Merit Recognition Act

Our Annual Gala

The Annual Gala of Fundación para la Promoció del Deporte Ecuestre is an event that has been held uninterruptedly since 2006, in which the members of the Foundation and guests come to share an evening marked by the celebration of the Merit Recognition Act.

During the Gala, the Merit Recognition Act honours individuals or entities that have contributed to the promotion, dissemination and consolidation of the equestrian world through their work in the fields of sport, therapy or training. Each of them receives from the hands of H.R.H. Infanta Elena the bronze figure of the Numantine horse, symbol of our Foundation.

Since 2010, the Foundation’s Annual Gala has been held at the Teatro Real in Madrid in the last week of November.

Since 2020, as a result of the pandemic, the celebration of the Annual Gala has been interrupted and the Foundation is currently focusing on the other activities with which it collaborates.

These have been the award winners in the different areas over the years:

Therapeutic Riding

Asociación Equitación Positiva

For its work in the inclusion of people with functional diversity, in collaboration with Fundación para la Promoción de Deporte Ecuestre over the last twelve years.

Job Training and Horse Well-being

CEMEDE

Centro de Medicina Deportiva Equina – For his research work on the sport horse and its application in the productive sector.

Sports

Spanish Junior Jumping Team

For their excellent performance at the European Championships held from July 12th to 14th in Zuidwolde, The Netherlands, winning the Gold Medal in Teams.

Therapeutic Riding

Centro Nazareno de Terapias Ecuestres La Herradura

For its outstanding development and implementation of multiple and innovative activities in the equestrian world for children with the collaboration of Fundación para la Promoción del Deporte Ecuestre in the last eight years, reaching a level of excellence exemplary for other associations.

Job Training and Horse Well-being

Ms. María Villalba Orero

For his teaching and research work in the field of equine cardiology and specifically for the agreement established with Fundación para la Promoción del Deporte Ecuestre in recent years for her equine cardiology course.

Sports

Club de Polo de Barcelona

For its long and intense trajectory of more than one hundred years in the promotion and development of equestrian sport in its highest manifestations.

Therapeutic Riding

Asociación Aspace Baleares

For the Therapeutic Riding work carried out since 2012.

Job Training and Horse Well-being

Equidinamia

For being specialists in equine physiotherapy and for their teaching work, giving talks and courses with the aim of raising awareness of equine physiotherapy in Spain.

Sports

Mr. Luis Astolfi y Pérez de Guzmán

For his extensive sporting career.

Equitación Terapéutica

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Therapeutic Riding

Mr. Blas Arróniz-Úzqueda

For his extensive experience in the field of Therapeutic Riding for more than twenty years, an activity he has carried out at the C.E.E. El Molino and in the Federación Navarra de Deportes Adaptados (Navarre Federation of Adapted Sports).

Job Training and Horse Well-being

Horse One

For the work done on gastric ulcers in the sport horse.

Sports

Ms. Beatriz Ferrer Salat

For her sporting career, which has brought so many successes to Spanish Dressage, as she is the greatest awarded of European Championships and Olympic Games in her discipline.

Equitación Terapéutica

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Therapeutic Riding

Centro de Educación Especial Nuestra Señora de la Aurora

For its work in the integration of people with different disabilities through Horse-Assited Interventions, developing this activity in the Extremaduran town of Villanueva de la Serena and its region over the last years, during which these two institutions have maintained various collaboration agreements.

Job Training and Horse Well-being

Real Maestranza de Caballería de Ronda

For its excellence in equestrian training, which it provides in its own facilities, where you can study saddlery, veterinary clinic assistant, horsemanship, groom, etc.

Sports

Mr. Juan Matute Guimón

Despite his youth, he has already won numerous prizes in international competitions on both sides of the Atlantic and in particular for his participation in the European Championships in his category, held in July in the French town of Vidauban, where he won the individual gold medal for Spain, proclaiming himself European Champion in this discipline.

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Therapeutic Riding

Fundación Tiovivo

For its work in the integration of people with disabilities through equestrian therapies for the last years, with the support of our Foundation through various agreements.

Job Training and Horse Well-being

Hospital Clínico Veterinario de la Universidad Complutense de Madrid

(Clinical Veterinary Hospital of the Complutense University of Madrid)

For its training dedication in future professionals with the postgraduate courses that take place in this centre, specifically those on equine physiotherapy and recovery, held during 2012-2013 and 2013-2014 academic years in collaboration with our Foundation.

Sports

Mr. Manuel Malta da Costa

For his collaboration with our Fundacion since its beginnings, in the design and preparation of the Technique and Style tests and in the numerous clinics aimed at young riders, which he has given on behalf of the Foundation throughout Spain.

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Therapeutic Riding

Real Patronato sobre Discapacidad

Since 1910 they have been carrying out activities in favour of underprivileged sectors, in the last decade sponsoring various therapeutic horse riding activities and specifically through the agreement developed with our Foundation in the development of new initiatives that promote therapeutic horse riding for the benefit of people who need it.

Job Training and Horse Well-being

Mr. Álvaro Domecq Romero

  • Founder of Real Escuela Andaluza Arte Ecuestre.
  • Creator of the show «Así bailan los Caballos Andaluces»
  • Promoter of the Spanish Horse Forum and especially for his career in the promotion and development of the Equestrian Art.

