HORSE SHOW WELFARE MATTERS
Understand Horses presents a free webinar with welfare trailblazer Amanda Stoddart-West and social scientist Dr Tamzin Furtado on the role of equine welfare stewards and how you can optimise horse wellbeing at equine events.
A link to the recording of this webinar will be shared to registered users the day after the live event. The recording will be available for 3 days.
TUESDAY 20TH MAY 2025 | 7PM BST
FREE | 1.5 HOURS
PresenterS
Amanda Stoddart-West & Tamzin Furtado
HOST
Justine Harrison
HORSE SHOW WELFARE MATTERS
Are horses happy at competitions? Do the show rules always promote good practice? And are we, as competitors, always our best selves in terms of horsemanship? How can we make sure we maintain optimum welfare when we ask our horses to take part in events?
This free webinar will share the experience of Great Yorkshire Agricultural Show organiser and award-winning welfare trailblazer Amanda Stoddart West, and her trusty sidekick Dr Tamzin Furtado (researcher and lecturer in human behaviour around animals) as they discuss their experiences exploring horse welfare at shows, introducing new rules and – most excitingly – the introduction of welfare stewards at equine events up and down the UK. Amanda and Tamzin will discuss what needs changing, why, and how – and importantly – how you can get involved in making sure our competing horses get the positive experience they deserve.
Key topics covered:
Common horse welfare issues at shows and events
Why horse wellbeing at shows is a social licence issue as well as a horse wellbeing issue
How we can tell whether our own horses are happy at events
What the role of ‘welfare steward’ is all about
How we can all be part of maximising horse wellbeing at shows
This free webinar is aimed at horse owners/carers, equestrian competitors and equine event organisers.
After the presentation, Amanda and Tamzin will answer questions
MEET THE PRESENTERS
AMANDA STODDART-WEST
Amanda grew up around horses and was on her mum’s horse in a basket saddle before she could walk. Her first job was in a Showing yard in Worcestershire where she was lucky enough to be part of a very successful team, winning ‘Pony of the Year’ and ‘Lightweight Hunter of Year’ at HOYS amongst other prestigious titles. She later went on to work with eventers in Texas which gave her a good all-round experience of different disciplines.
Amanda is a founding member of the Suitably Mounted Group that started following a conversation with Tamzin Furtado. Her aim is to see the 20% rider weight guideline introduced at all shows & events – a great starting place from a welfare perspective.
In 2023, she attended 4 events as a welfare steward and since then the group has continued to flourish and with the support of the British Horse Society who have provided the training. They now have around 50 like-minded volunteers with the aim to provide cover shows & events across the country. They are very keen to provide support and guidance for exhibitors and show organisers alike whilst promoting and rewarding good horsemanship, and encouraging best practise when it comes to welfare.
TAMZIN FURTADO
Tamzin is a social scientist with a background in global health, and has a specific interest in the interconnections between human and animal health and wellbeing. She completed a PhD at the University of Liverpool studying how we can improve the management of obesity in horses, particularly focusing on horse-human relationships and human behaviour change. She now works on projects covering a wide range of aspects of understanding human behaviour in order to improve companion animal welfare, and in using social sciences to find out more about how we can help people to change.
Webinars:
MEET THE HOST
JUSTINE HARRISON
Justine is the founder of Understand Horses and has been practicing as a horse behaviour consultant since 2007. She is a Certified Equine Behaviour Consultant with the IAABC, the organisation’s UK Co-Chair and a member of the Application Review Committee. She is also a registered Accredited Animal Behaviourist with the Animal Behaviour & Training Council. Justine is a visiting lecturer on the BSc (Hons) Equine Behavioural Science degree at ARU Writtle (formerly Writtle University College) and also acts as an expert consultant in court cases involving equine behaviour. She holds lectures and workshops around the UK and regularly contributes to a wide variety of international publications – either writing articles, commenting or answering specific questions about horse behaviour and training.
On-Demand Courses:
UNDERSTAND EQUINE BODY LANGUAGE
Instructor-Led Course:
HORSE BEHAVIOUR CONSULTING MENTORSHIP
Webinars:
AN INTRODUCTION TO HORSE BEHAVIOUR CONSULTING
LIVE WEBINAR
A link to the recording of this webinar will be shared to registered users the day after the live event. The recording will be available for 3 days.
ARCHIVED RECORDING
A separate archived version will be available afterwards. Archived webinars are available to access on-demand at any time and view for up to 60 days