The stables
There
was one question in which Count Niki (Miklós Esterházy) and "the greatest
Hungarian" (István Széchenyi) could agree: both of them took part in the
propagation of horse-racing in Hungary. The first horse-rac in Tata was
organized in 1867. Soon it became clear that in addition to the count's
hospitality, Tata's lawn could greaty contribute to the new sport's succes.
Halfway between Vienna an Budapest, the shore of the lake proved to be
a good location for trainers came to Tata (Adams, Beeson, Willy, Maw, Metcalf
and Henry Milne) the stables did not have to lack expertise either. The
stud's reputation was raised by the four grey horses which got "roles"
in the 1927 film version of Ben Hur.
The local newspaper often published reports about horsmanship. Just one
example: "Our town had dear guests on Wednesday (28th August, 1935): a
group of Dutch distance riders visited us... the riders were received by
triumphal arches, music and a real rain of flowers..."
