Alison King, Hong Kong’s first FEI Official and a huge supporter of equestrian sport, sadly passed away on 3 March 2020. She was 69.

Alison King was appointed as an FEI Official in 2008 and held various roles through the years. She moved rapidly up the ranks, and was the first person in Hong Kong to become an FEI 5* Para Dressage Judge. She was also an FEI 5* Technical Delegate for Para Dressage, an FEI 4* Dressage Judge, FEI 4* Dressage Judge for Young Horses, and an FEI Level 2 Steward for Jumping, Eventing, Dressage and Para Dressage. In 2016 she was appointed as a Course Director for Stewards in Para Dressage.

She officiated at close to 90 FEI Events over a 12-year period. She was a Para Dressage Judge at the FEI World Equestrian Games™ 2014 in Caen (FRA) and also on the Dressage Ground Jury at the FEI Asian Championships 2019 in Pattaya (THA). She was also an Assistant Steward at the Longines Masters of Hong Kong from 2013 to 2018, and was Chief Steward at last year’s event.

Alison King contributed enormously to Officials’ education, both locally and internationally. At a local level she held the role of HKEF Senior Dressage Judge from 2008 to 2017, while at an international level she was appointed as a Course Director for the FEI Dressage Educative Event Pilot Project in 2014 and developed the Equestrian Sport Educative Event (ESEE) for the Dressage Module funded by the FEI Solidarity.

“Alison was one of our best known Officials in Dressage and Para Dressage and was always a joy to work with”, FEI Dressage, Para Dressage, Vaulting & Reining Director Bettina de Rham said. “During her long career she served the sport internationally through many different roles. Her passion for the sport shone through and her ability to pass on her incredible depth of knowledge were remarkable. She will be greatly missed”. 

FEI Executive Board Member and Regional Group VIII Chair Jack Huang described Alison King as “one of our most influential Dressage Judges in Asia”.

Tributes also came in from National Federations.

“The Hong Kong Equestrian Federation would like to express our sincere gratitude for Alison’s contributions in the development of the equestrian sport in Hong Kong in the past decades”, the Hong Kong Equestrian Federation said in a statement. “Her smile, passion and enthusiasm will be forever missed by all of us.”

“Alison was instrumental in the development of Dressage in our country and region and did so much for the sport to flourish through the ESEE Dressage Programme”, Secretary General of the Equestrian Association of the Philippines Michelle Barrera-Juban said. “She had a special place in our hearts and will be sorely missed.”

The FEI extends its deepest sympathy to Alison King’s husband Nigel and son Tam, to her large circle of friends, to the Hong Kong Equestrian Federation and the global equestrian community.

Photo caption: FEI Official Alison King, who has passed away at the age of 69. (Hong Kong Equestrian Federation)

Jan Kowalczyk, the 1980 Olympic Jumping champion, passed away on 24 February 2020 after a lengthy battle against ill health. He was 79.

Born on 18 December 1941 in Drogomysl (POL), he started his equestrian career at eight years old at the National Stud in Drogomysl. He went on to become one of the most successful athletes in Polish equestrian history, participating in three editions of the Olympic Games: Mexico 1968, Munich 1972 and Moscow 1980.

At the Olympic Games in Moscow, the then 38-year-old Polish Army officer claimed individual Jumping gold with his horse Artemor and also led Poland to team silver.

Jan Kowalczyk won numerous international competitions, including at major venues such as Aachen, Rotterdam and London. He was also crowned Polish National Champion a record 16 times in Jumping and took individual gold twice in the Polish Eventing Championships.

“Jan Kowalczyk was a wonderful ambassador for equestrian sport in Poland and his gold-medal winning performance in the Olympic stadium Moscow with Artemor was truly astounding”, FEI Secretary General Sabrina Ibáñez said. “He was and will remain an inspiration to young aspiring equestrians throughout Poland and we offer our sincere condolences on this sad loss.”

The FEI extends its deepest sympathy to Jan Kowalczyk’s family and many friends, to the Polish Equestrian Federation and the global equestrian community.

