A very fortunate career

Being awarded the Dalrymple-Champneys Cup and Medal must be considered a major highlight in a very privileged and fortunate career.

As a schoolboy, I had always wanted to become a veterinary surgeon, but with little experience of horses, I could never have imagined I would spend a very happy professional life working with them in Newmarket! I graduated from Glasgow in 1976 and remained to undertake a master’s degree in the surgery department. After this, I transferred my Betting Levy Board scholarship to the Equine Research Station of the Animal Health Trust in Newmarket, where I completed a Fellowship of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS). I was then invited by Dr Peter Rossdale to join his private equine practice in Newmarket, where I became the partner responsible for surgery.

When I use the words “privileged” and “fortunate”, I mean that following this career pathway I was supported and mentored by a number of senior members of the profession.

It is this type of encouragement which every young graduate hopes to receive, and which, in my opinion, is invaluable in making good career decisions.

Sir Weldon Dalrymple-Champneys

As I quietly reflected upon the Dalrymple-Champneys award, I looked back at its history.

Sir Weldon Dalrymple-Champneys was a most remarkable man. He grew up in a medical household, trained at Barts Hospital in London and then served with the Grenadier Guards in the First World War. He subsequently became a distinguished Deputy Chief Medical Officer of Health, with a special interest in zoonoses – brucellosis, in particular.

In today’s world where “one health” is such a major consideration in medicine, it is interesting to remember that he was well ahead of his time in regarding animal species as important to human health. He was very interested in and greatly respected the veterinary profession. Among the many important medical roles he held, he was also a member of the RCVS Council and its vice-chairman for a time, a governor of the Royal Veterinary College, and a member of the Animal Health Trust (AHT).

Sir Weldon first presented the cup and a medal to Professor John George Wright, at the BVA annual general meeting in 1934, as a mark of his esteem and affection for the veterinary profession. 88 years later I found myself accepting the same award and feeling deeply humbled by such an honour. Undoubtedly, any success I had achieved in my professional life was greatly facilitated by the mentoring and support I received in my early career.

Inspirational colleagues 

As I look back at my career, I recognise that it’s the people I have met and worked with that remain the strongest and longest in the memory. Without boring you too much, I was able to count at least six previous winners among those who had hugely influenced my career. These included Sir William Weipers, who was Dean of Glasgow Vet School on my arrival, Brian Singleton, Director of the AHT on my arrival there, and Dr Peter Rossdale who was a quite extraordinary man, and arguably the first UK equine practitioner to recognise the need for and encourage disciplinary specialisation.

At Rossdales, we had the most enthusiastic and committed team of vets and support staff, worked on fantastic horses, and with great clients. It is impossible to overstate how important working with a good team has been in tackling sometimes difficult technical or problematic personnel issues. When I joined the practice, I was the sixth partner in a practice of eight vets, working almost exclusively in Newmarket.

By the time I retired we had grown to almost 60 vets, including six surgical diplomates, working from centres in Suffolk, Hertfordshire, Berkshire, and Saudi Arabia. We built the first equine hospital in Newmarket, which was very kindly opened in 1998 by a client, Her Majesty the Queen; by then we had become one of the largest private equine practices in Europe.

As veterinary surgeons, we’re fortunate enough to be surrounded by inspiring individuals and amazing teams. If you read this, please consider colleagues around you. I suspect there are a number of potentially worthy recipients for the Dalrymple-Champneys Cup. The BVA depends upon you, the members of the profession to identify suitable candidates. If you know of any such person, please visit BVA Awards for details of how to make a nomination.