The Vets with Horsepower team is a large group of people who give up their time and skills to help make the most out of each CPD tour and raise as much money for the charities as possible. There are riders, local organisers, sponsors, support car drivers, and many more people to thank for their invaluable help.

​A 'rider profile' can be found here for all the riders that will be joining the next tour.
Derek Knottenbelt
​OBE, BVM&S, BVM&S, DVM&S, DIPECEIM, dACVIM, MRCVS
​Professor Emeritus
Derek is our chief, founder and driving (riding) force behind the project. He lectures on any internal medicine related topic, and makes sure everyone knows exactly what our charities and sponsors do to improve lives around the world!
​David Bardell
BVSc CertVA DipECVAA MRCVS
David is a longstanding member of the Horsepower team. Frequently found barefoot, he is a stalwart of the trips and known for his engaging lecture style. He has now change his bike to a Triumph touring bike, and lectures on anaesthesia and analgesia-related topics.
Jenny Croft
BVMS CertEP MRCVS
Jenny has been riding on the continent with her father for many years before she joined the HP team in 2014, and has been an integral part ever since. As an experienced first opinion vet her lectures cover topics to encourage best practice in a first opinion setting.
Mike Hewetson
BVSc BSc CertEM(IntMed) DipECEIM PhD MRCVS
Mike rode with us in the earlier years and organised the 2016 South Africa tour. He will speak about gastric ulcer syndrome in horses.

​Nancy Homewood
BVetMed CertAVP MRCVS
​Nancy joined the Horsepower project in 2019 as a driver and general logistics guru. She will lecture this year on "how to" topics.
Edmund Hainisch
MagMedVet, DrMedVet, CertES(Soft Tissue), PhD
Edmund has joined us on several of the European tours as both a rider and a local organiser and will be with us for this year again. As the tallest member of the team, he has a real presence about him!
Bianca Schwarz
Dr. med. vet., DipECEIM
Bianca has been a local organiser for many of our meetings in Germany over the last 10 years. She will join us again this year as a guest lecturer. Welcome!
Ed Whittle
MA, VetMB, MRCVS
Ed has been instrumental to several of the horsepower tours as a driver and purveyor of perpetual enthusiasm, and we're ecstatic to have him back with us this year as a session chair. 
Alex Dugdale
MA, VetMB, PhD, DVA, DipECVAA, PGCert(LTHE), FHEA, MRCVS
Alex is also one of the founding members of the project and we are delighted to have her back to lecture on one of her areas of expertise- obesity in horses.
Jessica Kidd
BA, DVM, CertES(Orth), DipECVS, MRCVS
Jessica has been a part of HP from the start, always making sure we have what we need and doing much of the behind-the-scenes work. She lectures on topics related to equine surgery, orthopaedics, foals, melanomas and imaging.
Caroline Hahn
​DVM MSc PhD DipECEIM DipECVN MRCVS
Caroline has not missed a single one of the VwHP tours. She lectures about equine neurology.
​Sanne Wilmink
dvm certavp mrcvs
Sanne first learned to ride a motorbike in Kathmandu. She met the HP team in 2012 and re-joined the group from 2017 onwards, lecturing on medicine-related topics. She also does part of the admin work for the project.
Deon van Tonder
bvetsc
Deon lives and works in South Africa. He met the HP team in 2016 on their SA tour, and supported them on his bike the whole way around. Since then, he has flown over to the Northern hemisphere every year to join. With his wealth of experience in stud medicine, he lectures on reproduction-related topics.
Andy Crawford
BVetMed CertES(Orth) DipECVS MRCVS
Andy was part of several earlier tours and we are delighted to have him back. Andy is known for not only producing excellent lectures but for being the life and soul of the party. He will lecture on advanced imaging and arthroscopy. 
Mike Shepherd
BVSc(Massey), MRCVS
 Mike rode with us on the first two horsepower tours. He has successfully completed the Dakar Rally which puts him is a different league! Mike will speak on racing bone injuries in Thoroughbreds.
Jo Suthers
BVM&S, MPhil, CertES(Soft tissue), DipECVS, MRVCS
Jo was part of the 2012 tour, and we're very happy to have her back among us this year. She will speak on septic arthritis.
Lizzie Barnard ​BA (Hons), MSc, E SQP, ACIM
Technical and marketing wizard
We are lucky to count Lizzie amongst our team. While her day job is for BOVA, she is instrumental in organising the projects. She makes all our crazy ideas happen!
Bara Bezdekova
DVM, PhD, Dip ECEIM
Bara has hosted several of our stops as a local organiser, and will be joining us for a guest lecture for this year. 
Gavin Mitchell
IMV Imaging
 Gavin has been a very active Horsepower supporter from the very beginning. This is one of the world's largest understatements...Gavin has been instrumental in the success of the project. He is an amazing mixture of perpetual enthusiasm and just making it all happen. Plus he drives like a demon....
​John Burford
​MA, VetMB, CertVA, CertES(Soft Tissue), PhD, SFHEA, FRCVS
John prefers riding his bikes on dirt tracks, but joins us on asphalt to help the HP project. He lectures mostly on soft tissue surgery topics, but also can provide great insights in epidemiology and reading blood results.
Trevor Croft
Navigator
Trevor was a very lucky find when his daughter Jenny joined the team. Trevor is our rock in planning the itinerary, and then navigates on tour, leading he group so all the speakers actually arrive on time where they are needed. The project would be a total chaos without him!
Dietrich von Schweinitz
DVM BSc MRCVS
We would not be surprised if Dietrich has a glass of petrol for breakfast each morning. Motorbikes are his usual form of transport as he visits equine yards for acupuncture sessions. His lecture topics cover myofascial pain and acupuncture topics.
Roger Smith
MA VetMB PhD DipECVS DEO FHEA DipECVDI FRCVS
Roger is a long-standing supporter of Vets with Horsepower, joining the tour whenever he can and adding a great team vibe alongside his extensive knowledge on orthopaedic subjects.
Josh Slater
BVM&S PhD DipECEIM MRCVS
Josh is also a founding member of the team and brings a wealth of experience in Internal Medicine with him. But don't even try to keep up with him on a bike! This year he will be sharing his extensive knowledge from his new base in Australia.
David Bolt
​Dr. med. vet., MS, MRCVS
Diplomate ACVS & ECVS
ECVDI (Associate, LA), MRCVS
David was one of the founding riders and we are delighted to have him back. He will lecture on orthopaedic topics and osteoarthritis this year.
Bruce McGorum
BVSc, DipECEIM, FRCVS
We're delighted to introduce Bruce as one of our guest speakers this year on the subject of equine asthma. Bruce has actually been involved with the project since it started as he organised the talks in Edinburgh on the first tour.
Gunther van Loon
DVM, PhD, dip ECEIM
Gunther has hosted a stop in Belgium during all of the European VwHP tours, and is a skilled biker! He'll be sharing his extensive knowledge on equine cardiology with us this year.
Sue Dyson
MA VetMB, PhD DEO DipECVSMR, FRCVS
We're proud to introduce Sue as one of our guest speakers this year and are delighted to have her both as a speaker and a session chair. Her long standing interest in equine welfare is a perfect match for the HP ethos.

We would love to keep in touch with you!
Charity Registration No. SCO46720