Photo caption: Olympic Champion Jan Kowalczyk (POL), seen here on his way to individual gold at the Moscow 1980 Olympic Games, has passed away at the age of 79. (© Photo Ernst/pferdebild.de)

 

The FEI Tribunal has issued its Final Decisions in four cases involving Prohibited Substances.

The first case involves the horse Chabello (FEI ID 104OU26/MEX), ridden by Bruno Cavalheiro Rebello (FEI ID 10018978/BRA), which tested positive for the Banned Substance Ractopamine at the CSI2* in San Miguel de Allende (MEX), 3-6 October 2019. The FEI Tribunal approved the agreement reached on 30 January 2020 between the FEI and the athlete. As the FEI Tribunal accepted that the athlete bore no fault or negligence due to feed contamination, he will not serve any period of ineligibility other than the provisional suspension from 2 December 2019 to 3 February 2020. The results of the athlete and horse at the event were disqualified. Each of the parties will pay their own legal costs.

The second case involves the horse Veni Vidi Vici (FEI ID: 102MJ29/JOR), ridden by Huda Kayali (FEI ID: 10081862/JOR), which tested positive for the Banned Substance Stanozolol and its metabolite 16-beta-hydroxystanozolol at the CSIY-B, in Amman (JOR), 18-19 October 2018. The FEI Tribunal approved the agreement reached on 23 January 2020 between the FEI and the athlete. As the FEI Tribunal found that the athlete bore no significant fault or negligence, the athlete’s period of ineligibility was reduced to 17 months, starting on the date of notification (13 November 2018) until 12 April 2020. The results achieved by the athlete and horse at the event were disqualified. The athlete was ordered to pay a fine of CHF 5,000 and legal costs of CHF 2,500.

The third case involves the horse HSM Cornelio (FEI ID: 104GP38/COL), ridden by Pablo Carreño Mora (FEI ID 10072192/COL), which tested positive for the Banned Substance Ractopamine at the CEI1* 80 in Ubate (COL), 19–20 August 2017. The FEI Tribunal approved the agreement reached on 31 January 2020 between the FEI and the athlete. As the FEI Tribunal accepted that the athlete bore no fault or negligence due to feed contamination, he will not serve any period of ineligibility except the 13 days’ provisional suspension from 7 to 30 November 2017.The results of the athlete and horse at the event were disqualified. Each of the parties will pay their own legal costs.

The fourth case involves the horse Saura De Fondcombe (FEI ID: 103CM83 /SUI), ridden by Nadja Peter Steiner (FEI ID: 10006562/SUI), which tested positive for the Banned Substance O-Desmethyltramadol at the CSI3*-W in Tetouan (MAR), 5-8 October 2017.

Following an application by the athlete, on 22 December 2017 the FEI Tribunal lifted the two-month provisional suspension of the horse, which had been imposed on 9 November 2017. Following a second application from the athlete, on 8 August 2018 the FEI Tribunal lifted her provisional suspension, imposed on 9 November 2017.

According to the FEI Tribunal Decision, the athlete will be suspended for a period of two years, while the period of the provisional suspension (9 November 2017 to 8 August 2018) shall be credited against the period of ineligibility imposed, meaning the athlete will be ineligible until 19 May 2021. The athlete was ordered to pay a fine of CHF 7,500, pay the cost of the B-sample analysis and contribute CHF 2,000 to the costs.

The Final Decisions on these cases can be found here.

The parties can appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) within 21 days of receipt of the decisions.

Separately, the FEI has announced a new adverse analytical finding (AAF) involving an equine prohibited substance. The case involves a *Banned Substance under the FEI’s Equine Anti-Doping and Controlled Medication Regulations (EADCMRs).

In the following Endurance case, the trainer has been provisionally suspended until the FEI Tribunal renders its decision. The horse has been provisionally suspended for two months from the date of notification. As this case involves a minor, the name of the athlete and horse are withheld.

