oliva mediterranean equestrian tour

Ten years of the Mediterranean Equestrian Tour

Known for it’s picturesque beach and colourful courses under swaying palm trees, the Mediterranean Equestrian Tour in Oliva , Spain, gathers thousands of showjumping horses and riders every spring and autumn. For German show director Bettina Pöhls, no day at work is the same.

Text and photo Madeleine D. Bergsjø

Taking up most of the small beach town of Oliva, together with the Beach and Golf Resort, Centro Ecuestre Oliva Nova welcomes thousands of horses, riders, grooms, trainers, owners and spectators for three weeks at a time. The first tour runs in January and goes on for three months to kickstart the outdoor season in spring, and then starts up again for another three months of intensive showjumping in the autumn.

After her university studies, the MET Oliva show director Bettina Pöhls started working in the real estate business. At the time, the owner of the real estate company she worked for also organised horse shows in Germany, which luckily allowed her to combine her passion for equestrian sports with her profession.

Now, she has worked as a project manager organising international horse shows for more than 20 years and many other equestrian events such as foal auctions and stallion presentations. Her previous job as an agent for equestrian tours in Spain led to the beginning of her history with the Mediterranean Equestrian Tour, going back to 2012.

For a tour like ours, many other adjustments have also been brought upon us over the last years, first due to the Covid-19 pandemic and then last year due to the EHV-1 outbreak – but I am proud to say we have managed to overcome these challenges and come out stronger on the other side.” Bettina Pöhls

MET Oliva is ten years this year! How and why did it start, and how has it developed over the years?

“Since the first edition of MET, the infrastructure at the venue has developed tremendously, with huge improvements made every year to make it optimal for horses, grooms and riders. We constantly invest in really good surfaces in all our rings, and in 2019 we built a covered arena for potentially rainy days. Last year we made further upgrades to our stabling facilities to make sure we meet all the latest biosecurity measures from the FEI that were introduced after the EHV-1 outbreak. Last but not least, over the years we have worked a lot on our hospitality areas so that they offer our clients comfort and are to their taste – such as The Club, Ocean’s, the Sushi Corner and the Central Aura Lounge.”

As the director of a show like this, what does your everyday life look like?

“No day here is the same. Usually, I’m in the office early in the morning, and from there on it’s a mix of working from my desk, attending meetings, answering calls and being around at the show grounds. It’s long days, and I’m normally never not available for our clients attending the tour, so it’s definitely not an 8 to 4 job.”

What are the best and most challenging parts about running a tour like this?

“The best part of this job is of course, when everything is running smooth, and horses, grooms and riders are happy with what we are doing here in Oliva.”

“The most challenging part is that we are working with a sport where animals are athletes. It’s very important to remember that no matter what, the interests of the horses must come first – in everything we do here and in all the decisions we make.”

“Furthermore, our sport is also no longer just a sport; it’s an industry. The sport is getting increasingly regulated and adjusted to all the regulations and rules, for example, the CSI invitation system, which is a challenge as a tour organiser. For a tour like ours, many other adjustments have also been brought upon us over the last years, first due to the Covid-19 pandemic and then last year due to the EHV-1 outbreak – but I am proud to say we have managed to overcome these challenges and come out stronger on the other side.”

What are your best memories from the MET?

“Creating friendships.”

How has the Spring MET been so far?

“It’s been a good season so far; we have had some of the world’s best riders preparing here for 2022, such as world no. one Peder Fredricson, Olympic Champion Steve Guerdat, and other top names like Edwina Tops-Alexander, Scott Brash and Malin Baryard-Johnsson, and many, many more. It’s fantastic to see so many good riders choose our venue, contributing to top sport.

How many horses, riders and grooms have been part of these last months?

“Only for the three weeks of MET II in February, we had approximately 1000 horses, 302 riders and 280 grooms from 37 different countries visiting.

How many people work at or with the MET?

