Benavides possibly saved the life of Philip V, the first Bourbon king of Spain, on 10 September 1710, in the Battle of Villaviciosa at Guadalajara between the Bourbon and Habsburg armies. Seeing that the king was exposed to enemy fire as he sat astride his white horse, and that he did not have a spare horse to escape the perilous situation, Benavides offered to exchange his own horse with Philip, who accepted. A shell knocked Benavides off the royal horse and he lay senseless until the king, noticing that he was missing, ordered that he be sought among the casualties on the field. He was soon found, still unconscious, and treated by Philip V's personal surgeons. To reward his bravery the king promoted Benavides to colonel, and thereafter called him "Father" as a mark of affection and respect. After the signing of the Treaty of Utrecht and the end of the war, Benavides, considered an exemplary cavalry officer by his superiors, was appointed in 1814 to the rank of brigadier of cavalry in the Royal Guard Corps in recognition of his performance on the battlefield.