Research News

December 2011

Hartpury lecturer speaks at Judges Conference

Hartpury College recently played host to the biennial Judges Training Event of the Welsh Pony and Cob Society.
 
With over 400 people in attendance at this highly popular event, the Conference is part of the compulsory professional development that all judges for the Society must attend on a regular basis.  The event covered topics ranging from updates on registration procedures to protocols for judging Welsh Ponies and Cobs’.  
 
One of the presentations was delivered by Lucy Dumbell, member of the Centre for Performance in Equestrian Sports and Hartpury’s Deputy Head of Department for Sport and Equine. It was titled ‘Obesity’, an important topic that the Welsh Pony and Cob Society have decided to include within their judges’ training to promote the welfare of the breed.
 
Lucy said, “Obesity is a topic that is in the headlines a lot at the moment, and while much criticism has been levelled at the horse showing industry, I was greeted with a warm, friendly atmosphere and open minds.  I believe that the decision of the Welsh Pony and Cob Society to include this topic in their judges’ training bodes well for the welfare and continued popularity of their breed.  I would like to thank everyone at the Society for inviting me to speak.”

December 2010

ESCalate Praise Research at UWE Hartpury

ESCalate, the ‘Education Subject Centre’ of the Higher Education Academy, have praised the culture of Research and Scholarly Activities that exists at UWE Hartpury.
 
In the most recent edition of ‘ESCalate News’ (Autumn 2010), Steve Rose, Learning and Teaching Adviser from the University of Exeter, spoke of UWE Hartpury’s “commitment to creating a Higher Education ethos and supporting staff by affording them institutional recognition for their engagement in activities which would be considered the norm within a University setting.”
 
Such a review reflects the continuing development of Research and Scholarly Activities at Hartpury.  In the 2009/2010 academic year, UWE Hartpury staff supervised 205 Undergraduate and 21 Postgraduate research dissertations, submitted 10 research articles for publication in journals and text books, and presented empirical research articles at 39 conferences in places ranging from Barcelona, Denver, Geneva,  Toronto, London, Port Elizabeth, and Singapore.
 
For information regarding current Research and Scholarly Activities at UWE Hartpury, please contact Dr Richard Medcalf (Senior Lecturer, Research)

Oxford Brookes and Hartpury College research collaboration on the use of Inertial Measurement Units (IMUs) in equine locomotion

The Movement Science Group at Oxford Brookes and Hartpury College have joined forces in order to further research on the use of inertial measurement units (IMUs) in quantifying equine locomotion. IMUs are accelerometer-based devices which combine the portability and ease of use of accelerometers with accurate and stable long-term gait recording.
 
The Movement Science Group at Oxford Brookes has developed and patented the Brookes GAIT IMU for use in studies of walking in people with neurological disorders. The collaboration with Hartpury will hopefully extend this method of analysis to equine science, both in detailed biomechanical analysis and applied studies on horse: rider interactions.  
 
Dr Ken Howells (Oxford Brookes) said: “The biomechanical and treadmill expertise at Hartpury is central to this project, which we see as an exciting and mutually beneficial avenue of research.”

Jan 2010

Hartpury lecturer appointed onto pre-Olympic Convention

UWE Hartpury College lecturer Richard Medcalf has recently been co-opted onto the Local Organising Committee of the International Convention on Science, Education and Medicine in Sport (ICSEMIS) 2012. This is the Official ‘pre-Olympic Convention’, supported by the International Olympic Committee and International Paralympics Committee amongst others, that will take place in Glasgow from 19th – 24th July 2012. The theme of the Convention is “Sport . . . inspiring a learning legacy”, which supports the vision that ICSEMIS 2012 inspires and leaves a strong legacy in the field of sports science and education across its many disciplines.
 
The Local Organising Committee is a Consortium led by Prof Celia Brackenridge from Brunel University. Along with UWE Hartpury, the Consortium members include: Brunel University (England), Liverpool John Moores University (England), University of Strathclyde (Scotland), University of Ulster (Northern Ireland), University of Cardiff (Wales), Glasgow City Marketing Bureau (Scotland) and Congrex UK (Scotland and UK wide).

16 Nov 2009

Dr Clarissa Brown-Douglas of the Kentucky Equine Research, USA delivers lecture to Hartpury students

Dr Clarissa Brown-Douglas from the Kentucky Equine Research (KER), USA visited Hartpury College recently to deliver a lecture to third year Performace students on equine nutrition. The lecture was organised by Hartpury's Catherine Hale and Saracen Feeds, who work with KER in the formulation of our feeds.