“At the Centro Ecuestre Oliva Nova we have around 75 members of staff, and on top comes all the officials for the tours such as judges, stewards, course designers, speakers, vets, etc., as well as the staff for the different restaurants on the venue.

And now that the Spring MET is over, what does the rest of the year look like for you?

“2022 will be an exciting year for us, as we not only run the Spring and Autumn MET but also will be organising the FEI European Jumping Championships for Young Riders, Juniors & Children. We really look forward to hosting a Continental Championship here in Oliva Nova and put our venue on the map for the future generation of the sport.”

You might also want to read: THE LEGACY AND FUTURE OF STAL HENDRIX

Madeleine Bergsjø

Madeleine is a content creator, photographer and journalist with an actual master’s degree in Instagram. After living abroad in New York, Dublin, and London, she spent the beginning of her professional career working in the advertising and communication industry in Oslo. Now, she runs her own business with focus on the equestrian world. A former eventer herself, Madeleine is particularly interested in showjumping and eventing, but generally in visual storytelling. IG: @madeleine.db

The Legacy and Future of Stal Hendrix

Marta justiça, equine artist, leave a reply cancel reply.

Your email address will not be published.

The emotions that go together with Quel Homme de Hus

THE BILLY STUD

A portrait of Jessica Springsteen

The Lifestyle of Peder Fredricson

Autumn MET 2023 ready to kick off after arena extension andwith a new partnership with the Equine Care Group 

The Autumn MET 2023 kicks off next week at Centro Ecuestre Oliva Nova in Oliva (Valencia), Spain, with the first tour – MET I – running from October 3 rd  to 22 nd , followed by MET II from October 31 st  to November 19 th . Autumn MET 2023 ends with MET III, which runs from November 28 th  to December 17 th .   The first week of each tour is jumped on CSI2* and CSI1* level with classes for young horses as well, while the two last weeks of each tour see competition rise up to CSI3* level. With over €1,5 million in prize money and 33 classes counting for the Longines Ranking over the nine weeks of competition, Autumn MET 2023 is ready to welcome old and new friends. The first tour sees the reigning Olympic Champion Ben Maher return to Oliva Nova. Maher will be joined by the home hero Sergio Alvarez Moya, the winner of the 2023 Longines Grand Prix of Rotterdam Willem Greve as well as Marc and Julia Houtzager and Olivier and Nicola Philippaerts. With entries from 36 countries, approximately 750 horses will be competing at Centro Ecuestre Oliva Nova for the next three weeks. 

As always, the team at Oliva Nova is keen to improve, and the 2023-edition of the Autumn MET introduces an extension of the Grand Prix warm-up arena and a new partnership with the Equine Care Group. The new warm-up now measures 110m x 50m, while the partnership with veterinarians from the internationally renowned Equine Care Group (ECG) – founded by Tom Mariën, Frederik Bruyninx and Bencis Capital Partners – will provide optimal medical services at the highest level. The clinic at the show site will be upgraded in terms of infrastructure and equipment and a team of internationally renowned top veterinarians will collaborate with local Spanish veterinarians in order to share knowledge and provide high quality care to the equine athletes at Centro Ecuestre Oliva Nova.     For limited last-minute bookings, contact  [email protected] . 

These photos may be used only in relation to this press release and must include photo credit

Leave a Reply Cancel Reply

Your email address will not be published.

Discover Oliva Nova

How to arrive, virtual tour.

• ON Magazine

Experiences

Accomodation, holiday rental, villas and apartments, rental management, don giacomo, wine & tapas, equestrian centre, sushi corner, central aura lounge, the golf club, health & sport, horse riding, health & beauty, spa circuit, fitness center.

• Events & Celebrations

Social events

Conference rooms, open air venues, restaurants, company events.

• Real Estate

Villas and Apartments

Live in oliva nova, services to owners, call center, +34 96 285 79 44.

Equestrian Center

Headquarters of met, book your experience.

Make your reservation directly and get the best price guaranteed.

El Centro Ecuestre Oliva Nova acoge cada año a los mejores jinetes y amazonas internacionales en el Mediterranean Equestrian Tour.

