IFEMA MADRID HORSE WEEK IS BACK: THE GREAT ANNUAL EVENT OF AN INDUSTRY THAT GENERATES NEARLY 8 BILLION EUROS A YEAR IN SPAIN

Since its first edition in 2012, IFEMA MADRID HORSE WEEK (IMHW) has become increasingly popular and prestigious, becoming one of the main showcases and meeting points for horse riding enthusiasts, a sport that already has nearly 69,000 federation licenses in Spain.

According to the 'Study on the Impact of the Equestrian Sector in Spain in 2022', prepared by the consultancy Deloitte & Green Oakun, the horse industry represents a total of 7,392 million euros annually in our country, that is, 0.59% of the GDP, and maintains 149,863 jobs.

Since 2012, the year in which the first Study was carried out, the economic impact of the sector in Spain (one of the European countries with the highest population of equines) has grown by 39%, which represents an increase in its contribution to the GDP of +0.08%. Thus, it can be said that each euro spent in the equestrian sector contributes €1.17 to the country's overall GDP.

On a global level, the horse industry has an economic impact of 300 billion dollars annually and generates more than 1.5 million full-time jobs worldwide.

Extended edition to 4 days

The constant growth of IFEMA Madrid Horse Week has led to this edition increasing its presence in pavilions 12 and 14 of IFEMA for one more day, from November 28 to December 1, making Madrid the world capital of horse racing for the first time for a total of four days.

This decision is based on the success of its complete range of shows, family entertainment and top-level sporting competitions - with the simultaneous celebration of the world cups in show jumping and dressage as the main attraction - which, in its last editions, has managed to establish as a rule that the tickets for the competitions in its central arena are sold out throughout the weekend.

Considered the most important competition in the world in its field, the growth it has experienced in its 10 editions has been spectacular. In the last five editions, IMHW has received more than 225,000 visitors, more than 47,000 of them corresponding to the 2023 edition, in which all attendance records were broken. For this 2024 edition, a visitor target of around 50,000 people is contemplated. In 2023, the number of VIP tables was increased from 65 to 85 - these tables are divided into sessions, three per day, with six guests per session - i.e. 4,590 people. In this 2024 edition, with the extension to Thursday, more than 5,000 people will attend the competitions and shows on the central court while enjoying the IMHW VIP treatment at these tables.

According to the Rebold and Strock agencies, the media noise generated by the last 2023 competition was more than 364 million viewers/readers, of which more than 328 corresponded to the internet, more than 28 to the press, and approximately 6.5 to television, both in Spain and in international media, with Germany, France, the Netherlands, Belgium and Switzerland as the countries most attentive to IMHW competitions. The event's economic value reached €12,887,948, which means that the ROI has doubled in just two years - in 2021 this figure was €6,428,688.
As for the prizes, in the last five editions a total of €2,690,200 has been distributed among the winning riders, of which €2,365,200 corresponded to the jumping competitions and €325,000 to dressage. In this 2024 edition, a prize money of €600,000 has been planned.

Since the 2018 edition, including the pause due to the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, more than 1,500 horses have participated in the different IMHW and Horse Show tracks, a figure that rises to approximately 2,700 if all the editions are counted.

In other terms of figures, it should be noted that in the last five editions, 7,500 tons of sand have been used, distributed among the different show, competition and training tracks, as well as in the stables that shelter the animals.
Regarding infrastructure, in the last five events the equivalent of 70 trailers loaded with 75m3 of iron each have been erected, more than 10 km of cable have been required to light the event and the same amount of fencing to protect the horses.

In the last five years, more than 450 m3 of manure has been collected, which has been removed daily and sent to a recycling plant for composting. This year, it is hoped to break this record with the collection of around 120 m3.