Ing. Emil KOVALČÍK, PhD. celebrated his 50th birthday

Ing. Emil Kovalčík, PhD. belongs to the long-term employees of the Topoľčianky National Stud. He has been working as the head of the marketing department and stud books for 20 years. He is an integral part of all domestic breeding and sports events. This year he celebrated his life anniversary, a beautiful round 50 years.

He was born on October 26, 1972 in Trenčín. He spent his childhood as the only child of his parents in Bánovce nad Bebravou. He attended the Secondary Agricultural and Technical School in Topoľčany. Subsequently, he was accepted to the Slovak Agricultural University in Nitra, Faculty of Agriculture, Department of Zootechnics. After completing his studies in 1996, he joined the two-year civilian military service at the stud farm in Motešice as a consultant for the country's horse breeding. In the period 1998 and 1999, he completed a professional internship in the position of head of horse training. In 2002, he completed his doctoral studies at the Slovak Agricultural University, specializing in horse breeding, and from March 15 of the same year until today, he has been working at the National Stud "Topoľčianky" š.p.

He keeps stud books of gene reserve horse breeds, manages horse sales and the tourism department. He is also in charge of professional publication activities and relations with the media. He is part of the organizing committees of all events held at the stud. His voice has accompanied visitors to breeding and social events, but also competition participants since time immemorial. With his rich knowledge of the history of horse breeding, he can impress every listener. He has an indescribable sense of humour. With his funny remarks, he managed to ease the tension in many difficult situations. However, he takes his work very seriously.

According to his own words, his favourite horse breed is the Hucul horse. "I am bound to him by memories from my childhood. When my father worked on the cooperative, he harnessed Hucul mares. He was very satisfied with them. They were very obedient and hardworking. That's probably why this breed has become so close to my heart." Currently, Emil Kovalčík is also a member of the board of the stud book and the chairman of the breeding commission of the Hucul International Federation.

He devoted himself to active riding mainly during his studies at high school, where he was a member of the equestrian riding club. During his studies at university, he continued to ride, as riding was a separate subject. After joining the stud, he engaged in riding regularly. At the moment, his work duties only allow him to sit in the saddle very occasionally.

In addition to horses, which he says are his lifelong hobby, he also has another hobby. He likes to study military history. He is a member of the KVH Pressburg military history club, which re-enacts battles from the Second World War and also participates in the filming of films with this theme. He is an avid collector of original artifacts from this period.

For the anniversary of your life, we wish mainly good health, unceasing work commitment and a persistent sense of humour. Best wishes!