Competitions 2023, acceso al mediterranean equestrian tour, information and reservations.

BASIC INFORMATION ON DATA PROTECTION

Data controller: OLIVA NOVA, S.L.

Address: Avda. Picasso, 1, CP 46780, Oliva (Valencia/València)

Purposes: We will use your data to respond to your requests and deliver our services to you, including online commerce.

Publicity: We will only send you marketing correspondence if you have given your prior consent, which you can do by ticking the box for that purpose.

Lawful basis: We will only process your data if you have given your prior consent, which you can do by ticking the box for that purpose.

Recipients: Generally, only our members of staff who have been duly authorised may access the data that you have provided.

Your rights: You have the right to know what information we hold about you, to rectify it and to erase it, as explained in the additional information available on our website.

Additional information: For more information, please see the "Privacy Policy" on our website.

Thanks for your application, we'll contact you as soon as possible

Sorry an error occurred

• Accommodation
• Sport & Leisure
• Wellness & Spa
• Holiday renting
• Best price guarantee
• Original Furnitures
• Grupo AGS Nova
• Rent a Car Denia
• Aguas del Bullent, S.A.
• Data protection policy
• Privacy Policy
• Cookies policy
• Conditions of use

Subscribe to be up to date

Mediterranean Equestrian Tour

AUTUM MET 2023 MET III 27 NOV – 18 DEC 2023

Arena Valencia

Arena Oliva

Arena Oliva Nova

Share this entry

• Share on Facebook
• Share on Twitter
• Share on WhatsApp
• Share on Pinterest
• Share on LinkedIn
• Share on Tumblr
• Share on Vk
• Share on Reddit
• Share by Mail

Event website

Startlists & results.

Download our Free App

This site uses cookies. By continuing to browse the site, you are agreeing to our use of cookies.

Cookie and Privacy Settings

We may request cookies to be set on your device. We use cookies to let us know when you visit our websites, how you interact with us, to enrich your user experience, and to customize your relationship with our website.

Click on the different category headings to find out more. You can also change some of your preferences. Note that blocking some types of cookies may impact your experience on our websites and the services we are able to offer.

These cookies are strictly necessary to provide you with services available through our website and to use some of its features.

Because these cookies are strictly necessary to deliver the website, you cannot refuse them without impacting how our site functions. You can block or delete them by changing your browser settings and force blocking all cookies on this website.

These cookies collect information that is used either in aggregate form to help us understand how our website is being used or how effective our marketing campaigns are, or to help us customize our website and application for you in order to enhance your experience.

If you do not want that we track your visist to our site you can disable tracking in your browser here: Click to enable/disable Google Analytics tracking.

We also use different external services like Google Webfonts, Google Maps and external Video providers. Since these providers may collect personal data like your IP address we allow you to block them here. Please be aware that this might heavily reduce the functionality and appearance of our site. Changes will take effect once you reload the page.

Google Webfont Settings: Click to enable/disable Google Webfonts.

Google Map Settings: Click to enable/disable Google Maps.

Vimeo and Youtube video embeds: Click to enable/disable video embeds.

You can read about our cookies and privacy settings in detail on our Privacy Policy Page.

• All other SPORTS

• Apartments Costa Blanca
• Villas Costa Blanca
• Customized Luxury Villas
• Oliva Nova Beach
• Oliva Nova Golf
• Oliva Nova Equestrian Centre
• Resort in Costa Blanca

Oliva Nova Equestrian Center

Home » Discover Oliva Nova Beach & Golf Resort » Oliva Nova Equestrian Center

Discover the Oliva Nova

Equestrian center, all you can ask for….

