Accountability for welfare in equestrianism: Looking beyond the obvious
An invitation-only virtual event specifically for horse sport leaders seeking to strengthen their social licence.
An invitation-only virtual event specifically for horse sport leaders seeking to strengthen their social licence.
The virtual conference ‘Accountability for welfare in equestrianism: Looking beyond the obvious’ will take place on Thursday 13th February 2025 (12:00 noon – 3:00 pm UTC).
We would like to thank our headline sponsor, Agria, and our annual corporate partner, LeMieux, for supporting our work and this conference which will feature some of equestrianism’s most experienced and progressive individuals: Mette Uldahl, Tim Downes, and Meta Osborne – speakers who will present ideas for industry-specific initiatives that could positively influence equine welfare and, as a consequence, public acceptance of horse sport. We will also hear from Sarah Powell whose experience as Chief Executive of British Gymnastics is deeply relevant for equestrianism. Together, these four speakers will shine a light on the ‘who, what, where, when, why, and how’ of culture change in sport in a conference that aims to help both equestrianism and horses as the equestrian world navigates its path forward.
Programme
Welcome and opening remarks Roly Owers, Chief Executive, World Horse Welfare
Culture shifts in sport: Identifying the issues, developing a strategy, and managing change Sarah Powell, Chief Executive, British Gymnastics
Welfare challenges in equestrian sport: Why do good people do bad things? Mette Uldahl, Equine veterinarian and Chief Consultant in Horse and Animal Welfare for Animal Protection Denmark
From leisure riders to elite sport: What drives poor welfare practices and what can we do about it? Tim Downes, Co-owner, Ingestre Stables
Shouldering the responsibility for protecting equine welfare in racing: Where do the bucks stop? Meta Osborne, Equine veterinarian, Thoroughbred breeder, and podcast host
Discussion panel
Chaired by David Eades, Broadcaster, moderator, and media specialist
Panel members: Sarah Powell, Mette Uldahl, Tim Downes, and Meta Osborne
Summing up Roly Owers, Chief Executive, World Horse Welfare
For more information contact events@worldhorsewelfare.org
Meet our Speakers and Chair
Sarah Powell
As the current CEO of British Gymnastics, Sarah has led the development of a new long-term strategy and overseen a significant reform and culture change programme across the sport. Sarah has over 20 years’ leadership experience across sport, having worked extensively across a wide range of policy areas, including performance and community sport, health, and education. She is currently a member of the Federation of International Gymnastics Safeguarding Commission and a Trustee of parkrun Global.
Through sport, Sarah has developed strong national and international alliances and this has allowed her to share learnings and insight, and develop collective thought leadership, with organisations in the UK, USA, New Zealand, Australia, and Canada. In her previous role as CEO of Sport Wales, she saw through a substantial programme of organisational change and redesign, with Welsh athletes enjoying increased Olympic and Paralympic success and record-breaking back-to-back Commonwealth Games in 2014 and 2018. Sarah received an Honorary Doctor of Science from Swansea University in 2017 and is a Fellow of Cardiff University.
Sarah has a degree in psychology and a PGCE teaching qualification. She has also played and captained Wales in hockey, winning over 70 senior caps before retiring from international competition.
Mette Uldahl
Mette graduated as a veterinarian from Copenhagen University, Denmark, in 2001. She works primarily in the field of animal welfare, with a particular focus on updating ethics and transforming current cultures within the animal-human relationship to a modern standard. Mette is also regularly involved in research projects and publication of both peer-reviewed papers and European and global position papers, with many of her research projects focussing on the welfare of horses used in sport.
Mette has held numerous positions, at both national and European level, in organisations that oversee equestrian sport, animal welfare, and veterinary affairs. These include being President of the Federation of European Equine Veterinary Associations (FEEVA), first Vice President of the European Veterinary Association (FVE), veterinary consultant to the Danish Equestrian Federation, national head veterinarian for the FEI in Denmark, and Chief Consultant in Horse and Animal Welfare for Animal Protection Denmark.
Tim Downes
Tim teaches riders, judges dressage, and trains coaches all over the world. In addition to being a Fellow of the British Horse Society (BHS) and holding the Association of British Riding Schools Principles Diploma, he is also Chairman of the BHS Fellows Association, a BHS Chief Assessor, an international 5* eventing judge, a British Dressage List 1 Judge, a British Dressage Tutor Judge, and recipient in 2013 of the BHS Trainers Award.
For over 40 years, Tim has been joint proprietor of Ingestre Stables, one of the UK’s leading equestrian training centres, where he teaches riders from grassroots to elite level and is heavily involved in coach education and development. He is guided throughout by his belief that optimisation of equine welfare can be achieved by advancing clients’ practical skills supported by underpinning knowledge and understanding.
In recent years, Tim has been instrumental in raising funds to support riding schools, assisting the Facebook group ‘Equestrians It’s Time to Act’, and founding the Ingestre Foundation, a charitable trust that aims to generate equestrians who will promote good equine welfare and maintain the classical principles of equitation.
Meta Osborne
Meta is a veterinary graduate of University College, Dublin. She spent the majority of her career focusing on equine stud medicine in Ireland and is a past-president of both the Irish Veterinary Association and the Veterinary Council of Ireland. Outside of her veterinary work, Meta has been involved in the regulation and administration of horse racing in Ireland, most notably as Senior Steward of the Turf Club and board member of Horse Racing Ireland. She is also co-owner of Tinnakill House, a family-owned and run commercial Thoroughbred stud farm in Co. Laois, Ireland that has produced multiple Group 1 winners and other stakes-class performers.
In 2023, Meta completed an MSc in Animal Welfare, Ethics & Law at the University of Edinburgh. This has led to a range of opportunities that bring together the worlds of welfare science and equestrian sport, including co-hosting Changing Rein, a podcast that explores the future of horse sport through a welfare lens, and the opportunity to teach animal welfare science to undergraduate veterinary and animal science students at University College, Dublin.
David Eades
David is a highly regarded MC and moderator, having spent three decades as a frontline presenter and broadcaster for the BBC. This included a post as Senior Sports News Correspondent, a position that has led to assignments across most sports, including racing.
David has hosted many sports events, most notably the Asian Racing Conference (since 2005), and has worked closely with the Jockey Club, British Horseracing Authority, and several other racing concerns. He also works within the Olympic world and is a Vice-President of the International Masters Games Association.
Beyond sporting interests, David focusses his conference work on issues surrounding our climate, energy, and logistics. He is a fluent French speaker, a good German speaker, and a keen golfer and cyclist. However, he has no idea about backing the right horse.
Sponsors
We would like to thank our headline sponsor, Agria, and our annual corporate partner, LeMieux, for supporting our work and this conference.