Sports

Mr. Agustín Fernández Hidalgo

For having won the gold medal at the European Junior TREC Championships in September, held from September 5th to 8th in the Belgian city of Vielsalm, placing Spain at the top of the medal table.

Therapeutic Riding

Dra. Angelika Trabert

For his wonderful story of self-improvement, because despite the difficulties that life has brought him, she has been able to face them, finding in horse riding the incentive to do so, having won three bronze medals, eleven silver medals, and one gold medal in different European Championships, World Championships and Paralympic Games.

Job Training and Horse Well-being

Fundación Real Escuela Andaluza de Arte Ecuestre

For its excellence in the training it provides at its facilities in Jerez, where you can study saddlery, veterinary clinic assistant, horsemanship, groom, etc. The great international image that the Jerez School has achieved through its shows and sporting successes in top level international competitions, are the prelude to training projects demanded by today’s society.

Sports

Ms. Diana Marsá Lafarge

For having won the gold medal at the World University Show Jumping Championships held in the German city of Aachen in August, placing Spain at the top of the medal table.

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Therapeutic Riding

Ms. Jonquil Loveday Solt

For his invaluable work in the area of social responsibility and the promotion of para-equestrian sports.

Job Training and Horse Well-being

Mr. Roberto Abitbol Bencimón

Por sus trabajos en homeopatía y osteopatía equina.

Sports

Para-Equestrian Riders

Foundation’s silver badge handover to be worn on the lapels of their jackets at the international competitions in which they represent us.

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Therapeutic Riding

Ms. María Ernst Traut

For her lifelong contribution to the world of Therapeutic Riding, having been a forerunner in this field in Spain, carrying out activities in different centres and having published works of great scientific content that have served as a reference book for generations to come.

Job Training and Horse Well-being

Mr. Hans Castelijns

Veterinary farrier, specialist in orthopaedic farriery, corrective farriery and injury recovery farriery due to his dedication in 2010 to our Foundation, teaching farriery courses in this speciality throughout Spain.

Sports

Mr. Ramón Beca

As a breeder of sport horses, among which are outstanding specimens such as OPLITAS, FENICIO, or ARMADA, for his participation in complete international competitions of the highest category and especially for the success of the horse NEREO in the last JJ.EE. of Kentucky, obtaining the bronze medal individually and by teams.

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Therapeutic Riding

Ms. Sonia Villalba van Dijk

She started riding in 1990 and since then she has had to overcome a number of difficulties to obtain a brilliant sporting record, including her diploma obtained at the 2000 Paralympic Games and her third and fourth place obtained more recently at the Mulhouse competition in France, held this past summer, which qualifies her for the next World Championships to be held in Kentucky in 2010.

Job Training and Horse Well-being

Mr. Arno Lindner

For his work in the veterinary scientific world, specifically in the animal nutrition sector, for his association with the Foundation in 2007, in which he collaborated in our programme by giving lectures at the veterinary universities of Barcelona, Valencia and Madrid and specifically for the ENUTRACO congress celebration, which took place in Madrid from September 25th to 28th.

Sports

Ms. María Álvarez Pontón

For her dedication to the world of endurance riding in which she has been World Champion in 2008 and especially for the Gold Medal and European Champion title obtained last September in Assisi, Italy, riding the horse NOBBY.

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Therapeutic Riding

Fundación Carriegos

For the magnificent work carried out in recent years at the El Caseria Equestrian Centre, which works with people with different disabilities and uses horse riding as therapy.

Job Training and Horse Well-being

AS AEVEE (Asociación Española de Veterinarios Especialistas en Équidos)

(Spanish Association of Equine Veterinary Specialists)
For the work developed in favour of the sport horse during more than thirty years of existence of this association in which it has developed different courses and congresses and in particular last May it carried out the organisation of the congress of equine podology, which took place in Valencia from April 24th to the 26th 2008 with more than three hundred professionals.

Sports

Mr. Manual Añon Suárez

Despite his youth, he has already won the Spanish, Children’s, Cadet and Youth Championships and especially the gold medal at the European Junior Jumping Championships in Prague last July.

Therapeutic Riding

Ms. Doña Raquel Valero Alcalde

Member of the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation of the Complutense University of Madrid, for the quality and intensity of his curriculum in favour of Therapeutic Riding.

Job Training and Horse Well-being

Universidad Alfonso X El Sabio

For the offer of veterinary studies as well as for the creation of the Clinical Hospital specialised in horses and for the efforts made in the field of professional training.

Sports

Mr. Luis Álvarez Cervera

For his sporting career over more than forty years of competition, including seven Olympic participations and eleven Spanish championships.

Therapeutic Riding

Ms. Mercedes Jiménez Horwitz

For his continued dedication to Therapeutic Riding and especially for the development of the work entrusted to him by the Foundation in the field of disability.

Job Training and Horse Well-being

Mr. Escolástico Aguilera

For his dedication to teaching at the Cordoba University, where he is a professor, and especially for the organisation and direction of the series of conferences for veterinarians held this year by the Foundation.

Sports

Mr. Miguel Vila Ubach

For the Gold Medal and World Champion Title obtained last August in Aachen, Germany.

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Therapeutic Riding

Mr. Eduardo Pérez Lastra