First prize Academic Student Promotion Award for Suzanne (2008)
"This will look so good on my resume!"
Suzanne van Dijk (23) won the first prize with her thesis on 'Ethics And The Welfare Of The Elite Competition Horse'. "Naturally I'm honoured and very excited. Not just on a personal level, but also because this award means that in the equine sector serious thought is being given to this subject."
"A few weeks before the award ceremony, I received an invitation mail. It mentioned that I had won a prize, but not which one. I really enjoyed the party in Aachen, Germany, with all those interesting people from the equine sports sector - and to receive the first prize on top of all that! I am very proud; this will look so good on my resume!"
Well being
"For my thesis I interviewed various groups of stakeholders on the well being of top sport horses. How do they define and assess well being? If, for example, you only consider the health of the animal as "well being", many things have already been regulated. But if you take things like natural behaviour into consideration, there is definitely room for improvement," Suzanne says.
Suzanne receives the award from Ruth Trommler, who has donated the prize money together with her husband Klaus Trommler.
Bars
"Based on the literature research and the results of the questionnaire, I made a number of proposals to promote the horses's well being. The most important conclusions are a number of regulations (the size of the stables, bars so the horses can see each other, etcetera), and a focus on control and registration - with a clear checklist that goes beyond a subjective question such as "is the stabling adequate?". Moreover, it is important for riders to behave responsibly, so no smoking or making calls on horseback, or riding without a cap. They are the rolemodels for all those young people visiting an event!"
Horse and Management
Suzanne studied Equine Management, part of the study Animal Husbandry and Management. This is the precursor of the major Equine, Leisure and Sports. "The well being of the horses at major events has always piqued my interest. That was mainly the reason why I started this study. During my work placements and thesis I have been able to busy myself with this subject to a great extent."
Further study
"At the moment I am continuing my studies at the WUR. I am studying Animal Science. Thanks to my study at Van Hall-Larenstein I was able to move on right away to the Master phase. I have been studying for a year now, and I will continue my studies for another year. My dream job? Giving advice and making policy in the area of the well being of horses. But research and education looks like fun as well. The beautiful thing is that my studies allow me to go any way I choose."
The Academic Student Promotion Award is an initiative of Prof. Dr. Arno Gego of the School of Course Design in Aachen, Germany. The award is granted yearly in Aachen to students who have a special thesis in the field of equine sports.
Manon Morsch, also of Van Hall-Larenstein, won the third prize with her thesis.