Beaufort Cottage Educational Trust

05/06/2026

Delighted to have such fantastic feedback from our attendees - if you want to recap , all lectures will be available online on our website www.beaufortcottage.com 🐎 🙌

A brilliant day yesterday of learning at the Beaufort Cottage Educational Trust, Gerald Leigh Lectures in Newmarket for Edward, senior resident vet, Monica, and vet Taylor.

This year's lectures focused on reproductive loss in the Thoroughbred industry, with presentations from renowned speakers including Dr Mandi de Mestre (Cornell University), Dr Karen Wolfsdorf (Hagyard Equine Medical Institute), Dr Jessica Lawson (Royal Veterinary College) and Dr Sarah Moore (Rossdales Veterinary Surgeons).

From fertility and pregnancy loss to emerging diagnostics and treatment options, the programme was packed with valuable insights that we can bring back to benefit our clients and their horses.

Thank you to BCET for hosting such an informative and thought-provoking event.

02/06/2026

And finally…. John Spencer completes our line up for tomorrow’s Gerald Leigh Lecture series at Tattersall’s. We can’t wait to see you there!!

John started at Fyrnwy following graduation in 2007 and joined the partnership in 2011. In 2020 Fyrnwy Equine Hospital became part of IVC and John is now a clinical director, as well as senior vice chair of the equine clinical board after a fixed term as chair.

John heads up the stud medicine team at Fyrnwy and is responsible for the veterinary management of large Shropshire based thoroughbred studs and also the stallions at Stallion AI. He has extensive experience with fresh chilled and frozen semen together with embryo transfer. He is a member of the Thoroughbred Breeders association veterinary committee and represents them on the BHA veterinary committee. John is also actively involved with the teaching of stud medicine through the British Equine Veterinary Association.

Alongside the stud medicine side of the practice John is involved with the management of several sports horse yards with a particular interest in lameness and poor performance. He is also an FEI Permitted Treating Vet, a senior racecourse veterinary surgeon and sits on the panels at Aintree, Bangor on Dee, Chester, Haydock and Uttoxeter.

The Thoroughbred Breeders' Association Rossdales Veterinary Surgeons Tattersalls 🐎

30/05/2026

Known as the American powerhouse of all things horse breeding related, we are truly privileged to welcome Dr Karen Worlsdorf DVM, Dipl. ACT to our speaker line up ✨


Dr. Karen Wolfsdorf attended veterinary school at the University of Florida and graduated in 1992. After completion of her DVM, she began a field service internship at North Carolina State University. In 1995, Dr. Wolfsdorf completed a residency in Theriogenology at the University of Florida and became board certified in Theriogenology. Before coming to Hagyard Equine Medical Institute, she spent time working in Australia with Dr. Reg and David Pascoe at Oakey Veterinary Hospital. Dr. Wolfsdorf is a shareholder, field veterinarian and reproductive specialist at Hagyard Equine medical institute whose main focus is diagnosing and treating the problem mare. She has authored or co-authored many publications and book chapters as well as lectured at local, national and international meetings. Dr. Wolfsdorf is very involved in numerous organizations and their boards benefiting the horse and equine reproduction.

Dr. Wolfsdorf and her husband are involved as owners and breeders in the Thoroughbred industry and have two beautiful daughters.

The excitement is real now- 3rd June at Tattersall’s , see YOU there! 🐎🐎🐎

The Thoroughbred Breeders' Association TattersallsRossdales Veterinary SurgeonsThoroughbred Daily News

28/05/2026

Reminder of what our brilliant day of FREE lectures entails - if you’re breeding horses, you need to be there!

More info available on our website ➡️ www.beaufortcottage.com

The Thoroughbred Breeders' Association Tattersalls 🐎🐎🐎

28/05/2026

*ITS THE FINAL COUNTDOWN… only 6 days to go!!! Remember to get your RSVP in to [email protected] for our FREE day of lectures on 3rd June at Tattersalls!!*

Needing very little introduction, we are thrilled to add Dr Rebecca Mouncey BVetMed PhD PGCert(VetEd) FHEA MRCVS (phew that’s a lot of letters! 📖 ) to the line up.