Horse: N/A
Person Responsible: N/A
Trainer: Ghanim Mohd Al Marri (FEI ID 10048641/UAE)
Event: CEI2* 120 - Bou Thib (UAE), 12-13.12.2019
Prohibited Substance(s): Testosterone
Date of notification: 19 February 2020 (horse); 20 February (trainer)

In the two following cases the athletes refused to submit the horses to sample collection and have been provisionally suspended until the FEI Tribunal renders its decision.

Horse: Sarem (FEI ID 105MZ22/KSA)
Person Responsible: Mohammed Almalky (FEI ID: 10134839/KSA)
Trainer: Meshary Almalky (FEI ID:10158793/KSA)
Event: CEI2* 120 - Al Ula (KSA), 01.02.2020
Violation: refusal to submit to sample collection
Date of notification: 19 February 2020

Horse: Kenya De Safray (FEI ID 105AK13/FRA)
Person Responsible: Marine Jobin (FEI ID: 10035870/FRA)
Event: CSI1* - Le Touquet (FRA), 02-05.05.2019
Violation: refusal to submit to sample collection
Date of notification: 21 February 2020

Details on these cases can be found here.

Notes to Editors:

FEI Equine Prohibited Substances

The FEI Prohibited Substances List is divided into two sections: Controlled Medication and *Banned Substances. Controlled Medication substances are those that are regularly used to treat horses, but which must have been cleared from the horse’s system by the time of competition. Banned (doping) Substances should never be found in the body of the horse and are prohibited at all times.

In the case of an adverse analytical finding (AAF) for a Banned Substance, the Person Responsible (PR) is automatically provisionally suspended from the date of notification (with the exception of certain cases involving a Prohibited Substance which is also a **Specified Substance). The horse is provisionally suspended for two months.

Information on all substances is available on the searchable FEI Equine Prohibited Substances Database.

The FEI has announced new adverse analytical findings (AAF) involving equine prohibited substances. The cases involve *Banned Substances under the FEI’s Equine Anti-Doping and Controlled Medication Regulations (EADCMRs).

In the following two Endurance cases, the athletes and the trainers have been provisionally suspended from the date of notification until the FEI Tribunal renders its decision. The horses have been provisionally suspended for two months from the date of notification.

Horse: Blue Diamond (FEI ID 106HE36/JOR)
Person Responsible: Fahad Alkharmani (FEI ID 10072564/KSA)
Trainer: Anas Al Saied (FEI ID 10185797/JOR)
Event: CEI2* 120 – Wadi Rum (JOR), 13-14.11.2019
Prohibited Substance(s): Diisopropylamine
Date of notification: 13 January 2020

Horse: Bouzarika (FEI ID 106RJ34/JOR)
Person Responsible: Sameh Faris Mohammad Said (FEI ID 10040466/JOR)
Trainer: Khldoon Mohd Al Sayed (10014556 /JOR)
Event: CEI1* 80 – Wadi Rum (JOR), 13-14.11.2019
Prohibited Substance(s): Strychnine
Date of notification: 13 January 2020

The trainer in the Bouzarika case, Khldoon Mohd Al Sayed, has been provisionally suspended, both in this and a second case from the same event, from the date of notification until the FEI Tribunal renders its decision.

Horse: ***N/A
Person Responsible: ***N/A
Trainer: Khldoon Mohd Al Sayed (FEI ID 10014556 /JOR)
Event: CEI1* 80 – Wadi Rum (JOR), 13-14.11.2019
Prohibited Substance(s): Strychnine
Date of notification: 13 January 2020

*** No PR/Horse Name in cases involving Minors and/or Fast Track Procedures.

In the following Jumping case, the athlete has been provisionally suspended from the date of notification until the FEI Tribunal renders its decision. The horse has been provisionally suspended for two months from the date of notification.
Horse: Gucci (FEI ID 106GE04/MEX)
Person Responsible: Jefferson Martins Maquieira (FEI ID 10027611/BRA)
Event: CSI2* - San Miguel de Allende (MEX), 03-06.10.2019
Prohibited Substance(s): Boldenone, Boldienone
Date of notification: 22 January 2020   

In the final case, the athlete has been provisionally suspended from the date of notification until the FEI Tribunal renders its decision. As the horse was sadly fatally injured at the event, the provisional suspension of the horse is not applicable.

