At a time when physical
\ndistancing is recommended in order to support the efforts aimed at fighting the
\nCovid-19 pandemic, nature travel programmes have become very popular with
\npeople everywhere. An active holiday in nature among horses can make one relax
\nand forget all the unpleasant events that have affected us all lately. <\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
According to Gheorghe Dima, director of the
\nDirection for the Horse Breeding, Exploitation and Development with the
\nNational Forest Administration, Romania boasts an outstanding horse-breeding
\ntradition. <\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
Gheorghe
\nDima: Horse breeding dates back to immemorial
\ntimes in Romania, which has many stud farms 100 years old. The oldest in this
\ncountry, the one in Radauti is 225 years old. Our direction took over the
\nadministration of these stud farms in 2002: there are 16 units, 12 stud farms
\nand 4 depots located in 14 Romanian counties covering almost the entire
\nterritory: from the east, on the Black Sea coast where we have the Mangalia
\nstud farm, famous for its Arab horses to Radauti, in northern Bukovina. From
\nTimisoara in western Romania, which breeds Nonius and Ardennes horses to
\nSlatina in the south or to Sambata in central Romania specialized in breeding
\nLippizaners. We are proud to say that we have 13 breeds, some of which very
\nrare in the world nowadays.<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
All these horse breeding grounds and stud farms
\nhave been very appreciated by visitors who described a visit to one of these
\nfacilities as a special experience. Here is Gheorghe Dima again. <\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
Gheorghe
\nDima: We’ve been imposed
\na series of restrictions due to the pandemic but we still have a lot to offer
\nto visitors from farm tours to horse rides in the company of our authorized
\ninstructors or to rides in horse-driven carriages and coaches. We stage horse
\nriding courses for advanced and beginners alike. We can also provide horses for
\nphotography or film sessions outside or on the premises of our stud farm as
\nwell as the proper training ground or other horse-racing facilities like tracks
\nand obstacles. We can also organise horse-riding shows and presentations. As
\nyou can see we have a lot to offer to visitors and one can easily find a list
\nwith our tourist offer posted on the webpage of the National Forest
\nAdministration Romsilva. The site also provides information about every stud
\nfarm, its location, contact and the services it provides. Some of these have
\nbeen visited by thousands of tourists in the summer season.<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
Many stud farms are located in special places
\nin the middle of nature reserves. In the following minutes Gheorghe Dima,
\ndirector of the Direction for the Horse Breeding, Exploitation and Development
\nwith the National Forest Administration will share some of the plans aimed at further
\ndeveloping Romania’s equestrian tourism. <\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
Gheorghe
\nDima: We intend to carry on
\nthe development of Romania’s equestrian tourism by adding new routes that
\ntourists can visit on horseback. We are considering one-day routes or even
\nlonger ones. We and our colleagues from several nature reserves and national
\nparks are still doing a survey in a bid to identify the proper routes for our
\ntourists. At the same time, we are looking for trained personnel that can serve
\nas instructors for our tourists. Another plan is to stage a series of trotting
\nraces on the hippodrome in Mangalia as of Mayday and hopefully we’ll be keeping
\nthese events running for the entire summer season, until late September. A
\nseries of horse shows are to be organised at the stud farms in Sambata, in
\ncentral Romania in August. These events are going to take place in the
\npicturesque landscape in the mountains. <\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
Although most of these stud farms are located
\nin the countryside, there are some in cities as well. Here is M\u0103d\u0103lina Hente\u0219, head
\nof the Horse Breeding Center in Romsilva, based in T\u00e2rgu Mure\u0219, western Romania.
\n<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
Madalina
\nHentes: We are offering a
\nlarge series of horse riding courses to children and adults alike. We also have
\ncourses for beginners or advanced riders. Some of these courses have been
\nattended by young people from France. Every year we are also looking for new
\nopportunities to enrich our offer. One of these is horse-riding camps for
\nchildren including a series of team building activities and many educational
\ngames. This year we’d like to stage a tent camp in the middle of nature. Our
\ntraining programmes have been tailored for every student and they learn here how
\nto mount and dismount a horse, safety measures, which is the right horse riding
\nposition etc. This sporting activity is for everyone in good health and there
\nare people in their eighties still enjoying it.<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
A 30-minute horse-riding lesson for a person costs
\naround 12 euros, a photo session on the premises stands at around 72 euros
\nwhile the camp fee for children is somewhere around 38 euros a day. Here is
\nagain M\u0103d\u0103lina Hente\u0219. <\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
Madalina
\nHentes We are providing
\nthe right equipment for tourists who want to get involved in these activities
\nas some are trying it for the first time and aren’t willing to invest in it. We
\nextend an invitation to all tourists to visit our center where we are staging
\nmany events like birthday parties and team building for companies.<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
(bill)<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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