Our Conference

Conference Chair – Rt Hon Caroline Nokes MP

Caroline Nokes graduated from the University of Sussex in 1994 with a BA in Government and Politics.

In 2010 Caroline was first elected to the Romsey and Southampton North seat, and has held her seat at every election since. She now serves as one of the three Deputy Speakers of the House, having been elected by the House in July 2024.

She previously served as Minister for Immigration in Theresa May’s cabinet between 2018-19, and in the 2019-24 Parliament she was Chair of the Women and Equalities Committee.

Caroline has a lifelong love of horses and was Chief Executive of the National Pony Society immediately prior to her election to Parliament.

Janne Winther Christensen

Janne Winther Christensen is Associate Professor in ethology at the Department of Animal and Veterinary Sciences, Aarhus University, Denmark.

Her research topics include horse behaviour, behavioural needs and stress biology in relation to housing, management, handling and training. Recent research topics include the welfare of extensively kept equids as well as welfare of sports horses. Another key topic is human-animal interactions and how such interactions affect the behaviour and welfare of both animal and human.

Janne is expert member of the Welfare of Equidae group of the European Food Safety Authority, expert member of the voluntary initiative on the welfare of Equidae under the EU Animal Welfare Platform, and previous president of the International Society for Equitation Science.

Janne is a frequently invited lecturer at international and national conferences and regularly participates in webinars, podcasts and debates as equine expert in Denmark and abroad.

Dr Syed Saad Bukhari

Syed Saad Ul Hassan Bukhari is a Postdoctoral fellow (Animal Welfare and Data Science) in the Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, Jockey Club College of Veterinary Medicine and Life Sciences.

Saad graduated from the University of Agriculture Faisalabad (UAF), Pakistan, with a Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine and was awarded with a Medal in 2017. Following a period of field veterinary practice, he returned to UAF for his M. Phil. and graduated in 2019 with distinction. Later, he joined an equine veterinary hospital and started practicing medicine and surgery in Pakistan. 

In 2020, he joined the City University of Hong Kong for his PhD and graduated in 2024. He has been awarded with the Outstanding Academic Performance Award for Research Degree Students by the City University of Hong Kong, and published several peer-reviewed journal papers. 

He is also a professional player of Tent-pegging and Polo in Pakistan.

Pippa Funnell MBE

Pippa Funnell is one of the world’s leading eventers and the first ever holder of the Rolex Grand Slam of eventing which she won in 2003 with Primmore’s Pride and Supreme Rock.

Pippa is an Olympian achieving team silver in Sydney and Athens as well as an individual bronze in Athens. She has also claimed three Badminton titles and back to back European Championship golds both individually and with the British team. In 2005 she was recognised in the Queen’s birthday honours list, being awarded an MBE and inducted into the British Equestrian Hall of Fame.

Pippa remains at the top of her sport and she also produces sport horses at the Billy Stud farm which she runs with her husband William.

Pippa is the author of the popular children’s books ‘Pippa’s Pony Tales’ written with the aim of helping children understand the responsibilities involved with horses and ponies. More recently, she joined forces with TV personality Tristan Phipps to front a weekly podcast, ‘Talk Horse’, which aims to unite the equestrian community through sharing personal stories and experiences. 

Rick Hester

Rick Hester is the Director of Animal Care and Wellbeing at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in Colorado. His career at the zoo spans nearly two decades, beginning as a zookeeper in 2006 caring for a wide variety of species, including small primates, great apes, penguins, African lions, and bears. 

In 2015, he started working with Dr. Susan Friedman and began to understand the importance of behavior analysis and its application for animals in human care. He began curating the zoo’s behavior programs in 2018 and now oversees the day-to-day care of ~750 animals. 

His work includes the zoo’s animal training for husbandry, medical, and public show behaviors, environmental enrichment, developing programs to improve problem behavior situations, the zoo’s formal animal welfare assessments, and exhibit design. 

He is affiliative faculty at Colorado State University in the Department of Biology and a consultant and course co-instructor for Susan Friedman’s Behavior Works LLC.

Sam Tibbetts

Sam Tibbetts is a qualified Equine Veterinary Nurse and founder of Loddington Coppice Equine Healthcare (LCEH) with over 20 years experience in both first opinion ambulatory practice and equine referral hospitals in the UK/USA

From the outset of her career, a deep commitment to equine ethics and welfare has guided her path, leading her on a global journey in search of approaches that recognise horses as owners of their own experiences.