Horse: Snowrunner (FEI ID 105JX73/THA)
Person Responsible: Preecha Khunjan (FEI ID 10089939/THA)
Event: CH-Asian-CCI2*-L - Pattaya (THA), 02-05.12.2019
Prohibited Substance(s): Desoximethasone, Isoflupredone
Date of notification: 22 January 2020         

Details on these cases can be found here.

Separately, the FEI Tribunal has issued its Final Decision in a case involving a Prohibited Substance.
A sample taken from the horse Fifty Shades (FEI ID 104ZG11/USA), ridden by Andrea Torres Guerreiro (FEI ID 10114368/COL) at the CSI4* in Tryon NC (USA), 5-10 June 2018, tested positive to the Banned Substance Boldenone and its metabolite Boldenone Sulfate. The FEI Tribunal approved the agreement reached on 17 January 2020 between the FEI and the athlete. Due to prompt admission, the standard two years ineligibility period for the athlete was reduced to 20 months, starting from the date of the sample collection on 9 June 2018 until 8 February 2020. The horse had been provisionally suspended for two months until 22 September 2018.

All the results of the athlete and the horse at the event were disqualified. In addition, all the results obtained by the athlete from 9 June 2018 until 23 July 2018, when the provisional suspension was imposed, were also disqualified. The athlete was ordered to pay a fine of CHF 3,000. Each of the parties will pay their own legal costs.

The Final Decision on this case can be found here.
The parties can appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) within 21 days of receipt of the decision.

Notes to Editors:

FEI Equine Prohibited Substances

The FEI Prohibited Substances List is divided into two sections: Controlled Medication and *Banned Substances. Controlled Medication substances are those that are regularly used to treat horses, but which must have been cleared from the horse’s system by the time of competition. Banned (doping) Substances should never be found in the body of the horse and are prohibited at all times.

In the case of an adverse analytical finding (AAF) for a Banned Substance, the Person Responsible (PR) is automatically provisionally suspended from the date of notification (with the exception of certain cases involving a Prohibited Substance which is also a **Specified Substance). The horse is provisionally suspended for two months.

**Specified Substances

The FEI introduced the concept of Specified Substances in 2016. Specified Substances should not in any way be considered less important or less dangerous than other Prohibited Substances (i.e. whether Banned or Controlled). Rather, they are simply substances which are more likely to have been ingested by horses for a purpose other than the enhancement of sport performance, for example, through a contaminated food substance. Positive cases involving Specified Substances can be handled with a greater degree of flexibility within the structure of the FEI Regulations.

Information on all substances is available on the searchable FEI Equine Prohibited Substances Database.

Following concerns raised about FEI Jumping Events in France and Syria where Olympic and Longines Ranking points were on offer, the FEI has investigated events at both Villeneuve-Loubet (FRA) and Damascus (SYR).

The investigation into the three events at Villeneuve-Loubet in December 2019 has established that, contrary to the FEI Rules (Article 110.2.3 of the FEI General Regulations), two competitions counting for the Olympic and Longines Rankings were added at each event after the respective Definite Entries deadlines. The updated Schedules for these three events were submitted to the FEI by the French National Federation and were mistakenly approved by the FEI.

As a result, and in accordance with Article 112.3 of the FEI General Regulations, the FEI has retrospectively removed these additional competitions, meaning that athletes who participated will lose their ranking points from these competitions. The Olympic and Longines Rankings have been updated accordingly.

Additionally, the FEI has established that three of the six events at Villeneuve-Loubet in January 2020 also had two classes counting for Longines Rankings points added after the Definite Entries deadline, again contrary to the FEI Rules. As a result, these additional competitions have been removed and athletes that participated will lose their ranking points for these competitions.

