Dr. Merkies received her PhD in animal science from the University of Guelph before taking a faculty position at Lake Erie College in Ohio. She later returned to Canada to develop and implement Canada's first and only equine degree program - Bachelor of Bio-Resource Management degree in Equine Management at the University of Guelph. Dr. Merkies teaches undergraduate courses in equine event management, equine reproduction, equine trends and issues and equine industry topics. She has a small research program focusing on equine behaviour, particularly relating to horse-human interactions, equitation science, and equine welfare. She has trained and competed up to international levels in dressage, earning the title of Canadian National Champion in 1999. She also avidly applies learning theory in dog training, teaching at a local obedience school and competing with her dog Gambol in rally obedience, obedience and dock diving.

Janne Winther Christensen is Associate Professor at the Department of Animal and Veterinary Sciences, Aarhus University, Denmark. In her early career, Janne studied behaviour of Przewalski horses in the Askania Nova Reserve in Ukraine, and the fascination of wild equids and the similarities in behaviour between wild, feral and domestic horses has formed the basis for her research. She holds a licentiate degree from the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (2006), and a PhD in ethology from Copenhagen University (2008). Janne has conducted a number of research projects in relation to horse welfare, stress and fear reactions, habituation, learning and training. Her current research focuses on (i) maternal influence on the development of behaviour and stress sensitivity in foals, (ii) behaviour and welfare in relation to housing and management, and (iii) human-animal interactions. 

Kate completed an undergraduate degree in Equine Science at Charles Sturt University and is currently enrolled as a PhD at Sydney University with a focus on equine training, management and welfare. Kate has ridden, trained and competed in a variety of disciplines in the UK, USA, Asia and Australia. Over the past 10 years she has developed Kandoo Equine - a large library of equitation science based training material, helping riders train their own horses, using ethical, evidence-based methods. Kate is an equestrian coach and trainer and lives by the beach in Queensland with her small herd of horses.

Caleigh received her Honours Bachelor of Bio-Resource Management degree in Equine Management from the University of Guelph in 2022. She is now working towards her M.Sc. in Animal Behaviour and Welfare at the University of Guelph with an equine focus. Her current research aims to identify management practices that can help reduce stress in riding lesson horses.

Caleigh has been working with horses for most of her life and is a competitive showjumper in her home province of Ontario. In her free time, she loves to help train project horses, where she gets to apply the principles of equitation science in her work and see the difference that science-based training methods can make for nervous or green horses. Caleigh hopes to help younger generations of riders connect with equitation science to continue creating a conscientious and sustainable future for the horse industry.

Janet is an equine veterinarian with experience of clinical work, research, scientific communication, and education. She gained her veterinary degree from the University of Cambridge in England and her PhD from the University of Guelph in Canada, and has worked for universities in the UK, the USA, and Canada. She currently works for World Horse Welfare, a UK-based charity that supports the responsible use of horses in sport. She is involved in the charity’s work on social licence to operate, as well as other multiple other issues. Janet also teaches at the University of Nottingham’s School of Veterinary Science and Medicine and is a member of the UK Pony Club’s Training Committee.

Victoria (Vicky) Hailey is a governance, management system, and Lead Auditor instructor and Certified Management Consultant (CMC).  She serves as Vice-Chair of the Canadian Mirror Committee for ISO TC 309 Organizational governance and is a participating member of the ISO international WG responsible for such foundational governance standards as ISO 37000 Governance of organizations — Guidance which is instrumental in promoting good governance with socially responsible and sustainable outcomes.  

She is also the founder, Chair, and Executive Director of Maamawi-Noojimoiwewin (Ojibway for Healing Together) Wellness Centre, a Canadian equine rescue charity (in process).  She recently completed (2021) a Specialist Certificate in Animal-Assisted Interventions (CHAIS) at the University of Oakland where the focus of the program emphasized the criticality of obtaining the consent of non-human animal partners.  She is also partway through Equine Guelph’s Equine Welfare program.

Robin Foster is a research professor at the University of Puget Sound and an affiliate professor at the University of Washington, United States. She is a Certified Applied Animal Behaviorist (CAAB) with the Animal Behavior Society and a Certified Horse Behavior Consultant (CHBC) with the International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants. Robin holds a PhD in Animal Behavior-Psychology from the University of Washington. Robin teaches university courses in animal behavior, works with equine behavior clients, and conducts research on equine learning and social behavior. Her current project investigates the effect of age on judgement bias and reversal learning in horses. Robin is also an equine welfare advocate, and recently served as National Academies of Science task force member to review methods to assess soreness in the Tennessee Walking Horse.

