Winning research is already changing a sector’s practices.
Giorgia Monti from the University of Limerick has won the British Equestrian Trade Association (BETA) Equine Thesis of the Year 2025 for her research into Equine Arteritis Virus.
Amy Rowlands from CAFRE College, Charlotte Hurst from the Royal Agricultural University and Morgan Leesing from Aberystwyth University were the other finalists.
An online event on Sunday (26 October) saw the quartet present their theses to a judging panel, watched by a record-breaking international audience.
The judges were research consultant Dr Georgina Crossman from GK Crossman Consultancy, equine nutritionist Dr Katie Williams from Dengie, vet Dr Edd Knowles from Mars Horsecare and the Waltham Petcare Science Institute, and Horse & Hound news editor Eleanor Jones.
“It was great to see so many impressive pieces of work, and as always, the BETA Equine Thesis of the Year competition shows what a bright future the equestrian industry has,” said Claire Williams, executive director of BETA.
Welfare impact
Giorgia Monti’s winning thesis was about the diagnostic validation of an indirect ELISA [a laboratory testing technique] for the detection of Equine Arteritis Virus (EAV) antibodies for screening purposes.
Although EAV can have huge equine welfare and economic impacts, some affected horses show no symptoms - making it harder to identify in breeding animals, the judges heard.
Dr Georgina Crossman commended the finalists for presenting “a diverse and novel range of topics, coming across as passionate and knowledgeable about their areas and broadening our horizons.
“We’ve all learned from them and are encouraged that the future of our industry is in safe hands,” she added.
“Giorgia’s selection as our winner was unanimous. Her work has already impacted the equine sector, with the breeding industry in Ireland changing its protocols around screening for EAV antibodies following her work.”
For more information on BETA or the Equine Thesis of the Year, see www.beta-uk.org.
