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BEVA Awards take place at Congress
Recipients were able to celebrate in-person this year, as BEVA Congress returned to its face-to-face format.

The live awards ceremony celebrated excellence in the profession. 

On Monday 6 September, the British Equine Veterinary Association (BEVA) held a live awards ceremony at the BEVA Congress event.

Three veterinary professionals were honoured with awards at a ceremony in the main auditorium of the event, for brilliance within the equine veterinary profession.

The awards were as follows;

The BEVA Equine Welfare Award, sponsored by the Blue Cross

This award was presented to Lode E A De Smet MRCVS for his dedication to improving equine welfare. Lode has been a partner at Llanelli's Gibson and Jones veterinary surgeons for 20 years, and takes on the RSPCA equine welfare work in South Wales. 

Having dealt with over 500 cases, Lode not only cares for each one, but also willingly takes them home to provide further rehabilitation if they are unfit to travel. 

Lode's colleagues have said that his case work is often long, hard, cold and stressful, but he never complains, and consider him an incredibly deserving recipient of the award. 

The BEVA Richard Hartley Clinical Award
Gemma Pearson was awarded the BEVA Richard Hartley Clinical Award for the paper 'Difficult horses - prevalence, approaches to management of and understanding of how they develop by equine veterinarians', first published in EVE in July 2020.

The Peter Rossdale Equine Veterinary Journal (ECJ) Open Award
This award was presented to Amie Wilson for the paper 'Equine influenza vaccination in the UK: Current practices may leave horses with suboptimal immunity', first published in EVJ in October 2020. 

Sam Hignett Award

All Clinical Research presentations from general equine practice are considered eligible for the Sam Hignett Award. Throughout the Clinical Research Sessions at Congress, there will be a continuous assessment process to decide the winner of this award, who will be announced after Congress on the BEVA website and newsletter. 

More information on the BEVA awards can be accessed here

 

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Vets launch new podcast for pet owners

News Story 1
 Two independent vets have launched a podcast to help owners strengthen their bond with pets. Dr Maggie Roberts and Dr Vanessa Howie, who have worked in both veterinary practice and major charities, are keen to use their experience to enable people to give pets a better life.

The venture, called Vets Talking Pets, provides advice and information on a range of topics, including how to select a suitable pet, where to obtain them and how to get the best out of your vet. Maggie and Vanessa will also discuss sensitive subjects, including end-of-life care, raw food diets and the cost of veterinary care.

The podcast can be found on all the usual podcast sites, including Podbean, Apple, Amazon Music and YouTube. 

Click here for more...
News Shorts
RCVS Regional Question Time heads to Edinburgh

The RCVS is to bring its Regional Question Time (RQT) to Edinburgh for 2026.

The event will take place at Novotel Edinburgh Park in Edinburgh on Wednesday, 20 May 2026.

It will begin with supper and drinks at 6.30pm, with an evening programme from 7.30pm. This will start with an update on RCVS' activities, followed by questions and answers with representatives.

RCVS is encouraging an 'open dialogue', in which queries can be raised in a friendly, informal environment.

While discussions are expected to be audience-led, the RQT is expected address major issues including the VSA, the CMA's remedy package and the VN Vision project.

Tim Parkin, RCVS president, said: "It's an important time for the professions, and I'm looking forward to meeting colleagues in Scotland as we navigate this period of change together so we can come out stronger."

Tickets can be booked here.