• Commercial village
• Restaurants
• "Oliva Nova" Grand Prix arena
• Oliva and Valencia arenas

Diseñado por Severiano Ballesteros en 1995, ocupa unas 50 has. de calles anchas, greens suavemente ondulados y obstáculos de agua que determinan la estrategia de juego. Es un recorrido largo (6.312M, slope 129) pero muy llano y agradable de caminar. Los golpes de salida son cómodos en la mayoría de los hoyos, pero los golpes de aproximación a green requieren habilidad y astucia. La presencia invisible del mar se hace patente en la brisa, que condiciona la elección de palo y la forma de jugar cada hoyo.

Located in Oliva Nova near the 13th hole.

The opening of the Oliva Nova Equestrian Center was an extremely important step forward in the development of European equestrian sports. The center is suitable for the best international competitions and attracts the strongest riders from more than 44 countries of 5 continents.

The Oliva Nova Equestrian Center has the capacity to host official, national and international dressage and jumping competitions.

International Competitions

“Welcome to one of the most exclusive equestrian centers in Europe in Oliva, Valencia (Spain).

The main events of the Oliva Nova Equestrian Center are the international jumping competitions, Spring MET and Autumn MET , which take place twice a year with riders from all over the world.”

Do you want to know more?

Visit the Oliva Nova Equestrian Center website for more information about competitions and facilities.

• Privacy Overview
• Strictly Necessary Cookies
• 3rd Party Cookies
• Additional Cookies
• Cookie Policy

This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.

Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.

If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again.

This website uses Google Analytics to collect anonymous information such as the number of visitors to the site, and the most popular pages.

Keeping this cookie enabled helps us to improve our website.

Please enable Strictly Necessary Cookies first so that we can save your preferences!

This website uses the following additional cookies:

(List the cookies that you are using on the website here.)

More information about our Cookie Policy

• Hall of Fame

The Mediterranean Equestrian Tour in Oliva Nova kicks off

• Okt 11, 2015

The charm of the MET lies in the geographical situation and in extremely good circumstances. The equestrian complex offers several excellent arenas with the experienced Dammann-all-weather grounds, a wonderful Grand Prix grass ring, the courses of the international course designer Frank Rothenberger and his team, 330 permanent stables, a veterinarian clinic, as well as connections in hotels, apartments, restaurants, offers for the leisure activities and a good traffic connection.

The Autumn programme includes nine Longines-Ranking classes and classes for five to seven year-old horses. These horses use the compact programme, to get experiences and to stabilise their education. Every week the classes take place from Tuesday till Sunday, classes for Young horses from Tuesday till Thursday, followed by the Bronze Tour and Gold Tour for the older horses.

International riders use the Autumn MET preferably to extend the green season, to present their horses and also to bring clients to Oliva Nova and to train under show conditions. A big plus ist the close distance to the Mediterranean Sea where horses and riders can go for a beach gallop.

Further information about the Autumn MET, the programme, the possibilities etc. under www.mediterranean-equestrian-tour.net . The marketing and organisation lies in the hands of the German agency Equestrian Sport Events, www.csi-ese.de

Source: Press release

Dir könnte auch gefallen

Emilio verletzt, Isabell Werth fliegt mit DSP Quantaz nach Riyadh

• Apr 11, 2024

AWÖ-Sichtungstermine für WM der jungen Dressurpferde wieder mit Ulf Möller

• Apr 10, 2024

Strzegom: Katrin Khoddam-Hazrati & Harald Ambros ohne Hindernisfehler durch die CCI4*

• Apr 8, 2024

CSI3* Gorla Minore: Christoph Obernauer holt Grand-Prix-Sieg!

Gib dein Suchwort ein und drücke Enter.

Eine wunderbare Heiterkeit hat meine ganze Seele eingenommen, gleich den süßen Frühlingsmorgen, die ich mit ganzem Herzen genieße. Ich bin allein und freue mich meines Lebens in dieser Gegend, die für solche Seelen geschaffen ist wie die meine. Ich bin so glücklich, mein Bester, so ganz in dem Gefühle von ruhigem

• ON MAGAZINE
• Winter 2024

Oliva Nova Equestrian Center The perfect setting for the Mediterranean Equestrian Tour (MET)

Oliva, final stage in the vuelta ciclista a españa 2023, the perfect time to play golf, popular now.