The FEI also reviewed the events that took place in Damascus (SYR) between October and December 2019, and while it was clearly established that there was no breach of FEI Rules and Regulations regarding FEI Calendar entries, the event Schedules or the number of events run, the investigation revealed an irregularity with the prize money at three of the events.

The events held in Damascus on 24-27 October 2019, 31 October to 3 November 2019 and 13-17 November 2019 had total prize money that exceeded the limit for a CSI2* and the Schedules for these events were erroneously approved by the FEI. As a result, the FEI has removed one FEI competition at each of these events in order to bring the total prize money within the specified limit, but this has no impact on the Olympic Ranking for Olympic Group F.

The FEI has also reallocated one of the two Jumping team quota slots from the Olympic Jumping Qualifier for Group F in Rabat (MAR) in October 2019, following adverse analytical findings in two members of the Qatari team, Sheikh Ali Al Thani and Bassem Mohammed. Both athletes tested positive for Carboxy-THC, a metabolite of Cannabis, which is a prohibited substance under the FEI’s Anti-Doping Rules for Human Athletes (ADRHA).

The FEI Tribunal issued a partial decision regarding the disqualification of the individual results of the two Qatari athletes on 15 February 2020. As a result, Qatar loses its team quota place for Tokyo and this has been reallocated by the FEI to Morocco.

The FEI has now confirmed the team and individual quota places across the three disciplines of Dressage, Eventing and Jumping for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, with three nations – Luxembourg (Dressage individual), Pakistan (Eventing individual) and Israel (Jumping team) – qualifying for the Olympic Games for the first time. The new formats have opened the door for more nations to compete at the Games, with Jumping going up from 27 in Rio to 35 in Tokyo, Dressage increasing from 25 to 30 and Eventing rising from 24 to 30. In total, the number of flags has risen from 43 in Rio to 48 in Tokyo.

Latvia’s individual quota slot for Jumping would mean a first Games start after a 32-year absence, having last competed in Seoul 1988. The Czech Republic and Hong Kong, which have both qualified for an individual place in Eventing, are planning to return to the Games for the first time since Beijing 2008.

The deadline to achieve the Minimum Eligibility Requirements (MERs) is 1 June, after which the FEI will confirm approval of the FEI Certificates of Capability to the National Federations. The final athlete/horse combinations for the three disciplines will be announced on 6 July 2020.

The Olympic equestrian events get underway the day after the Opening Ceremony in Tokyo on 24 July. Dressage will be the first discipline to hold its competitions (July 25-29), followed by Eventing (31 July to 3 August) and then Jumping (4-8 August). The competitions will take place at the Bajikoen Equestrian Park and the Sea Forest Cross Country venue.

The FEI’s Jumping Director John Roche, who has played a key role in equestrian sport’s global governing body since first joining the Federation in May 1987, will retire at the end of February.

Captain Roche served in the Irish Army Equitation School and represented his country at top level on the international Jumping circuit.

John Roche’s FEI career started in the Sport Department under then FEI President HRH The Princess Royal, who took over the role from her father, HRH Prince Philip, the FEI’s longest serving President (1964-1986) and the man who put carriage driving on the international map. Captain Roche’s initial responsibilities covered Jumping, Driving and the FEI Calendar, and he was also Secretary to the Jumping and Driving Committee.

He was promoted to the position of FEI Jumping Director when it was created in 2007, and also held the titles of FEI Jumping World Cup™ and FEI Jumping Nations Cup™ Director and Director General Stewarding. During his long years at the helm with responsibility for all aspects of the discipline, he has contributed to the growth of Jumping from 340 international events to almost 1,800.

Captain Roche will be an FEI guest at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games and a special presentation will be made to him at the FEI Awards gala dinner during the FEI General Assembly in Johannesburg (RSA) in November 2020.