Gill is a lawyer, qualified in England and Australia and has been a keen rider all of her life. Her home is an equestrian property in beautiful rural Victoria in Australia but she is currently travelling internationally with her young family. After 3 years in India she is now settled (for a few years!) in Connecticut, USA. Gill discovered equitation science through the Australian Equine Behaviour Centre and completed a Diploma through ESI in 2021. Learning so much about equine welfare and training inspired Gill to dig deeper and she is now studying a Master’s Degree in International Animal Welfare, Ethics and Law at Edinburgh University. Gill aims to combine her legal skills with animal advocacy and policy change in order to create a sustainable future for horse sports, in the meantime, she absolutely loves being a student again! 

Dr Barbara Padalino graduated in Veterinary Medicine at the University of Bari (Italy) in 2002 and in 2017 completed her PhD entitled “Transportation of horses and the implications for health and welfare” at the University of Sydney, Australia. She is currently an Associate Professor of Animal Science at the University of Bologna, Italy, a member of the Animal Health and Welfare panel of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), and a Diplomate of the European College in Animal Welfare, Ethics and Law. Horses have characterised her life; she has been a rider, a driver, a Standardbred horse breeder, an equine veterinarian and an equine scientist! This is the reason why she has carried out a number of research projects aiming at safeguarding horse welfare. However, her research interests span a number of topics from animal behaviour and welfare to equine internal and sports medicine. She has written more than 200 publications in peer-reviewed international journals and conference proceedings on those topics. She is currently leading several research projects aiming at enhancing animal health and welfare worldwide and she is very excited to be the Veterinary Liaison Officer for the International Society of Equitation Science

Uta is Professor of Animal Husbandry and Biology at the University of Giessen, Germany. Before moving to her present position she worked as Assistant Professor in Equine Science at the University of Guelph, Canada, as Professor of Animal Breeding and Genetics at the University of Kassel, Germany, and for almost 10 years as the coordinator of the equine science program at the University of Göttingen, Germany. Based on her degrees in statistical genetics as well as animal behaviour and welfare, her work focuses on developing solutions for statistical problems such as the treatment of outliers in data, assessment and genetics of animal health and behaviour as well as on animal welfare, in particular with regard to fear responses, stress physiology, cognition, equitation and horse-human interactions. She also serves on a number of welfare and ethic committees, e.g., of the German leisure riders’ association, the National Equestrian Federation, a board for certification of working horse husbandry systems and on the Equine Welfare Plan of the Ministry of Agriculture of Lower Saxony.

Uta has co-authored among others the 2^nd edition of the book “Equitation Science” and a book on equine handling and ground work published by the German National Equestrian Federation.  She has competed and/or trains horses at various levels from a complete looser to international levels in numerous horse sports including combined events, dressage, show-jumping, vaulting, driving, and – having lived in Iceland, Sweden and Canada – pace races, gaited horse classes as well as some Western disciplines. Together with her family she runs a small farm where she breeds and trains Hanoverian horses as well as dairy cows and various other animals.

Colleen Brady earned PhD at Michigan State University, where she studied the impact of different breeding systems on hormones in mares. Following graduation, she accepted a position as an Assistant Professor at Purdue University, where she is primarily engaged in both formal and informal teaching efforts. She provides content leadership to the Indiana 4-H Horse Program, and participates in various educational activities for adult horse owners. Her research emphasis is on the use of digital technology to enhance the education of youth and adult horse owners, and students. Currently, she is working on projects with the International Museum of the Horse, the USDA and eXtension Horses. Colleen also rides dressage, and hopes to someday earn her USDF Bronze Medal.

Dr Cath Henshall is currently a post-doctoral fellow at Charles Sturt University working with an international team on a project exploring positive emotions in Thoroughbred racehorses.  She completed a PhD investigating the effects of stress and exercise on equine cognition and welfare, applying a cognitive and affective neuroscience lens to the interpretation of equine learning behaviour and welfare.  Cath has worked in a variety of roles providing animal welfare expertise to government and industry organisations and participants in the field of participant education, animal welfare law enforcement and professional development in animal welfare assessment and management to industry officers. 

