Veterinary Associations

Johanna Vardon receives Blue Cross Award at BEVA Congress

vetreportSeptember 28, 2015

The British Equine Veterinary Association (BEVA) Welfare Award 2015, sponsored by Blue Cross, has been presented to Miss Johanna Vardon MBE in recognition of her long-term dedication to saving orphaned foals.

Johanna Vardon is the founder and owner of The National Foaling Bank in Shropshire. She provides a nationwide service for horse breeders to pair foster mares with orphaned foals and to provide guidance through the adoption process. Johanna has documented involvement in over 20,000 cases of fostering. Without a doubt equine welfare would have been compromised significantly without the practical support and advice provided by Johanna and her team over many years.

The award, which was introduced by BEVA in conjunction with the leading pet charity Blue Cross in 2000, is a formal recognition of significant contributions made by veterinary surgeons and others to horse welfare. It was presented to Johanna Vardon at the BEVA Annual Congress in Liverpool on Thursday 10^th September 2015, by Blue Cross Chairman Tim Porter.

Tim Porter said: “Johanna has worked tirelessly over many years to save the lives of orphaned foals and alleviate the distress of bereft mares. In so doing she has given outstanding support and wise advice to countless owners, often at very short notice at all hours. I am delighted to present the BEVA Welfare Award 2015 to such a deserving individual and offer many congratulations.”

Blue Cross has been dedicated to helping sick, injured and abandoned pets for over 100 years. It opened the world’s first animal hospital in 1906 to care for working horses on the streets of London and since then its doors have never closed to sick and homeless animals. Funded entirely by public donations, today the charity rehabilitates and rehomes over a hundred horses and ponies every year at its horse centres in Burford (Oxon) and Rolleston-on-Dove (Staffordshire).