Dressage-News

LAUSANNE, Switzerland, Sept. 2, 2014–Six candidates, all Europeans, have declared for the International Equestrian Federaion (FEI) presidential election to succeed Princess Haya when she steps down at the end of the year after two four-year terms.

Most of the candidates have legal, business or bureaucratic backgrounds and all are directly involved with horse sports–none are “royals” that have led the governing body of international horse sports without interruption since 1954.

The candidates standing for election at the FEI General Assembly on Dec. 4 are:

–Pierre Genecand, 64, of Switzerland is a businessman, banker and insurance broker. He was president of the Geneva International Horse Show from 1989 to 2003, has been a member of the board of the World Cup of Horsemanship, the Alliance of Jumping Organizers, and the Committee of Swiss Top Sports. He is president of the Polo Club Gstaad and the Hublot Polo Gold Club.

–Ulf Helgstrand, 63, of Denmark is a medical doctor and a professor of vascular surgery. He has been president of the Danish Equestrian Federation since 2003. He was active with the Danish Warmblood Association for 10 years and is vice president and charter member of the European Equestrian Federation. He is a former dressage rider and has run a stud with several approved ressage stallions since 1991.

–John McEwen, 69, of Great Britain is a veterinary surgeon with wide international experience, He was veterinary surgeon to the British show jumping and dressage teams until the London 2012 Olympic Games, vice chairman of the FEI Veterinary Committee from 1999 to 2003 and has been the committee chair since 2006. He 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 Organization for Animal Health specializing in horse transport issues and on the International Sports Horse Federation. He was appointed FEI 1st Vice President in 2010.

–Javier Revuelta del Peral, 57, of Spain is a lawyer and attorney for the Spanish government. He has held senior management positions at various Spanish and international companies in the telecommunications, media, food, financial, and renewable energy industries. He competed nationally and internationally in eventing and jumping, including the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games, the 1994 World Equestrian Games and the European Championships in 1995. Since 2005, he has been chairman of the Spanish Equestrian Federation and is a member of the Spanish Olympic Committee. He breeds and owns racehorses.

–Pierre Durand, 59, of France has a degree in business law, is a former professional rider and wine grower. He was Olympic jumping champion at the 1988 Seoul Games with the 13-year old gelding Jappeloup and also competed in the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games and became European jumping champion in 1987. From 1993 to 1998, he was president of the French Equestrian Federation. He has held various executive positions in the media business and is currently chairman of the French National Institute for Sport, Expertise, and Performance.

–Ingmar De Vos, 51, of Belgium has degrees in political science, business administration and international and European law. He started his career as an advisor to the Belgian Senate. He became Belgian Equestrian Federation managing director in 1990, and held the additional role of secretary general from 1997 to 2011. He was Secretary General of the European Equestrian Federation from 2010, the year the organization was formed, until 2011. He has been FEI Secretary General since May 2011.