Magyar Posta is issuing a special souvenir sheet to celebrate the tradition of Lipizzan horse breeding in Hungary. The souvenir sheet and the associated philatelic products were designed by the graphic artist Imre Benedek. The souvenir sheets were produced by Pénzjegynyomda Zrt. The new issue will be available at first day post offices and Filaposta in Hungary from 5 December 2024, but may also be ordered from Magyar Posta’s online store. The Lipizzan is one of the world’s exclusive breeds of horse. The stud where the breed evolved was established in the 16th century in Lipica, which is now in Slovenia. The stud was relocated to Hungary twice during the Napoleonic Wars, which was how the Lipizzan stock in Mezőhegyes came into being. In the 1950s, the Hungarian Lipizzan stock was moved to Szilvásvárad, where the soil, the weather conditions and the vegetation best resemble those in Lipica, Slovenia. The Hungarian stock is of outstanding genetic value. Lipizzan horse breeding has been based on the same principles for more than 440 years. Thanks to this practice, Lipizzan horses are able to perform with precision the “haute école” jumps, or airs above the ground, presented at the Spanish Riding School in Vienna. The breed plays a major role in Hungarian carriage driving, achieving outstanding international results, and is also increasingly successful in dressage competitions. Lipizzan horses are kept by a number of private breeders throughout Hungary, but its main stud farm, the breed’s largest equestrian centre, is the State Stud Farm in Szilvásvárad, which also serves as a practical training ground and research area. In addition to the Hungarian Lipizzan horse being a Hungaricum and a national treasure and being listed in the National Collection of Hungarian Cultural Values, Lipizzan horse breeding traditions have been inscribed on UNESCO’s list of Intangible Cultural Heritage by the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage. Source: www.lipicai.hu The frame of the souvenir sheet shows a herd of grazing Lipizzan horses. The stamp features a painting-like portrait of a Lipizzan stallion in a Hungarian ornamental bridle. A four-in-hand appears on the first day cover for the souvenir sheet, bearing a special postmark, which shows a charming scene of horses scratching one another. In addition to the standard, black-numbered edition, a red-numbered imperforated and a green-numbered specially perforated edition of the souvenir sheet and an exclusive stamp set have been issued. Alongside the three editions of the souvenir sheet, the stamp set also contains a monochrome version, which can only be purchased as part of the set. The souvenir sheets and the monochrome print in the set are protected in mounts. All the editions in each of the 1,000 sets issued bear the same serial number in the number range between 1 and 1,000.