6. Zsófia Nyisztor – Remetea Equestrian Club – show jumping – First Harghita County Show Jumping Championship, Amateur category (100 cm), 3rd place; 10th Sekler Regional Show Jumping Championship (100 cm), 3rd place – coach: Sándor Balázs
7. Réka Korodi – Remetea Equestrian Club – show jumping – First Harghita County Show Jumping Championship, Junior category (120 cm), 1st place; National Championship Final, Junior category (130 cm), 5th place – coach: Sándor Balázs
8. Vanda Joó – Remetea Equestrian Club – show jumping – First Harghita County Show Jumping Championship, Junior category (120 cm), 2nd place; National Championship Final, Junior category (130 cm), 12th place – coach: Sándor Balázs
9. Edina Petréd – Remetea Equestrian Club – show jumping – 10th Sekler Regional Show Jumping Championship (80 cm), 2nd place – coach: Sándor Balázs
10. Bernadett Ladó – Csicser Riding Stable – show jumping – 10th Sekler Regional Show Jumping Championship (80 cm), 3rd place – coach: Ábel André
11. Jázmin Kovács – Remetea Equestrian Club – show jumping – 10th Sekler Regional Show Jumping Championship (100 cm), 1st place – coach: Sándor Balázs
12. Emma Lakatos – Judo Hargita – show jumping – 10th Sekler Regional Show Jumping Championship (100 cm), 2nd place – coach: Dalma Gergely
13. Gáspár Petréd – Remetea Equestrian Club – show jumping – 10th Sekler Regional Show Jumping Championship (110 cm), 1st place; National Championship Final, Junior category (130 cm), 10th place; Children’s final (125 cm), 8th place – coach: Sándor Balázs
14. Biborka Bocskai – Astoria Horse Center – show jumping – National Championship Final, Junior Elite category (130 cm), 6th place
15. Réka Ilyés – Remetea Equestrian Club – show jumping – National Championship Final, Children Criteria category (90 cm), 23rd place – coach: Sándor Balázs
16. Leila Szabó – Remetea Equestrian Club – show jumping – Danube Champions Tour, international amateur category (110 cm), 1st place – coach: Sándor Balázs
17. Kriszta Kádár – Táltos Equestrian Yard – dressage – Harghita County Dressage Championship, 1st place
18. Virág Bartus – Septimia Sports Club – dressage, eventing – Harghita County Dressage Championship, 2nd place; Harghita County Eventing Championship, Prenovice category, 3rd place
19. Csaba Hegyi – Táltos Equestrian Yard – dressage – Harghita County Dressage Championship, 3rd place
20. Eszter Gábos – Katowice Association – eventing – Harghita County Eventing Championship, Novice Junior category, 1st place
21. Katalin Ferencz – Kavalliera Association – eventing – Harghita County Eventing Championship, Prenovice category, 1st place
22. Ernő Fejér – Kavalliera Association – eventing – Harghita County Eventing Championship, Prenovice category, 2nd place
23. Tibor Bajkó and Ildikó Bajkó – Krigel Sports Club – carriage driving – Romanian Carriage Driving Championship, outstanding results
24. László Orosz and István Benedek – Krigel Sports Club – carriage driving – Romanian Carriage Driving Championship, outstanding results
25. Romeó Lőrincz – horse archery – Romanian National Final, Adult men’s category, 1st place
26. Csongor Bakos – horse archery – Romanian National Final, Adult men’s category, 2nd place
27. Levente Karácsony – horse archery – Romanian National Final, Adult men’s category, 3rd place
28. Boglárka Bakó – horse archery – Romanian National Final, Adult women’s category, 1st place
29. Nóra Török – horse archery – Romanian National Final, Adult women’s category, 2nd place
30. Márton Albert – horse archery – Romanian National Final, Youth men’s category, 1st place
31. Koppány Csiky Dácz – horse archery – Romanian National Final, Youth men’s category, 2nd place
32. Ivett Csiszér – horse archery – Romanian National Final, Youth women’s category, 1st place
33. Bernadett Bodor – horse archery – Romanian National Final, Youth women’s category, 2nd place
34. Ármin Magor Rácz – horse archery – Romanian National Final, Children boys’ category, 1st place
35. Tamás Kovács – horse archery – Romanian National Final, Children boys’ category, 2nd place
36. Domán Szalontai – horse archery – Romanian National Final, Children boys’ category, 3rd place
37. Virág Lőrincz – horse archery – Romanian National Final, Children girls’ category, 1st place
38. Biborka Mátyás Ambrus – horse archery – Romanian National Final, Children girls’ category, 2nd place
39. Dorka András – horse archery – Romanian National Final, Children girls’ category, 3rd place

Remetea, March 19, 2026.