This philosophy is at the heart of LCEH. A cognitive horse/ equine nursing facility based in the Northamptonshire countryside where freedom of expression and the horses voice form the cornerstone of care. 

Sam is now a fear free certified professional and is currently studying  working with fear and trauma in horses.

Discussion Panel Chair – 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.

Imogen Burrows

Imogen graduated from the RVC, London in 2000 and was awarded RCVS Equine Medicine Advanced Practitioner status in 2014. She gained her Post Graduate Certificate in Veterinary Professional Studies and Stud Medicine Certificate in 2023. Alongside working as a first opinion equine vet, she undertakes several other roles: Veterinary Graduate Development Programme advisor, RCVS Advanced Practitioner assessor, RCVS riding establishments inspector and FEI Eventing official veterinarian.

Imogen was elected to the British Equine Veterinary Association (BEVA) Council in 2021, serving as members of the Education Committee and Ethics and Welfare Committees. She became Chair of the Ethics and Welfare Committee in 2022, and is the current BEVA President. 

Imogen is a passionate advocate for animal welfare, seeking to inspire and empower veterinary professionals to provide welfare-led veterinary care every day.

Sarah Jenkins

Sarah Jenkins became Horse & Hound Editor-in-Chief in 2014, having started out as an equestrian journalist 10 years earlier. She heads up Horse & Hound’s editorial team and is responsible for the content strategy for both the magazine and website. 

Sarah has written and reported for Horse & Hound throughout her career, covering major events including Europeans and World Equestrian Games. Her previous roles include brand development editor and dressage editor, and she was deputy editor of equestrian monthly Horse magazine for two years. She has also co-written books including The Complete Illustrated Encyclopedia of Horses & Ponies. 

Before studying sociology and social psychology at London School of Economics, Sarah spent a year working for and training with Olympic gold medallist Leslie Law at his Worcestershire base.

Rt Hon Liz Saville Roberts MP

Liz Saville Roberts was first elected in 2015, the first woman to represent Dwyfor Meirionnydd and Plaid Cymru’s first female MP. She retained the seat at both the 2017 and 2019 snap elections with a significantly increased share of the vote. Following boundary changes in 2024, Liz won the new and enlarged seat of Dwyfor Meirionnydd with a majority of 15,876. Her constituency now extends northwards to Y Felinheli and eastwards to include Corwen, Cynwyd, Llandrillo, Carrog, and Glyndyfrdwy in Edeirnion.

Originally from Eltham in south London, Liz learnt Welsh whilst at university in Aberystwyth. She previously worked as a journalist in London and north Wales, and then as a further education lecturer with Coleg Meirion Dwyfor where she led on Welsh language education. Prior to her election to Parliament, Liz was a Gwynedd County Councillor between 2004 and 2015, representing Morfa Nefyn, Pen Llŷn.

In 2017, Liz was appointed Plaid Cymru Westminster Group Leader and speaks for the party on, Home Affairs, Wales Office, Justice, Attorney General, Cabinet Office, and Defence.

She has lived in Pen Llŷn with her husband Dewi since 1993. They have two daughters.

She was awarded MP of the Year in 2020.

In 2016, Liz was invested into the Gorsedd of Bards at the National Eisteddfod in Abergavenny. 

In her spare time Liz enjoys horse riding and walking.

Zara Tindall MBE

Zara is at the forefront of British eventing. In 2003, at the age of 22, Zara finished second in her first four star event, Burghley Horse Trials. She went on to collect individual and team gold medals at the 2005 European Eventing Championships and individual gold and team silver medals at the 2006 FEI World Equestrian Games.

Zara took High Kingdom to the London 2012 Olympics, where they won silver in the team eventing. The following year they finished second at the prestigious four star Luhmühlen Horse Trials and in 2014 they collected team silver at the World Equestrian Games. In 2017 they finished third at the four star Rolex Kentucky.

Zara actively supports many charities, including the Sargent Cancer Care Trust and the Lucy Air Ambulance for Children.   

In 2006 Zara was voted BBC Sports Personality of the Year. Beyond her successful equestrian career, Zara is a qualified physiotherapist and a keen sportswoman. She lives in Gloucestershire with her husband, former England Rugby Union captain Mike Tindall and their three children, as well as their three dogs.