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= Ramon Ruiz Cestero = Ramon Ruiz Cestero (December 31,1910- February 1977) was a sportsman, author, and musician eventually inducted into the Puerto Rico Hall of Fame.

During his life, Ruiz Cestero was a developer in the construction industry, serving as a commercial, private, and public contractor, but found an interest in the raising, training and breeding horses and livestock. He owned beef cattle, and imported heifers as replacement milk cows for dairies farms while importing and distributing commercial, industrial, and agricultural machinery and equipment, while his contributions to the equestrian sport would include the formation and direction of several organizations key to the Paso Fino breed. From an early age, in addition, his interest in music would lead him to become a successful piano player and orchestra conductor.

Early Life
Ramon Ruiz Cestero was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on December 31, 1910, to father Dr. Ramon Ruiz Arnau and mother Celia Cestero Molina. Dr. Ruiz Arnau was a prominent author, scientist, and medical doctor for whom the Dr. Ramon Ruiz Arnau University Hospital in Bayamón, Puerto Rico, is named, while Cestero Molina was an educator, founding the Colegio Puertorriqueño de Niñas in 1913.

Education
Ruiz Cestero recieved his Bachelor of Arts in Madrid, Spain. Here, he studied piano with Castor Gomez of the Conservatory of Las Palmas, Canary Islands, and Jose Balzac in the Conservatory of Music of Madrid. Moving to Paris with his family, he studied at the prestigious Chateau de Bures, ultimately earning the Gold Cup for his high qualifications, leadership, and influence that helped develop a positive spirit within the student body. From 1926 to 1928, he then continued his piano studies with Leon Kartun of the Versailles Conservatory. During the years in Paris with his family, he attended L'Ecole D'Equitation de Neuilly, where he learned horsemanship and dressage equitation. Throughout his education, Ruiz Cestero would also acquire the languages of Italian and German.

After moving to New York, Ruiz Cestero studied civil engineering at New York University, and music at the Julliard School of Music. During this time, he continued to study the piano with American pianist Alton Jones, and began learning orchestra conduction under Adolf Schmidt.

Musical Career
Upon graduating from New York University, Ruiz Cestero began his career as a concert pianist at New York’s Steinway Music Hall, giving his first recital there on August 17, 1933. He soon took on students of his own both in private tutoring in Manhattan, upstate New York, Governors Island, Scarsdale, and Greenwich, and as a professor and orchestra director at the Brooklyn School of Music throughout the 1930s. Becoming increasingly involved in conducting, he would eventually move on to direct the Cosmopolitan Symphony and Washington Square Symphony orchestras of New York, as well as the West Side Y.M.C.A Concert orchestra.

On invitation, Ruiz Cestero returned to Puerto Rico in 1939 as the conductor of the Pro Arte Musical’s symphony orchestra until it disbanded at the beginning of World War II. After a 25-year hiatus, he then spent 3 years directing the orchestra of the Institute of Puerto Rican Culture at the theater of the University of Puerto Rico.

Horsemanship
In addition to owning, breeding and training Champion Paso Fino horses, Ruiz Cestero founded both the International School of Equitation of Puerto Rico, of which he served as the first director, and the Equestrian Club of Puerto Rico, of which he served as the first president. Aiming to constantly enlarge and imporve the sport, he sought to unify different Paso Fino organizations in order to create a unified standard of judging and regulation. He also collaborated and organized the foundation of “El Comandante Equestrian Club”; once a year, at the birthday celebration of abolitionist Segundo Ruiz Belvis, he would present the “Copa Segundo Ruiz Belvis" award to the owner of the winning racehorse at the El Comandante Race Track.  While residing in San Juan, at the invitation of his uncle, Héctor Cestero Molina, Ruiz Cestero attended a 1943 meeting called by the Puerto Rico Government Sports Commission. Here, a committee was organized for the foundation of the Federation of Owners of Paso Fino Horses of Puerto Rico, today known as the "Federación del Deporte de Caballos de Paso Fino de Puerto Rico".   Ruiz Cestero was named an honorary founding member, and would go one to serve twice as the Federation’s president. Cestero’s wife, Mary Grace Cox Ordoñez, would soon collaborate with Cestero Molina to create the first book of Federation rules and design the first logo. Along with his sons, Ruiz Cestero won over 300 trophies with his champion show horses, and received numerous merit awards recognizing his contribution to the equestrian sport; one of his sons, Jose, aged 16 at the time, would become the first individual riding his own horse to win the Puerto Rico champion title.

In 1977, one month before his passing, Ramón Ruiz Cestero completed his book, The Puertorrican Horse (“El Caballo Puertorriqueño”). The book was published and distributed by the Institute of Puerto Rican Culture, and entails a detailed description and set of ideal guidelines for the breed.

Personal Life
After meeting through his early tutoring practice, Ruiz Cestero married Mary Cox Ordoñez in August of 1936. Together, the two raised four sons and one daughter.

In April of 1939, he was granted the Medal of Merit of the Bolivarian Merit Order by the Chief of the Main Directorate and Supreme Advisor to the International League of Bolivarian Action. While pursuing his other interests, Ruiz Cestero also remained connected to the construction industry, continually involving himself in the Urban Renewal and Housing Corporation of Puerto Rico.

Upon his death in 1977, Ruiz Cestero’s funeral was organized by the Institute of Culture of Puerto Rico, which publicly reopened the San Jose Church in Old San Juan for his funeral Mass. After the Mass, he was laid to the public at the Institute of Culture building, now the Franciscan Seminar. The funeral then proceeded to the old San Juan cemetery, where he was laid to rest on February 18, 1977.