Six candidates stand for FEI presidency
Two further candidates have joined the race to succeed Princess Haya as FEI President later this year — bringing the final total to six.
Earlier this week — before the deadline day of 1 September — FEI secretary general Ingmar De Vos, of Belgium, and Spanish Olympian turned lawyer Javier Revuelata de Peral both announced their intention to run for the position.
Last week British vet, and current FEI first vice president John McEwen came forward for the role. He joined Pierre Genecand of Switzerland, Ulf Helgstrand of Denmark and Pierre Durand of France, who had already declared their intentions.
Last month Princess Haya confirmed she would not be standing for a third consecutive four-year term, despite winning a vote in April allowing her to do so. She cited humanitarian work in Gaza as her reason for not running.
The election will take place on 14 December at the FEI General Assembly in Azerbaijan.
Find out more about the six candidates:
Pierre Genecand
The 64-year-old businessman, banker and insurance broker has been proposed by the Swiss Equestrian Federation.
He served as president of the Geneva International Horse Show from 1989 to 2003 and is the current president of the Polo Club Gstaad and the Hublot Polo Gold Club.
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Mr Genecand has also been a member of the board of the World Cup of Horsemanship, the Alliance of Jumping Organisers, and the Committee of Swiss Top Sports.
Ulf Helgstrand
The 64-year-old doctor and former dressage rider has been president of the Danish Equestrian Federation since 2003.
He was board member and vice president of the Danish Warmblood Association for 10 years and is currently vice president and charter member of the European Equestrian Federation.
John McEwen
The British candidate is the current first vice president of the FEI.
The 69-year-old was British team vet for the showjumping and dressage teams until London 2012.
He was vice chairman of the FEI Veterinary Committee from 1999 to 2003 and has been the Committee’s chair since 2006.
He currently chairs the FEI Prohibited Substances List and Laboratory Groups and has served on an advisory panel for World Horse Welfare for more than 15 years.
He represents the FEI at the World Organisation for Animal Health specialising in horse transport issues and on the International Sports Horse Federation.
Javier Revuelta del Peral
T
he Spanish lawyer, 57, is a former rider who has competed nationally and internationally in eventing and jumping and rode in the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games in eventing.
He also represented Spain in the FEI World Equestrian Games in 1994 and at the FEI European Championships in 1995.
Mr Revuelta has been chairman of the Spanish Equestrian Federation since 2005 and is a member of the Spanish Olympic Committee. He also breeds and owns racehorses.
Pierre Durand
French Olympian Pierre Durand, who is now 57, was showjumping champion at the 1988 Seoul Games with the 13-year old gelding Jappeloup.
He also competed in the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics and became European Jumping champion in 1987.
From 1993 to 1998 Mr Durand was President of the French Equestrian Federation. He is currently chairman of the board of directors of the French National Institute for Sport, Expertise, and Performance.
Ingmar De Vos
The 51-year-old is currently secretary general at the FEI and has been put forward by the Belgian Equestrian Federation, which he joined as managing director in 1990. He was secretary general of the organisation from 1997-2011.
Mr De Vos was secretary general of the European Equestrian Federation from 2010-2011.
During his time at the Belgian National Federation, he was chef de mission for the Belgian Equestrian Team at all FEI World Equestrian Games.
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A graduate of Exeter University, Amy joined our news team from Redpin Publishing in 2008 as news writer. She was promoted to deputy news editor in May 2013 and became news editor in April 2015. She left Horse & Hound in March 2016 to take up an editorial position in Dubai.