Meet The Committee
The Committee of the Association liaises with the British Horseracing Authority [BHA] and other equine bodies and associations on veterinary matters within the racing industry, advising on veterinary and welfare issues. Members of the Committee attend regular meetings to advise on and discuss these matters.
Alasdair Topp BVM&S Cert AVP (EOS) MRCVS
ChairmanAlasdair qualified from the Royal (Dick) Veterinary School in 1986 and has worked in equine practice since 1990 and is now a partner at Nantwich Veterinary Group. He has been a racecourse veterinary surgeon for the last 22 years regularly attending Haydock and Aintree along with a number of local point to points.
James Tipp BVSc MRCVS
TreasurerJim is a 1987 Bristol graduate and a founding partner of Fyrnwy Equine Clinics, a 15 vet equine practice in Shropshire. Jim has over 25 years experience working with thoroughbred stud and training yards. Jim is on the veterinary team at Uttoxeter racecourse and the Senior Veterinary Surgeon at Aintree racecourse.
Eugenio Cillán-García LV MSc FHEA Dip ECVS MRCVS EBVS
European and RCVS Specialist in Equine SurgeryEugenio graduated in 2004 from Caceres University, Spain and undertook an internship at a referral hospital in Spain before traveling to the UK and joining the Three Counties Equine Hospital in Gloucestershire. In 2009 he moved to Edinburgh University to undertake a residency in Equine Surgery, during this time he completed a Masters by Research in Equine foot MRI. After a brief period in private practice, he returned to Edinburgh University as a Senior Lecturer in Equine Surgery and Director of Scottish Farriery Centre. In 2019 he become director of Esk Veterinary Consultants providing peripatetic orthopedic, surgery and sport medicine services in Scotland. Eugenio has a wealth of experience treating competition horses and he currently works and provides veterinary care at several UK racecourses. He is a recognized European and RCVS Specialist in Equine Surgery and has lectured both nationally and internationally. His special interests are equine surgery and podiatry, and he has a particular interest in sport horses. Outside of work he enjoys spending time with his family and friends, rugby and mountain biking.
Ed Shaw BVSc MRCVS
Ed was raised and qualified in New Zealand. He has worked in England for over twenty years in equine practice across a wide variety disciplines. He has attended Brighton, Fontwell, Goodwood, Plumpton, Hereford, Ludlow and Worcester Racecourses, as well as multiple point to point meetings. He enjoys all aspects of racecourse veterinary work and away from work spends time chasing around after his family and dog.
Sally Booth BSc BVSc MRCVS
Sponsorship OrganiserSally Booth is a Veterinary Surgeon at Tow Law, working on Tuesdays. Sally’s first post was based in Weardale, she then had a period of doing locum work around the North of England after this. She took a partnership with Robson and Prescott in 2001, and is pleased to now have the opportunity to return to Tow Law. Sally comes from a Doncaster based farming family. In her spare time she is a volunteer welfare office for the British Horse Society. She has started a new business manufacturing horseshoes with two farriers and enjoys gardening, baking, showing and driving her own horses. She also loves horse racing and has two horses in training
Shaun McKane BVSc BSc(vet) PhD Dip ACVIM Dip ECEIM
Communication Officer & Website ManagerShaun qualified from the University of Sydney in 1993. After a time in equine practice he completed a PhD at the University of Melbourne, centred on the effects of exercise induced pulmonary haemorrhage on racehorse lungs. He moved to Oregon State University in 1999, to undertake a residency position and become a Boarded Specialist with the American College of Equine Internal Medicine. In 2002, he was a senior lecturer in equine medicine to the University of Liverpool and became a Registered RCVS and European College Specialist in Equine Medicine. Shaun has a wide range of clinical interests including respiratory disease, cardiology, ophthalmology and neurology and is now a Director at Cotts Equine Hospital in Wales.
Chris Baldwin BVetMed(hons) CertAVP (ESST) (EOS) AFHEA Dip.ECVS MRCVS RCVS recognised and EBVS® European Specialist in Large Animal Surgery
Chris graduated from the Royal Veterinary College, London in 2012 and undertook a 2 year rotating hospital internship at Newmarket Equine Hospital. Following completion of this internship, Chris joined an equine practice in West Sussex as an ambulatory practitioner working with racehorses and sport horses. Chris completed an ECVS surgical residency from 2017 to 2020 in a large private practice and completed a certificate in Equine Soft Tissue Surgery and Equine Orthopedic Surgery. Chris worked at the Hambleton Equine Clinic before joining the Leahurst Equine Hospital, University of Liverpool in January 2021. Chris is a Senior Lecturer in Equine Surgery and his focus is on performance horse surgery including fracture repair and upper respiratory surgery. Chris is a recognized European and RCVS Specialist in Equine Surgery and has lectured both nationally and internationally. His special interests are equine surgery and podiatry.
Joanna Strong
VetMB MA MRCVSJo graduated from Cambridge University Veterinary School near the end of the last millennium. She spent 7 years in the Royal Army Veterinary Corps including a tour of Bosnia and the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment in London, where she point-to-pointed and competed in the military steeplechases at Sandown. She then moved into ambulatory equine practice on the Hampshire/Berkshire /Wiltshire border including racecourse and event cover and has remained there ever since. She works for Lambourn Equine Vets and is SRVS for Larkhill Point-to-point racecourse and BE events. She joined ARVS committee in November 2022.