Bugac Horse Show

Traditional csikós horsemanship including the famous five-horse post

The famous horse show held at the Bugac equestrian farm is the main reason visitors make the trip out to the puszta. Csikós herdsmen in traditional embroidered costumes demonstrate skills that have been practised on the Great Hungarian Plain for centuries: trick riding, whip cracking, herding with dogs, and the extraordinary five-horse post in which a rider stands astride the two rearmost horses of a five-horse team at full gallop.

The show runs daily from spring through autumn, typically in the early afternoon. After the performance, visitors can explore the adjacent small farmstead museum displaying traditional equipment and crafts, and eat at the csárda restaurant on site, which serves hearty puszta food — goose dishes, goulash, and fresh bread.

things to do sight
A story
The csikós tradition of the Hungarian puszta dates to the medieval period, when herdsmen managed vast herds of cattle and grey Hungarian horses across the open plain. The defining trick — riding five horses simultaneously, standing with one foot on the back of each of the two rearmost animals while the team gallops at full speed — has no practical origin; it developed as a display of skill and bravado among rival herdsmen. UNESCO added the traditional craft of the Hungarian horse herders to its Intangible Cultural Heritage list in 2017.