FEI President HRH Princess Haya Bint Al Hussein has praised the work of the ILPH. On a recent visit to ILPH’s Hall Farm in Norfolk (24 February), the Princess watched presentations about the charity’s work in both the UK and abroad and was introduced to some of the horses currently in rehabilitation.
The FEI and the ILPH have a longstanding relationship and the Princess was interested to find out more about the charity. “We have a long association with the FEI, currently sitting on its welfare sub-committee, and look forward to developing our relationship further,” explained John Smales, ILPH Chief Executive.
HRH Princess Haya said: “The ILPH has a long relationship with the FEI and it was because of this that I made the time to come here and find out more and further concrete the partnership.
“It has been very interesting to see at first hand the work they do and tour the wonderful facilities.”
The ILPH is the largest rehomer of horses in the UK and has nearly 1800 horses on its loan scheme. The UK Welfare Hotline (tel: 0870 871 1927) takes around 30,000 calls a year leading to around 1,500 separate investigations by our 16 field officers.
In the developing world the ILPH works with communities where welfare needs are greatest, producing individually tailored programmes to develop horse care skills. Meanwhile the ILPH also leads campaigns to improve horse welfare. Key campaigns include preventing the live export of horses and ponies from the UK for meat and banning the long-distance transport of live horses for slaughter in Europe.
During her stay in Britain, Princess Haya also attended the annual awards dinner of the Event Riders Association and visited Somerby Equestrian Centre in Leicestershire to see the Pony Club’s centre membership scheme in practice.
