13th Alltech-Hartpury Equine Student Conference

The thirteenth Alltech-Hartpury Student Conference took place on the 8th of May 2024 at Hartpury University, Gloucestershire. This annual conference is aimed at Higher Education students, providing an opportunity to experience writing and submitting an abstract, going through the review and revisions process, through to delivering a theatre presentation to a conference audience, or producing a scientific poster. Scientific conferences can often be a daunting experience; however, the Alltech-Hartpury Student Conference allows students to present to students, their supervisors and a small group of industry experts. It was once again great to welcome delegates back to our beautiful campus for a day of networking and inspiration.  

The aim of the Alltech-Hartpury Student Conference is to act as an introduction to research dissemination in a safe, friendly conference environment. Over 50 student abstracts were submitted for consideration, resulting in 11 theatre presentations and well over 30 poster presentations. On the day a vast range of topics were covered including, but not limited to, behaviour and welfare, rider performance, therapy and rehabilitation and the equestrian Social Licence to Operate. The standard of presentations from the students was really impressive, with the quality getting higher year on year. Throughout the course of the day, delegates were entertained and inspired by engaging discussion from both the student presenters and the keynote speakers with whom students were able to network over the two poster sessions. 

The morning session, chaired by Dr Heather Cameron-Whytock, was opened by an engaging presentation by Professor Kristien Verheyen from the Royal Veterinary College, entitled ‘From birth to aftercare: aligning epidemiological research with the racing industry’s Thoroughbred welfare priorities’. The morning’s keynote was followed by presentations from students from University Centre Myerscough, the University of Liverpool, Oxford Brooks University, Hartpury University and the University of Greenwich. Among the topics covered, were presentations on ‘Comparing the Knowledge on Equine Pain Scales of First, Third- and Fifth-Year Veterinary Students at the University of Liverpool’ and ‘Cooling Practices for Equine Thermoregulation After Cross-Country Competitions’.   

The afternoon session, chaired by Professor Kristien Verheyen, was kicked off by a fascinating keynote presentation from Dr Heather Cameron-Whytock from the University of Central Lancashire on her research on ‘The journey towards evidence-based risk management in equestrian eventing.  University Centre Reaseheath kicked off with the final undergraduate session followed by oral presentations from Hartpury University and Oxford Brooks University. The final student oral presentations were delivered by postgraduate students from Hartpury University, and the University of Gloucestershire with presentation topics including ‘In vitro testing of the Probiotic Yeast Strain - Saccharomyces boulardii against key beneficial and pathogenic faecal bacteria associated with the equine gastrointestinal tract microbiome’ and ‘Variability of sagittal joint kinematics of female horse-riders over a jump’. The day was rounded off by an engaging, entertaining and thought-provoking closing keynote presentation delivered by Ben Atkinson, from Atkinson Action Horses on his ‘Lessons Learned from a Life with Liberty’.  

Prizes for best student theatre and poster presentations were judged by the keynote speakers and representatives of Alltech®; the Conference sponsor. Awarded at the close of the Conference by Dr Helen Warren from Alltech, the prize for the best theatre presentations went to Freya Donoghue from Oxford Brookes University for her undergraduate presentation entitled ‘Is soil pH a reliable indicator of good quality pasture? An Analysis of pH and metal content at contrasting equine pastures’, and to Steph Bradley form the University of Gloucestershire for her postgraduate presentation entitled ‘The impact of the perimenopause and menopause on female equestrian performance and participation’. 

The prize for the top posters went to Hartpury University’s undergraduate student Charlotte Barber for her poster entitled ‘The impact of landing gradient on cross-country fence types.’ and to Hartpury University masters graduate, Molly Parker-Welch, for her poster entitled ‘An Investigation into Equestrian Sports Coaches’ Engagement with Performance Analysis Tools’. 

Both Alltech® and Hartpury University would like to offer their sincere thanks to all involved, especially the expert keynote speakers and the review team for their efforts in making this, once again, a very successful event.  We look forward to welcoming you back for AHC2025! 

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