The 35-year-old Princess, the daughter of the late King Hussein of Jordan, who competed in jumping at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, said she wanted to continue giving something back to her sport.

She said in a statement: "It's been an honour to serve our sport and our federation over the last four years.

"I have loved the job.

"We have built a fantastic team that it would be a privilege to continue to work with."

The election is scheduled for November at the federation's annual assembly in Taiwan.

Princess Haya was elected FEI president in 2006, and the next year was voted on to the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

She has made anti-doping and horse welfare a central theme of her leadership after scandals involving horses failing drug tests at the past two Olympics.

Three gold medals were reallocated at the 2004 Athens Olympics and six more riders were disqualified at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Princess Haya authorised reviews of the sport's ethics and anti-doping programme, after warning the equestrian community it could not take Olympic status for granted.

The FEI's tough stance saw it ban the President's husband - Dubai ruler Sheik Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum - after a trainer treated one of his endurance horses with performance-enhancing drugs.

Sheik Mohammed served a six-month ban from competing last year.

Princess Haya's drive to modernise the FEI brought her into conflict with officials running the Olympic dressage discipline who were forced to resign.

She also introduced a rule limiting the FEI President to two terms in office.

But her period in office has not without conflict, particularly over the introduction of a new "progressive list" of drugs which tried to clarify which painkilling drugs - like bute - should be allowed to be administered to horses.

The FEI was forced to postpone new rules originally due to be introduced on January 1 earlier this year following protests led by leading equestrian nations like Britain and the United States.

Princess Haya said: "My goal now is a period of calm to build on the progress we have made together."


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