Your Horse expert named Equine Vet of the Year
By Rebecca Gibson
General news
06 November 2009 16:39
Gil Riley has been named the annual Petplan Equine Vet of the Year. Gil is an equine vet at Pool House Veterinary Hospital in Staffordshire and has been answering Your Horse readers questions in for the past two years. The Award was announced at the glittering 21st annual Animal Health Trust (AHT) Equestrian Awards gala dinner held at the Lancaster Hotel in London last night.
Horse owners from all over the UK nominated vets who had gone above and beyond the call of duty. A short list of three finalists was then drawn up and the winner selected by an independent panel consisting of; Peter Webbon AHT Chief Executive and Equine Vet, Alison Bridge Editor-in-Chief of Horse & Rider Magazine, Chris House President of the British Equine Veterinary Association (BEVA) and Jo Whitaker Marketing Development Manager for Petplan.
Peter Webbon of the AHT said: “We received a record number of nominations this year and the standards were incredibly high. However, Gil was nominated by over 100 clients and we felt he was truly deserving of this award.”
“This award recognises the amazing hard work and commitment of people within the equine veterinary profession and those who provide outstanding service to horse owners,” explained Alison Andrew, Marketing Manager for Petplan. “All the nominees this year were outstanding and it was very difficult to have to pick only three finalists let alone a winner. However, we felt Gil’s dedication and commitment to caring for horses was outstanding.”
Susan Hubbard was among the clients to nominate Gil and said: “He is always so sympathetic. He makes himself available on his mobile to any client who wishes to talk to him and he explains all procedures without superiority and in plain and simple language.”
Gil joined the Pool House Veterinary Group and Equine clinic practice to expand his equine skills after working in a mainly agricultural practice in Wales and is jointly responsible for the Equine part of the Practice. He has subsequently been awarded the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons Certificate in Equine Practice and he is particularly interested in lameness and laminitis. He also recently acted as British Team Vet at the International Driving Trials in Germany.
"Everyday I feel like I’m pulling the greatest trick in that I get paid for doing what I love", commented Gil on receiving the award. "To receive further recognition with this award almost feels greedy. I’m tremendously flattered and indebted to all my clients who nominated me.”
See Gil's acceptance speech in the YouTube clip below