 

The identity of the 14 nations who will contest the Para Dressage Team title at this summer’s Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games has been revealed. By qualifying, each country will be able to send up to four athletes to Tokyo.

Joining Great Britain, The Netherlands, and Germany, who secured their places at FEI World Equestrian Games^TM Tryon in 2018, are the USA, Italy, Sweden, Canada, Singapore, Denmark, Belgium, Australia, and Austria. They qualified by being either in the top seven teams in the International Equestrian Federation’s world rankings (apart from those three who qualified at WEG), or the top team in either Asia, Oceania, and the Americas. As host nation, Japan will also field a full team.

Currently Russia has also qualified, but its participation in the Games is yet to be confirmed.

“Team Canada is delighted to have secured a team slot for Canada Tokyo”, Canada’s Coach and Chef d’equipe Clive Milkins said. “It is a recognition of the determination hard work, committed effort and motivation from all our grooms, athletes and coaches involved from grass roots to international level. The hard works starts now.”

The team competition in Tokyo will be a hotly contested one. In the race for medals, USA who are currently ranked world number one, will mount a strong challenge, while Denmark has significant talent. Belgium will also be in with a shot as will a resurgent Australia and Austria. The Netherlands, currently European and World champions, will be desperate to add Paralympic gold to that pair, while the British will do everything in their power to defend the title, having won at every Paralympic Games since Para Dressage was introduced in Atlanta in 1996.

And in Tokyo, the team competition is given extra tension by changes to the format. The team medal will now be decided over two days by just three riders per country (it used to be four). Not only that, the three competing riders won’t be chosen until the Games themselves, on completion of the individual titles on the first two days of competition.

Outside of the team competitions, a host of other nations have gained slots for up to two of their top athletes, so the Games will see individual competitors coming from South Africa, New Zealand, Saudi Arabia, Hong Kong, Latvia, and Brazil. There’ll also be athletes from Norway, Finland, and Mexico in the mix too. Further individual allocations will also be made as the year progresses according to the rules of the bipartite commission.

The Para Dressage competition will be held at the Tokyo 2020 Equestrian Park from Thursday 27 to Monday 31 August. Individual medals will be decided on the first two days, the team completion takes place on the Saturday and Sunday, and the whole competition rounds off with all five grades’ freestyle titles being decided on Monday.

Click here for more information on the Paralympics qualification.

Names of athletes competing will start to be announced from mid-July, on completion of nations’ individual selection processes.

Steve Guerdat (SUI), Olympic gold medallist and three-time Longines FEI World Cup™ champion, has regained the number one spot in the Longines World Rankings.

The 37 year old, who topped the leaderboard throughout 2019, had slipped back one place last month below compatriot Martin Fuchs. Guerdat, is now back at the top of the elite list with 3,497 points after claiming victory with Victorio des Frotards in a spectacular win on home turf in Basel (SUI) in mid-January. He is 74 points ahead of Fuchs (SUI) who now sits in second place on 3,423 points.

Guerdat, who also leads the Longines FEI World Cup™ standings, has another major victory in his sights as he looks ahead to the Finals in Las Vegas (USA) in April. As a three-time winner and defending champion, another success will put him in the history books as the first athlete to claim a fourth win since FEI World Cup™ Jumping began back in 1978.

Germany’s Daniel Deusser remains third in the rankings just 29 points adrift of Fuchs, with Ben Maher (GBR) holding onto fourth on 2,988 points.

Peder Fredricson (SWE), Pieter Devos (BEL), Beezie Madden (USA), Darragh Kenny (IRL), Kent Farrington (USA) and Christian Alhmann (GER) complete the top 10 this month.

View the complete Longines Rankings here.

The FEI has announced adverse analytical findings involving two members of the Qatari Jumping team which booked one of the two Tokyo 2020 team quota slots at the designated Olympic Jumping Qualifier for Group F (Africa & Middle East) in Rabat (MAR) in October 2019.

