Equestrian culture and horse breeding has an outstanding importance in Hungarian tradition. The nomadic ancestors of the Hungarians brought a type of saddle with them to the Carpathian basin eleven hundred years ago, which was still being produced in Tiszafüred a few decades ago and has been revitalized since. The Hungarian style saddle with a wooden frame base was used by the famous hussars – the Hungarian light cavalry troops. Based on the Hungarian example, hussar regiments were formed in the 18th and 19th century in more than 30 countries, each of which adopted the Hungarian style of uniform and the saddle as well. A variation of this saddle, redesigned and named after captain G.B. McClellan, was used by the US cavalry as well.
Saddlers also make belts used in clothing, horse gear and various functional objects, and work with leather in many forms. Saddlers had to be proficient carvers and tanners, as well. Their products were often ornamented using relief carving or iron plating hammered into the leather.
Márton Szakács
Márton earned a degree in Painting and Restoration at the University of Fine Arts. He has learned the craft of leatherworking, and specifically traditional saddle making, working at the Open Air Museum in Szentendre. Márton master-crafts every piece of the traditional Hungarian saddle.
Balázs Fodor
Balázs started his shop with his wife fourteen years ago. They use only select raw materials and traditional techniques to create unique products. In addition to riding gear, this saddle and riding belt-maker couple also craft a variety of other products, including belts, belt pouches, handbags, backpacks, hunting equipment, cases, sheaths, whips and more.
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