Speakers
More speaker details TBC. Keep an eye on our site and socials for more information.
Gillian Higgins (Horses Inside Out)
BSc First Class Honours Degree, BHS Senior Coach, Dip (RM) MSM, ITEC (equine), MCAM, MIAS, MRAMP.
Gillian is passionate about horses, equine anatomy and sharing all she knows for the good of the horse. An authority in equine anatomy and biomechanics, a British Horse Society Senior Coach, professional sports and remedial therapist, author and with a first-class honours degree in Equine Science and Business Management. Gillian specialises in assessing posture and movement, devising exercises for improving performance and educating horse owners. She is well known for her anatomical painting on live horses which she uses for her teaching.
Antonio Hinojosa
LV MSc CertAVM(ED) MRCVS, Advanced Practitioner in Equine Dentistry.
Antonio graduated from Córdoba University (Spain), and he obtained further clinical training at Edinburgh University, from where he completed a Master degree in Equine Reproduction. He then returned to the USA to undertake a clinical residency at Oklahoma State University. After completion of his residency he returned to work in Equine Practice in Ireland, the UK and Spain, before settling in the UK in 2009. Antonio’s main focus nowadays is Equine Dentistry, setting up and developing an Advanced Dentistry Service in his last post in an equine hospital in Wiltshire. He has obtained his Certificate in Advanced Veterinary Medicine (Equine Dentistry) and Advanced Practitioner Status in Equine Dentistry from the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS). Antonio joined Bell Equine in 2018 and is interested on all aspects of Equine Dentistry, from routine to advance level.
Pete Ravenhill
BVSc CertEM(Stud Med) BAEDT MRCVS
Pete is an equine dental vet, with a caseload of routine and advanced cases, and owns his own business “equinedental.vet” in the SW of England. Special clinical interests are restorative dentistry and the treatment of periodontal disease.
Dr Nicole du Toit
BVSc CertEP MSc PhD DipEVDC(Equine) DipAVDC (Equine) MRCVS.
Originally from South Africa, she is a specialist in equine dentistry recognised by the European (EBVS®), American and RCVS veterinary authorities and is currently a member of the EVDC.
Since 2019, Dr Nicole du Toit has been co-director with Chris Pearce of the Equine Dental Clinic, where they continue to provide a busy equine dental referral service worldwide. A world-renowned specialist in equine dentistry, she graduated from Onderstepoort Veterinary School in South Africa in 2000 and then moved to Edinburgh University in 2002 where she completed a three-year residency in equine dentistry, followed by a PhD in equine dentistry with Professor Paddy Dixon as supervisor and combined studies at the Donkey Sanctuary in Devon, UK.
In 2011 Nicole returned to her native South Africa to run her own dental referral practice, treating referral cases in veterinary practices throughout South Africa. Since then, she has been spending 100% of her professional time doing equine veterinary dentistry.
In 2013, Nicole was co-opted onto the Equine Dental Specialty Organising Committee, becoming a European specialist and diplomat of the EVDC and the American Veterinary Dental Colleges.
In March 2017 she moved to England to join the Equine Dental Clinic where she currently works and performs referral work all over the UK and occasionally further abroad.
Jess Hughes
BSc (Hons), BAEDT
Jess is a fully qualified Equine Dental technician, who graduated with a first class BSc (Hons) equine dental science degree from Hartpury prior to passing her BEVA/BVDA exam.
She works full-time in mid Wales alongside her EDT husband Geraint in their equine dentistry business. Together, they have a busy and far-reaching client base, providing top quality Equine Dental treatment. They work very closely alongside other paraprofessionals, local vet practices as well as referral veterinary dental specialists throughout the UK. Jess is no stranger to talking to large groups of people, she has been one of the joint lecturers on the BEVA advance theory course for eight years, spoken at BEVA congress, as well as regularly lecturing at universities, colleges, riding clubs and pony clubs.
She is currently an examiner for the BEVA/BVDA practical dental exam and really enjoys helping students reach high standards of work whilst keeping up to date with research in modern Equine Dentistry.
Jonathon Dixon
BVetMed, MVetMed, Dipl.ECVDI, MRCVS
European Specialist in Veterinary Diagnostic Imaging
Jonathon qualified from the Royal Veterinary College and following a short period working in Egypt for a charity veterinary practice joined Rainbow Equine Hospital as an intern for 18 months, where he developed an interest in advanced imaging, in particular CT and MRI. Jonathon then completed a 3-year senior clinical training scholarship (residency) at the Royal Veterinary College in Large Animal Diagnostic Imaging before returning to Rainbow. In January 2017 he became a European Specialist in Veterinary Diagnostic Imaging. He has particular interests in CT imaging of the head and neck and MRI of the distal limb.
Bomber Nell
Bomber grew up in Rhodesia where his passion for horses started and out of necessity he started dabbing in bridlery, saddles and bits. When serving with the Grey’s Scouts Mounted Unit he started a sideline business supplying the unit with Mclenon saddles. He left for South Africa after the war and after a few years of settling down he resurrected his passion and started playing polocrosse in 1990. This ignited his interest in bitting which became a hobby until Bombers Equestrian Equipment was founded in 2001. He was intrigued with the mechanics of bits and the visible effect on the horse’s performance.
Bomber has travelled extensively being exposed to a variety of breeds and disciplines, each providing an opportunity to tweak a cheekpiece or mouthpiece to accommodate a conformation or sensitivity problem while conforming to the requirements of the discipline and enhancing performance.
His quest for the perfect bit for each situation gave birth to 250 cheekpieces and 250 mouthpieces each available in 15 widths and multiple thicknesses which includes the option of different materials such as the sweet iron metal, nylon composite, moulded plastic, leather and titanium.
This is a process of continuous learning and innovation.