Rebecca will be a familiar name to many in the thoroughbred industry as she has produced some of the most pertinent and practical thoroughbred studies to date.

Rebecca graduated as a veterinary surgeon from the Royal Veterinary College in 2003 and spent 15 years working in Thoroughbred racing and breeding practice. In 2018 she returned to the RVC to undertake a PhD investigating the epidemiology of disease and injury in Thoroughbred foals and yearlings. Rebecca was subsequently awarded a Postdoctoral Research Fellowship funded by the Horserace Betting Levy Board to expand her work on the developmental origins of health and performance and evaluate the economics of Thoroughbred production. Her current research, funded by the HBLB, the Racing Foundation and the Thoroughbred Breeders’ Association, focuses on broodmare reproductive health, congenital musculoskeletal disorders, and training-related injury risk in racehorses.

The Thoroughbred Breeders' Association Tattersalls Thoroughbred Daily News European Bloodstock News Rossdales Veterinary Surgeons

21/05/2026

Next up is Rossdales Veterinary Surgeons very own Sarah Moore 🌟 If you’re interested in fertility stats of stallions, this is your woman 💪

Sarah graduated from the Royal Veterinary College in 2009 and joined Rossdales Hertfordshire in 2013. Rapidly brainwashed from “I don’t want to be a stud vet” into full career commitment, she achieved a Certificate in Advanced Veterinary Practice in Equine Stud Medicine in 2016.

Apparently unwilling to enjoy free time, Sarah completed an alternative track residency at Rossdales and became a board-certified Diplomate of the American College of Theriogenologists in 2022, followed by Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons recognised specialist status in 2023.

She now works with many of Rossdales’ Thoroughbred and sport horse breeding clients across Hertfordshire, with particularly niche interests in placentitis, stallion fertility statistics, and other topics guaranteed to clear a room at most dinner parties.

Sarah also developed Rossdales’ Studstat stallion fertility analysis software, which is either an impressive example of veterinary innovation or a guaranteed future source of humiliation for her teenage children, when they learn she developed ‘the s***m app’.

Make sure you remember to RSVP to [email protected] for your free spot on 3rd June at Tattersalls 🐎

The Thoroughbred Breeders' Association Tattersalls Sarah Moore

14/05/2026

Next in our fantastic speaker line up for 3rd June is Dr Andy Bell.

Dr. Andy Dell is a Conservation Biologist, from Kendal in Cumbria, where he lives on a smallholding with his partner Jill, along with their family of horses and Shetland Sheepdogs.

He has been involved with horses since his childhood in Devon, and has more recently successfully bred Cleveland Bays under the Endmoor prefix.

He is a former Council Member, Trustee and Honorary Life Member of the Cleveland Bay Horse Society and in the early “Noughties” was instrumental in putting together a breed management strategy, (adapted from the world of management of captive wildlife in zoos), now known as SPARKS, to control inbreeding and prevent the loss of genetic diversity in the global Cleveland Bay Horse population.

In 2008 Andy was awarded the Rare Breeds Survival Trust / Marsh Christian Trust Award for Technical Support of Conservation of Biodiversity and is a member of the RBST Expert Advisory Pannel.

He completed his Doctorate entitled “Genetic Analysis and Breed Management of the Endangered Cleveland Bay Horse” as an invited mature student at the University of Lincoln in 2010.

SPARKS has been extended to many other critically endangered equine breeds including the Suffolk Horse, the Shire Horse, the Eriskay Pony, the Dales Pony and the Highland Pony as well as to Vaynol and Lincoln Red Cattle and Andy has been made an Honorary Life Member of various Breed Societies as well as the RBST in recognition of his ongoing work.

During lockdown Andy was one of four invited speakers at the first online National Equine Forum, “Using Science to Save Our Breeds.”

He is currently working with the TBA and Weatherbys to make the science behind SPARKS available to Thoroughbred breeders as an additional tool to help manage increasing inbreeding in the UK & Ireland populations.

