Special stud farms engaged faithfully and professionally in fostering, shaping and developing the breeding of Arabian horses for close to two centuries are few and far between globally.

The first mention of 'Bábolna puszta' has been found in a charter dated 1268 as the location where herds of famous Hungarian grey cattle driven from the Great Plain to Vienna were sorted finally or given a rest after the long drive to continue the journey to Regensburg or to be sold locally to regional slaughterers. The name of the main street of Bábolna (called 'Slaughterer's Road' in English) is a legacy of those days.
Later on the estate was transferred to the ownership of the Counts Szapáry. In 1789, however, Emperor Joseph II purchased it upon a recommendation of Capt. József Csekonics, the director of the Mezőhegyes stud farm for the purposes of establishing a second stud.

The cuirassier captain, who was committed to the cause of Hungarian horse breeding and had good connections, skilfully selected the area and founded the military equestrian estate, which initially also served as a stop-over for dispatch riders. Napoleon's troops scorched the farm after the battle at Győr (in 1809), but it was reconstructed between 1810 and 1820.

It was in 1836 that a famous Shagya stallion was imported to Bábolna from Syria; his descendants are still cherished and held in high repute in many countries today.
From the series of commanders in charge of Bábolna, the story of Mihály Fadlallah el Hedad is the most peculiar. His passion for horses lured him from distant Syria to Bábolna, where he found a new home only to become the commander of the stud.
One of his successors, Tibor Pettkó-Szandtner, known as the founder of modern-day coach driving, went on to manage the royal stud of Egypt after World War II.