The ISG meeting for 2010 was in beautiful Austria at the Stadl-Paura Equestrian center. The Performance Shagya Registry applied for ISG membership and we had a nice delegation of Americans for support. I spent a few days prior to the meeting in Salzburg, then headed to Vienna after. Vienna is a gorgeous city! I went there with Rebecca Hayes and her new husband Darren - Arabian breeders from Australia who are starting the Shagya breed there. Time was spent at the Spanish Riding school, then wandering around the city taking in the sights and stopping quite frequently to taste pasteries, coffee and beer! The city cemetary was gorgeous - filled with the greats of music - Beethoven, Brahams, Schubert, etc. We then went off to see Babolna, State Stud in Hungary, birthplace of the Shagya breed. They were wonderful hosts and presented a good number of their stallions, as well as upcoming stallion prospects. We had the good fortune to stay the night there. Will never forget wandering through the gorgeous courtyard at dusk - you could just feel the history there! I was completely relaxed and at peace. We had also spent a day touring the farms of R. Meindl and F. Hoppenburger in Austria. They had exceptional quality Shagyas. Thank you to them both for their hospitality!