Andy is actively involved as a Visiting Fellow at Nottingham Trent University, investigating the genetic makeup of various UK equine rare breeds, including The Eriskay Pony, The Shire Horse and The Suffolk Horse.

He is the principal author of various peer reviewed papers, including 16 Years of breed management brings substantial improvement in population genetics of the endangered Cleveland Bay Horse, published in the journal Ecology and Evolution.

HAVE YOU BOOKED YOUR FREE SPOT YET? RSVP to [email protected] today!

The Thoroughbred Breeders' Association Tattersalls Rossdales Veterinary Surgeons

11/05/2026

Less than 3 weeks to go before the Gerald Leigh lectures at Tattersall’s on 3rd June - have you reserved your FREE place yet ??

Time to introduce the first of our 7 speakers, Dr Jessica Lawson who is the fountain of knowledge for all things umbilical cord related - as we know umbilical cord torsion is the MOST common non-infectious cause of abortion in mares so couldn’t be more important to understand this properly 🐎

Jessica earned her veterinary degree from the Royal Veterinary College (RVC) and went on to build her clinical expertise in Thoroughbred breeding practice in the USA. She returned to the RVC to pursue a PhD investigating the incidence, causes, and diagnostic markers of abortion attributed to umbilical cord torsion - work she completed in 2022.

Now a Research Fellow at the college, Jessica continues to explore umbilical cord pathology and the broader landscape of Thoroughbred pregnancy loss, drawing on epidemiological and genetic approaches. Her research is supported by the Alborada Trust and carried out in collaboration with Rossdales Laboratories, Prof. de Mestre’s Equine Pregnancy Lab at Cornell University, and veterinary practitioners and stud farms in the UK and Kentucky.

The Thoroughbred Breeders' Association Tattersalls European Bloodstock News Racing Post Rossdales Veterinary Surgeons Thoroughbred Daily News

02/03/2026

We are also delighted to introduce our second speaker for 18th March, local farrier Gavin Moody

Gavin started his career in Farriery in September 1994, working as apprentice to the world- renowned Simon Curtis and brother Mark Curtis at O.A. Curtis & Sons in Newmarket

He became a qualified farrier in 1998 and an Approved Training Farrier in 2003.

Gavin achieved the higher qualification of the Associate of the Worshipful Company of farriers in 2023.

He was the first instructor/teacher for training the future farriers of the Turkish jockey club in collaboration with Mitch Taylor (Kentucky horse shoeing school). Gavin continues to undertake his own professional development as he considers education to be on going with new educational material and farriery knowledge being introduced all the time.

Recently Gavin achieved by examination the Fellowship of the Worshipful Company of Farriers (FWCF), with his thesis, “A Study of Hoof Morphology During a Period Unshod”.

Please remember to get your RSVPs in to [email protected] to secure spot and of course the free beer 🍻 and pizza 🍕!! ** Held at Rossdales equine hospital, 6.30 arrive for food/drink and talk at 7pm **

02/03/2026

Please meet the first of our speakers for the 18th March, Ian Schofield - he’s looking forward to sharing a free beer with you all there!🍻

Ian is based in South Wales and has been working as a qualified farrier for 20 years. In 2024 he attained the Fellowship of the Worshipful Company of Farriers, becoming one of fewer than 60 fellows practicing worldwide, an achievement described as the pinnacle of the farriery craft.

He has regularly participated in various competitions during his career, including at the highest level, representing Team Wales at the International in 2021 and the Home International in 2022.

Recently Ian achieved by examination the Fellowship of the Worshipful Company of Farriers (FWCF). His thesis, which he is presenting, is titled, “Correlations between sole thickness and hoof wall thickness in thoroughbreds”.

Please remember to get your RSVPs in to [email protected] to secure spot and of course the free beer 🍻 and pizza 🍕!! ** Held at Rossdales equine hospital, 6.30 arrive for food/drink and talk at 7pm **

Rossdales Veterinary Surgeons