Josep Antoni Gisbert Santonja

The Brines legacy: The poet of Oliva

For the more adventurous This local trail “Del Castell a la Mar”, is an ecotourism route

• WorldAmateur
• ValenciaPremium
• tripadvisor
• tournaments

The main events are the Spring MET and the Autumn MET, the show jumping competitions held every year from January to April and from October to December.

Located on the coast of the Mediterranean

Sea, the Oliva Nova Equestrian Center (CEON) is known among the best international circuits where the best riders in the world meet every year. The Spring MET and the Autumn MET are among the favorites of the national and international

equestrian calendar for the magnificent facilities in which they are held and also due to good weather conditions. Last but not least, it also has the capacity to host official dressage competitions.

For equestrian sport lovers, the Mediterranean Equestrian Tour is an event like no other for horses, riders and their families. The facilities go beyond a very competitive sports calendar, providing all the amenities required to enjoy a pleasant stay: restaurants as Ocean’s and Central Aura Lounge directly next to the arenas, a shopping village with a variety of exclusive stores, etc. Thus, the CEON is not only the perfect setting for competitions, but also a place to enjoy a lifestyle centered around horses and

their well-being. It covers 16 hectares divided between stables, warm-up and competition areas, the last one consisting of three arenas where riders from all over the world compete to be the best from Tuesday to Sunday.

CEON’s rhythm is constant, even when there is no competition. From the day after a Tour ends, work is already underway to prepare the next one. Starting January 9th, the Spring MET 2024 will gather old and new friends.

SPRING MET 2024 CALENDAR

MET I JANUARY

09th to 14th: CSIYH* / CSI1* / CSI2*

16th to 21st: CSIYH* / CSI1* / CSI3*

23rd to 28th: CSIYH* / CSI1* / CSI3*

MET II FEBRUARY

06th to 11th: CSIYH* / CSI1* / CSI2*

13th to 18th: CSIYH* / CSI1* / CSI3*

20th to 25th: CSIYH* / CSI1* / CSI3*

MET III MARCH

05th to 10th: CSIYH* / CSI1* / CSI2*

12th to 17th : CSIYH* / CSI1* / CSI3*

19th to 24th: CSIYH* / CSI1* / CSI3*

MET IV APRIL

02nd to 07th: CSIYH* / CSI1* / CSI2*.

09th to 14th: CSIYH* / CSI1* / CSI3*

Sign Up for Our Newsletters

Related posts.

• Summer 2023

THE GROUP CHG FAMILY

Oliva Nova attends the Challenge Interempresas Contra el Hambre

Grand finale to the spring MET II

• Winter 2019

The valencian Pop Art

Want more information?

Want to join our group.

Do you have a nice practice or hospital and are you interested to join ECG? Are you a dynamic ambitious person looking for a job within ECG? We are looking for these exceptionally passionate people to realize our dreams together as one team!

• North Zone Beaches
• Middle Zone Beaches
• South Zone Beaches
• Sailing Sports
• Horse Riding
• Hiking and cycling tourism
• Active tourism companies
• Churches and Chapels
• Cultural Routes
• Our cuisine
• Where to eat
• Moors and Christians
• Restaurants
• Ice cream parlours
• Travel agencies
• O.T. Valencia
• O.T. Alicante
• O.T. Castellon
• Valencià
• Français

Points of interest

Experiences.

Mediterranean Equestrian Tour Oliva 2023

SPRING MET 2023

International jumping competition that is held in the Oliva Nova Equestrian Centre, with riders from across the world participating.

Competitions:

MET IV 04.04.23 – 09.04.23 CSI2* / CSI1* / CSIYH* 11.04.23 – 16.04.23 CSI3* / CSI1* / CSIYH* 18.04.23 – 23.04.23 CSI3* / CSI1* / CSIYH*

More info at:

www.metoliva.com

Phone number: 96 296 39 09

Free entrance