Samples taken on 13 October from the Qatari Jumping athletes Sheikh Ali Al Thani (FEI ID: 10024194), and Bassem Mohammed (FEI ID: 10082635) tested positive for Carboxy-THC, a metabolite of Cannabis, which is a prohibited substance under the FEI’s Anti-Doping Rules for Human Athletes (ADRHA).

The athletes have not been provisionally suspended, as Carboxy-THC is a *Specified Substance banned in competition under the 2019 World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Prohibited List.

Details on these cases can be found here.

In order to maintain the integrity of the ongoing legal process, the FEI will not comment further on these cases at this time.

Notes to Editors:

Tokyo 2020 Olympic quota places were available to the two best ranked teams from Group F (Africa & Middle East) at the  Group F FEI designated Qualification Event in Rabat (MAR), 10-13 October 2019, excluding the teams already qualified. The two teams that earned qualification in Rabat were Egypt and Qatar.

* Specified Substances should not in any way be considered less important or less dangerous than other doping substances. Rather, they are simply substances which are more likely to have been consumed by an Athlete for a purpose other than the enhancement of sport performance. Positive cases involving Specified Substances can be handled with a greater degree of flexibility within the structure of the FEI Regulations.

HRH the Infanta Doña Pilar de Borbón, President of the FEI from 1994 to 2006 and elder sister of former King of Spain Juan Carlos I, has died in Madrid following a year-long battle with cancer. She was 83.

Born in Cannes (FRA) on 30 July 1936 to Their Royal Highnesses the Count and Countess of Barcelona while the Spanish family were in exile during the Spanish civil war, she grew up in Estoril (POR). She also lived for some time in Italy and in the Olympic Capital, Lausanne (SUI), home of both the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the FEI.

She obtained a nursing diploma in Portugal and practised her profession for three years in a variety of hospitals. Well-known for her charitable work, she was actively involved in a number of charities, including the Red Cross, Friends of the Monasteries, Foundation for the Defence of Life, Nuevo Futuro, Action Aid, Foundation for Investigation and Training in Oncology.

At the age of 31 she married Luis Gómez-Acebo and the couple had five children, Simoneta, Juan, Bruno, Beltrán and Fernando. Tragically, her husband died in March 1991.

Her brother Juan Carlos I reigned as King of Spain from November 1975 until his abdication in June 2014, when the Infanta’s nephew took over the throne as King Don Felipe VI.

The Infanta was an Executive Board member of the Spanish National Olympic Committee and Honorary President of the Spanish Equestrian Federation. Between 2007 and 2009, she was President of Europa Nostra, a pan-European Federation for Cultural Heritage, established to safeguard Europe's cultural and natural heritage.

As well as her work in the arts and culture, she was also fluent in six languages and wrote the foreword for the official Spanish translation of the German National Federation instruction handbook, Técnicas Avanzadas de Equitación - Manual Oficial de Instrucción de la Federación Ecuestre Alemana.

She was an equestrian athlete at national level before taking over the reins at the FEI in 1994 from HRH The Princess Royal. The Infanta was elected as a member of the IOC two years later, a position she held for the remainder of her tenure at the FEI. When her term in office as FEI President came to an end in 2006, she was made Honorary President of the FEI and an IOC Honorary Member, titles she retained until her death.

She always maintained her contact with the FEI, attending the inauguration of the FEI Headquarters in Lausanne in May 2011 and she was also present at the FEI Jumping Nations Cup™ Final 2016 at the Real Club de Polo de Barcelona, venue for the Barcelona 1992 Olympic equestrian events.

“Doña Pilar was one of the warmest people I have ever met and was a wonderful President of the FEI for 12 years”, FEI President Ingmar De Vos said. “She was a true visionary, introducing a strategic plan to modernise the Federation and initiating a solid governance structure that was taken forward by her successor HRH Princess Haya.

“She had a no-nonsense attitude that meant she was straight to the point but always done with great humour. She will live on in the collective memory of the equestrian world forever.”

The FEI extends its deepest sympathy to the Infanta’s extended family, huge circle of international friends and to the Spanish Equestrian Federation.