Excerpt from Kassai Lajos’ book, “Horseback Archery”:
“The valley we had entered was a dead-end. We had come to the end of the path, the horse had nowhere to go unless it wanted to run up a very steep hillside. In a rather unusual fashion, he stood still, and I tried to find something to liken the sensation to. It felt like finding one’s place in the world. Well, I found it. I found my valley. If I stretched my arms, I could almost touch its sides. I could not see out of it, and nobody could see me, either. It was a world within the world, a Carpathian Basin within the Carpathian Basin. It was not too near and not too far, not too small and not too large, and it contained a huge positive magnetic pole whose negative counterpart was my soul. I had to return every day.”
Farming, animals and nature
One of the quotes of Kassai Lajos says “Keep your animals as dictated by their nature” which has an effect on their entire environment. The atmosphere in the Kassai-valley is defined by free range farming and the abundance of animals living in harmony.
Center of the Original Kassai System
Since it was established in 1988, the valley has attracted plenty of visitors and students. The valley is open to visitors on the first Saturday of each month, and these occasions provide an opportunity for anyone to gain insight into the operation of the Kassai Equestrian Archery School and to get involved in training and take the first steps to become a member of the School.
Venue for equestrian archery competitions and training camps since 1994
The Kassai-valley is the best-equipped equestrian archery center in the world, hosting four Equestrian Archery World Cup Rounds a year and the Equestrian Archery World Championship and Meeting of International Judges every two years. In addition to equestrian archery competitions, – thanks to the excellent facilities of the valley, it is also suitable for archery competitions and large training camps. Not only archers and equestrian athletes visit the valley, but also many professional foreign and Hungarian teams are coming, just as amateur sports teams are happy to draw inspiration from Master Kassai’s teachings.
Education since 1990
Through the Living History Classes, the Kassai-valley provides an experience-based knowledge of the martial arts and athmosphere of the IX. century, for young and elder people alike. In addition to that, the Kassai-valley takes part of the practical education of students of renowned universities such as the University of Physical Education in Budapest (Equestrian Education – and Equestrian Trainer faculty), the University of Veterinary Medicine in Budapest (Hippology faculty) or the University of Kaposvár’s Rippl-Rónai Faculty of Arts (Acting).
Venue of several events
Since the existence of the Kassai-valley, it has served as a venue for many cultural and sporting events.