12 Nov 2009

Hartpury lecturer writes for National Equine Student magazine

Hartpury's senior lecturer in Equine Science, Kirsty McDonald writes on internationalising your education in the new on-line National Equine Student Magazine, featuring case studies from Hartpury students Sian Ellis, Alice Chatham and Lucy Tearle who are all currently on an exchange programme with Delaware Valley College in America.

06 Nov 2009

Hartpury Equine Therapy Centre entertain students from Sparsholt College

Hartpury College's Equine Therapy Centre recently played host to eight BSc Equine Science students from Sparsholt College. Students from Sparsholt visit Hartpury on a regular basis to see the water treadmill and high speed treadmill in action and also learn about the work carried out in the Equine Therapy Centre as part of their 'exercise physiology and biomechanics' module.  They are able to see first-hand how the treadmill is used for rehabilitation, exercise testing and gait analysis, as well as watch a demonstration of our 3D motion capture on the treadmill.

05 Oct 2009

Hartpury's Mary Farrell presents research at Oxford University

Hartpury's Dr Mary Farrell presents research at the Summer meeting of the Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour at Oxford University

Hartpury's Higher Education Lecturer in Animal Science Dr Mary Farrell recently attended the Summer Conference for the Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour (ASAB) at Oxford University.

The theme of the conference was “The descent of man and selection in relation to sex” in celebration of the bicentennial of Charles Darwin’s birth. Mary presented research investigating variation in female mate choice in fallow deer. The talk was very well received and Mary is currently working on the final draft of a journal article of the same study.

The Conference was also attended by Hartpury's Senior Lecturer in Research, Dr Judith Lock, who spoke at the previous Conference held by ASAB at Christmas. Dr Lock, said: “This was an excellent opportunity to liaise with other researchers in the area and to promote Hartpury’s animal behaviour research interests."

02 Oct 2009

Hartpury's Andrew Dobson presents research at the European College of Sports Science 14th Annual Congress

Hartpury's Andrew Dobson from the Higher Education Applied Sport Science department attended and presented his research at The European College of Sport Science (ECSS) 14th Annual Congress in Norway.

The Congress’ theme was ’Sport Sciences: Nature, Nurture and Culture’ and Andrew presented research which investigated the effect of skimmed milk on the hydration status of male collegiate athletes during and after sub-maximal cycling.

The 14th Annual Congress programme featured theoretical, applied and cross-disciplinary sport studies as well as research findings based on the natural, behavioural, social and human scientific disciplines. The scientific programme was composed of more than 1,400 abstracts. The presented abstracts comprised not only all relevant sport science sub-disciplines and themes but also all continents including 79 different nations.

In addition to the congress in Norway, Andrew has also recently had his work presented at the British Association of Sport and Exercise Sciences (BASES) Conference at Leeds Met University. At BASES Andrew presented his research on the effects of single vs. multiple set resistance exercise on maximal muscular strength in untrained men. He also presented research which investigated the effect of ribose supplementation on repeated maximal cycle ergometry in male collegiate soccer players.

Hartpury's Sarah Lee presents her PhD research at the Association of Applied Sport Psychology in Salt Lake City

Hartpury's Sarah Lee from the Higher Education department of Applied Sport Science recently attended the annual conference of the Association of Applied Sport Psychology (AASP), in Salt Lake City, Utah. AASP promotes the ethical practice, science, and advocacy of sport and exercise psychology, and this was encapsulated through the conference goals, together with the provision of opportunities for professional networking. As well as engaging in professional development, Sarah was at the conference to present some of her PhD research that she is conducting alongside her current role at Hartpury.

Talking about the conference Sarah Lee, said: "The conference was a fantastic experience and provided a great opportunity to promote Hartpury College on a Higher Education stage among an international audience that included delegates from a variety of backgrounds, including professional coaches, sport psychology practitioners and academics."

11 Sept 2009

Hartpury lecturer Lucy Middlecote speaks at the BEVA International Conference

Hartpury's Lucy Middlecote, a lecturer in veterinary nursing, spoke at her first International Conference yesterday at the ICC in Birmingham. Lucy represented Hartpury College at the British Equine Veterinary Association (BEVA) and was in the company of some very highly regarded speakers.  Lucy delivered a 20 minute session in the medical nursing programme on the topic of nursing complications after diagnostic procedures - nerve blocks.  Feedback from sources at the event indicate that Lucy delivered an excellent session and represented Hartpury superbly.

The Conference continues until Saturday 12th September.

Read more at BEVA.org.uk