The Collaboration Between Avantea and Gyula Erdélyi: Innovation That Is Transforming Sport Horse Breeding
In the international landscape of sport horse breeding, the name of Gyula Erdélyi and his Hungarian operation E.Sporthorses (Cegléd) has become synonymous with a visionary and radically modern approach.
In just a few years, Gyula Erdélyi turned a passion that began almost by chance into a well-structured program that now combines elite genetics, cutting-edge reproductive technologies, and a clear strategy for selecting and developing young horses.
In this interview, we explore how his work has evolved, his partnership with Avantea —the European leader in equine reproductive biotechnologies—and his vision for the future of high-performance show jumping horse breeding.
The Origins of a Passion
We asked to begin by explaining how he first entered the world of equestrian sport and high-performance sport horse breeding.
Gyula Erdélyi: “I became interested in equestrian sports in 1995, even though I had no experience. Promising young riders competed with my horses, but breeding didn’t appeal to me at the time because the pace seemed too slow. So I turned to pigeon racing, where shorter generational cycles offered quicker feedback.
I already had land, high-quality pastures, stables, and infrastructure thanks to my 400 Holstein-Friesian dairy cows, so I realized I had everything necessary to start breeding horses. However, I only began breeding high-level sport horses a few years ago, in 2021, when I purchased my first broodmares specifically selected for OPU-ICSI. It all started with the purchase of a Chacco-Blue straw, which at the time cost around €40,000.”
From Broodmare Selection to Sales: The E.Sporthorses System
After revisiting his beginnings, Gyula takes us behind the scenes of the complex organizational machinery supporting his breeding model. Today E.Sporthorses is known for breeding high-level sport horses and for the use of advanced reproductive technologies. We asked to describe how the operation is structured—from broodmare selection to foaling, and from young horse management to sales or competition.
Gyula said:“We constantly receive offers to purchase broodmares because we are connected with several agents through my colleague, Veronika Bardóczky. In the selection process, the most important factor is the dam line. The ‘black type’ notation, borrowed from Thoroughbred catalogues, clearly indicates the strength of the maternal line in show jumping pedigrees.
Some embryos are sold frozen directly through Avantea. Others are implanted, and we decide whether to sell them as implanted embryos or keep them, so that at least 10 foals with top-level pedigrees are born in Cegléd every year.
It’s a team effort, and thanks to my staff, we constantly monitor and manage the foals, evaluating them several times before deciding whether to sell some—either because they can reach exceptional prices or simply because we cannot keep them all. We also test each year’s young horses in free jumping, and some are selected to be kept without a price, for example until stallion approval or for future breeding. We keep only a few individuals for training and competition in young horse classes. The main goal is not to have horses competing under the E.Sporthorses name, but to breed horses capable of competing successfully for others.”
A Strategic Partnership: Working with Avantea
It is in the reproductive phase that collaboration with Avantea plays a decisive role. We asked Gyula Erdélyi how the partnership began and how it contributes to the success and client experience of E.Sporthorses.
His answer was clear:
“As I mentioned earlier, everything started with a Chacco-Blue straw, when I began doing OPU together with Gábor Fábiáncsics, who had ridden for me as a junior. I also purchased many other straws. Then the broodmares arrived—some live permanently at Avantea, while others regularly return home for various periods.
We are happy to entrust the entire process to Avantea thanks to their exceptional expertise. Almost all our frozen embryos are stored there, and most implantations take place there in recipient mares. Although OPU is now available in Hungary, and oocytes can be shipped to Avantea for ICSI, and embryo transfer is receiving increasing attention here as well, we continue to use the full range of Avantea services because handling everything in one place is far more sustainable thanks to their efficiency.”
Technology Serving Genetics
OPU-ICSI techniques are now at the heart of his breeding strategy. Gyula explains why:
“It is difficult to purchase a good broodmare because they are not available on the market, and if a mare produces only one foal per year, genetic progress remains slow. OPU-ICSI also requires a lot of patience.
I like seeing results, and I am thrilled to see full siblings—or even just maternal siblings—born in the same year from different mares, both in Cegléd and at other breeders who bought embryos from us. Nonetheless, variability remains significant, even among full siblings. I believe that in the future breeding will change completely, and that management, training, and the rider will matter even more in selecting high-level sport horses.”
Selection Criteria: A Clear Philosophy
The program is built not only on technology but also on specific genetic choices, as Gyula explains:
“The dam line is fundamental in selecting broodmares, and beyond that, their performance and good conformation matter. However, in the embryo market almost no one asks about conformation. It’s a different concept compared to selecting a foal.
For stallions, we use those most in demand if the goal is to sell embryos. Today, if we used United Touch S on a half draft mare, it would probably still sell. We are waiting to see who the next United Touch S will be. In general, we use the leading stallions of the moment, but we also look for young talents and sometimes go back to the great sires of the past.”
Elite Horses: The First Results in the Field
Although the program is relatively recent, some results already demonstrate the value of the chosen strategy. We asked Gyula Erdélyi to tell us about some top horses bred by E.Sporthorses, especially those born through OPU-ICSI.
“We haven’t been doing OPU long enough for our ICSI-born foals to be in competition yet, so I prefer to mention the foal we sold this year at the Grand Prix Sales. Atlanta 541 competed up to 1.60m with Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum, and we were able to purchase her for OPU. We sell many embryos from her at good prices.
At the end of June, a United Touch S colt we had sold as an implanted embryo was auctioned for €60,000, so we also offered them a filly by Ermitage Kalone out of Atlanta 541. It was our first sale in which we had to transport a foal from Hungary (not for a live auction, but for photos and video), and the filly sold for €45,000—we are very proud of that.”
“We hope to present one or two foals every year at the highest-level Western European auctions. And I hope that in a few years we will see them competing on international showgrounds.”
Why Choose an OPU-ICSI Foal?
Gyula explains the concrete advantages for those investing in an OPU-ICSI foal:
“You can certainly access better genetics, because today top broodmares are bred almost exclusively through this system. They are too valuable to carry their own pregnancies. For those starting with assisted OPU-ICSI breeding, my main advice is to consider the entire portfolio as one large basket. Of course, some economic decisions may require a different approach.”
“In general, you must wait for results and not be discouraged if a particular ICSI cycle produces zero embryos. The next one might produce five!”
Looking Ahead: International Development and Future Goals
The conversation concludes with a look toward the future: breeding goals, the evolution of the partnership with Avantea, and the results he hopes to achieve in the coming years.
Gyula Erdélyi:“I would like to acquire even better broodmares and start selling to overseas markets. The latter can be efficiently managed by Avantea, as it requires extensive laboratory analyses. In addition, since we have many straws and perform OPU every week by cutting one-tenth of a straw from a top stallion, we have now opened the door to small breeders who want to join us.
We hope that implantation rates will improve in the coming years with advancing technology, and that sex determination will develop to the point where the potential sex of embryos can be identified already from the semen, as happens in cattle.”
The experience of Gyula Erdélyi demonstrates how modern breeding can evolve rapidly thanks to the synergy between top-level genetics, advanced reproductive technologies, and professional young horse management.
The partnership with Avantea proves decisive in ensuring continuity, reliability, and growth in the international market. With a clear vision and the ambition to bring Hungarian excellence to the global stage, E.Sporthorses is today one of the most promising and innovative operations in European elite sport horse breeding.
HSJ.tv | Alessandra Ceserani
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