Cath has recently been a guest lecturer at Western Sydney University and Charles Sturt University in the fields of animal welfare and equine behaviour and prior to that, taught equine studies and livestock production welfare in the NSW vocational education system working with the equine and livestock production industries and students to bridge the gap between research and its practical implementation by industry participants.  

Prior to commencing her PhD project, Cath also ran an equitation science based horse training and rider education business, providing evidence-based horse training services to clients as well as rider education and coaching in equitation science principles and horse-centred training, management and welfare.   Cath has extensive experience communicating academic concepts to varied audiences and working collaboratively with people from a wide range of backgrounds to improve training and welfare outcomes for animals in industry and recreation. 

Angelo is an Assistant Professor in Equine Science and Management at Delaware Valley College where he teaches a variety of courses from Equine Behavior to Horseback Riding and Training. He has a MS in Education and obtained a master’s degree 'Laurea' from the University of Padua. For his final thesis in Equine Behaviour he explored 'The Comparison between Equine Training Techniques and the Psychology of Learning'.  Paired with his academic expertise, he has been a horseback riding coach since 1996 when he received his first riding instructor's certificate from the Italian federation. He has since continued to progress through the levels of instructor certification, with perhaps the most important recognition received when he passed the Fellow of the British Horse Society exam in 2010. His unique life experiences have allowed him to fuse the academic discoveries in animal training and learning with horse training techniques, all of which have earned him popularity as a clinician in Europe and the USA.

Sally has a BSc Hons in Biochemistry & Molecular Biology at Leeds University and a further 4 years postgraduate research experience. Sally has ridden and competed in the UK. Currently enrolled as an MRes student at Hartpury University studying equine brain neurochemistry, Sally is also working towards qualifying as a registered equine behaviourist, having spent many years rehabilitating horses no-one else wanted. Her long term aim is to set up an equine behaviour training school in the French Alps, where she lives.

Antonia (Toni) Henderson has just this year retired as a psychology professor from Vancouver’s Langara College in British Columbia, Canada where she taught a variety of psychology courses including the Psychology of Human Animal Relationships. Her particular focus has been in interpersonal relationships, attachment, and the human animal bond. She continues to work as a research psychologist – teaching, consulting, and writing about the psychology of human/animal relationships, and particularly humans’ relationships with horses. Although Toni has a credible publication record in academic journals, her hope is to cast a wider net by reaching the general horse public, with the goal of improving psychological wellbeing for sport horses. Since 2011 she has been a regular contributor to the horse magazines Horse Sport and Horse Canada writing about the science and psychology of equine behaviour. Toni has a strong practical background in the equine industry (working as groom, rider, instructor, and manager for several years). She has owned, bred, imported, and successfully competed her own horses in the hunter/jumper, and dressage, disciplines, and currently competes her own 8-year-old Hanoverian dressage horse, “Farah”.

Much of her current writing can be accessed at

https://horsesport.com/

under Articles and then Behaviour and also Welfare

Natalie gained a BSc (Hons) in Zoology and her PhD in Cambridge. She led and participated in a wide range of research activities extending from welfare issues associated with agricultural animals to the assessment of conditions for companion, laboratory and zoo animals. Natalie has directed the Masters in Applied Animal Behaviour and Animal Welfare in Edinburgh. She is first or co-author of more than 100 scientific publications and editor of a book on the welfare of horses.

Natalie has owned, trained and competed horses for eventing at advanced level and has an interest in dressage.

Andrew is a clinical and forensic ethologist with specialist academic areas in animal cognition, equine learning/training and welfare science.

As an independent scientist, Andrew has authored and co-authored in excess of 80 research and review papers and conference presentations and ten horse and elephant training texts. In 2020, he co-authored the most recent Five Domains Model of Animal Welfare, focusing on human-animal interactions. Andrew has been co-winner of the Eureka Science award and the Premio Flambo Award for Animal Welfare (Italian Equestrian Sports Federation). In 2014, he was awarded the John H Daniels Fellowship from the USA National Sporting Library, Virginia and in 2016, he was King Scholar invitee at the University of Arkansas.

