HRH Princess Haya Al Hussein of Jordan won the election for President of the Fédération Equestre Internationale at the FEI’s General Assembly in Taipei in a landslide victory in the first round of voting on Nov. 5. Princess Haya, who was seeking a second and final four-year term as president, won with 90 votes of a total 124 valid ballots.
The other contenders for the position were Sven Holmberg of Sweden, the first vice president of the FEI, who received 23 votes, and former vice president of the Netherlands Equestrian Federation, Henk Rottinghuis, who received 11 votes.
Princess Haya received a standing ovation as she returned to the stage after the election to address the electorate. “Thank you so much for your confidence and trust. I promise that I won’t let you down,” she said.
A total of 125 voting boxes were distributed to national federation delegates, with 124 valid ballots cast and one formal abstention. There were 81 national federations present at the vote and 44 proxies.
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Princess Haya named John McEwen of Great Britain, who was earlier re-elected as chairman of the veterinary committee, to replace Holmberg as first vice president.
Pablo Mayorga of Argentina was elected as second vice president, replacing Chris Hodson of New Zealand.
