(EMAILWIRE.COM, April 28, 2010 ) Frankfurt/Vienna -- The European hotel group Romantik Hotels & Restaurants presents the Prix Romantik Liebold to Ernst Bachinger, the Director of the Spanish Riding School. In addition to 205 Romantik hotels from 10 European countries, the guests of the event included high-ranking representatives from the hospitality industry and public life.

The award ceremony was held within the context of the International Members' Meeting, which took place in Vienna on the occasion of the 35-year anniversary of Romantik Hotels Austria. The cross-sector award has been presented since 2008 to notable individuals, whose thinking and actions are defined by European values and virtues. The long-standing Romantik hotel owner Friedwolf Liebold lends his name to the award and serves as an example.

Dipl.-Kfm. Elisabeth Gurtler, General Manager of the Spanish Riding School and one of the most successful businesswomen in the country, held the laudatory address. During her active time as a dressage rider, the Managing Director of the Hotel Sacher in Vienna and Salzburg counted Ernst Bachinger as one of her trainers. Bachinger himself joined the Spanish Riding School as a pupil in 1959 and successfully continued his career all the way to ecuyer. In 1978 he switched to international dressage riding and managed a riding school of his own. In November 2006, he returned as Director to the Spanish Riding School, one of the most significant cultural assets of Austria and at the same time the only riding institution where the High School of classical equitation has been practiced in its purest form for more than 430 years.

Roland Zadra, President of Romantik Hotels & Restaurants, explained the choice: "Someone like Ernst Bachinger, who dedicated his life to the tradition of this institution, knows that education and training for people and animals are a basic foundation and that it can lead to success only through patience, justice and tolerance. He assumed responsibility in order to keep the tradition of this cultural asset alive. He therefore lives the values which Romantik sums up in this award and embodies them in his own passionate and, at the same time, considerate manner. Like no other, it is his calling to convey the practiced tradition of the unrivalled institution of the Riding School to the young riders and guests from all over the world - among others, as a host to more than 270,000 visitors a year."

In her laudatory address, Elisabeth Gurtler described the Director Ernst Bachinger as a true horseman par excellence: "His life belongs to the horses, and his nature is honed by equitation." Ernst Bachinger was ecuyer, a competition rider, and today is the Director of the institution where everything once took its course for him. This unrivalled career was only possible because tremendous proficiency was paired with human qualities.

Deeply moved, Ernst Bachinger accepted the award: "I feel very honoured by the award. The values that it represents have shaped my life. With the call to the Spanish Riding School, a heart's desire came true for me. I hope to live up to this tremendous responsibility and to keep the values and traditions as well as the passion for High Equitation alive for the next generations and pass it on."

Ernst Bachinger donated the monetary amount of EUR 5,000 associated with the award to the Austrian Committee for Therapeutic Riding.

Contact Information:
Romantik Hotels & Restaurants
Sandra Barsalini-Cordova
Tel: 800 650 8018
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