Caroline Gillespie and Emily Jeanes (above) are the joint winners of the Harry Steele-Bodger Memorial Scholarship travel award for 2012. The announcement came during the Awards Ceremony at the British Veterinary Association’s Annual Congress in Liverpool.

Caroline Gillespie, who is just starting her final year at the University of Cambridge Veterinary School, undertook a study in Oakdale, California, during July, which focused on investigating whether the extraordinary forces placed on the limbs of the western performance horse significantly impact their predisposition to injury type and severity and, as such, present a welfare issue to those animals. 

On receiving the award Caroline (pictured below) said “I was delighted to receive the Harry Steele-Bodger Award as it has enabled me to take a fantastic opportunity. I was excited to be able to experience equine medicine in the USA and explore my project idea which I would otherwise have found difficult to do. I am extremely grateful to the BVA and the Trustees of the Harry Steele-Bodger Fund.”

The grant also helped Emily Jeanes, who is about to embark on her final year at the University of Liverpool Veterinary School, to visit Sri Lanka during the summer to carry out a project investigating the zoonotic risk posed by Toxocara canis infection in dogs. Her research took place at the Dogstar Foundation in Kegalle.  Approximately 20% of children in Sri Lanka are seropositive for Toxocara canis.

Emily, who hopes her project will raise awareness of the risks and the ways in which the parasite can be controlled, commented: "I was completely over the moon when I received the Harry-Steele Bodger Award. The funding meant such a lot to me, and without it I would have really struggled to finance my project. I am so grateful to the BVA and the Harry Steele-Bodger Trustees for their help and support."