Andrew has dedicated the past couple of decades to teaching evidence-based horse training and management in workshops across Western Europe as well as the USA, Canada, South Africa and New Zealand. In doing so, he has coached four Olympic medalists, seven National Equestrian Federations and in 1996 he coached the Indian Eventing team to win its first ever medal in international competition using techniques the he derived from learning theory. Andrew founded and directed the Australian Equine Behaviour Centre in 1995 and is currently the CEO of Equitation Science International. He is Patron of Pony Club Australia and as a former Director, he has instigated a revolutionary syllabus that leads the world in equestrian education for young riders. Andrew is also Founder of the Human Elephant Learning Programs Foundation, a not-for-profit charity that delivers evidence-based training and management across South and Southeast Asia and is supported there by various government organisations.

A winner of the Advanced section of the famous Gawler Three-Day-Event in 1989, Andrew has enjoyed a decorated equestrian sport career and has represented Australia in three-day eventing and competed in State and National titles in FEI dressage, eventing and showjumping. He was an Olympic Academy delegate in 1991 and was Australian Champion in Tetrathlon in 2018. In addition, Andrew was the founding President of the Victorian Event Riders Association.

Camie Heleski received her Ph.D. in Animal Science with an emphasis in equine behavior and welfare; her M.S. was also in Animal Science, with an emphasis in equine nutrition and exercise physiology. She worked at Michigan State University for 25 years as Coordinator of their two-year Horse Management Program. In 2016, she began teaching and advising at the University of Kentucky in their Equine Science and Management program. Her applied research interests have revolved around equine behavior and welfare, horse-human interactions and working equids in developing regions of the world; more recently she has begun examining issues related to the Thoroughbred racing industry. She was actively involved with the International Society for Equitation Science as a Council member for 12 years.  She served as the Scientific Chair for the NFACC Canadian Equine Welfare Code Committee, and has travelled to Brazil, Mexico, Honduras, Egypt and Mali in support of her research/outreach with working equids.  Dr. Heleski grew up on a horse farm where she and her family raised, trained and showed horses. She enjoys riding her Arabian gelding in the discipline of dressage. Camie and her daughter have recently adopted an Off the Track Thoroughbred, named Abu.

Hayley graduated with a BSc (Hons) Biology and Psychology in 1990, and gained her PhD in Animal Science on cattle in 1995 at Exeter University, UK.  Hayley has worked in higher education for over 20 years, delivering on a range of animal, welfare, statistics and more recently equitation science subjects to a variety of students in a number of institutions over the world.  Hayley has led a number of projects to develop academic land-based programmes which closely align with contemporary industry needs.  Hayley has also done extensive work on Teaching and Learning Quality Assurance on a national level and has undertaken expert witness work specialising in horse behaviour.  Hayley is a regular and frequent reviewer for a number of high impact animal and veterinary journals and has examines PhDs internationally. In 2007 Hayley became one of the inaugural members of the International Society for Equitation Science Council and has held the roles of Hon. Secretary and all of the President roles. She is regularly involved in the Scientific committee for the annual ISES international conference, and chaired these in 2012, 2016 and 2017.  She was one of the main organisers of the very successful ISES 2017 conference looking at Equitation Science in Practice:  Communication, Collaboration and Change at Charles Sturt University in Wagga Wagga.  Hayley is currently involved in a number of projects investigating quality of life in equids.   She is currently enjoying her role as Associate Head of the School of Animal and Veterinary Sciences at Charles Sturt University.  Any spare time is spent working with a collection of project horses, two young kelpies and a border collie and her son Harley - a dirt bike mad tweenager. 

Professor Katherine Houpt received her veterinary and PhD degree from the University of Pennsylvania. She is Professor of Animal Behaviour at Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine and has been studying horse behavior and welfare, investigating flehmen, environmental preferences, welfare issues of tethered mares and cribbing. She directs the Animal Behavior Clinic and has written a textbook Domestic Animal Behavior. She is a horse-crazy girl who never grew up and has ridden badly on five continents. She trail rides on an Arabian horse.

Professor Jan Ladewig holds a PhD degree in Animal Behaviour from University of California, Davis, USA. He worked as a research associate in Germany, conducting research on behavioural and physiological reactions to stress in cattle, pigs and horses, as well as measurement of motivation in pigs by operant conditioning procedures. He is now a Professor in domestic animal behaviour and welfare at the Copenhagen University, Denmark.  Jan has been an active rider since childhood. He is particularly interested in the scientific background of training horses, as it relates to riding safety and horse welfare.