The Freddie Fox Award
Celebrating a Lifetime of Dedication to the Equine World
The Freddie Fox Award is a prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award created to honour an individual or organisation that has made an outstanding and lasting contribution to equestrianism.
This award specifically recognises those whose work has deepened our understanding of equine anatomy and biomechanics, and who have used that knowledge to educate others and improve horse welfare.
The inaugural award was presented at the Horses Inside Out Conference in February 2026, marking the 20th anniversary of Horses Inside Out. For this first year, nominations were limited to UK-based candidates. However, reflecting the international reach of Horses Inside Out, nominations will now be welcomed from across the globe.
This award provides a unique platform to celebrate individuals and organisations who are truly making a difference to how horses are understood, trained and cared for worldwide.
About Freddie Fox
Freddie Fox was the original star of Horses Inside Out. For many years, he was the horse who brought Gillian Higgins’ live anatomical painting presentations to life. He modelled every anatomical system and holds the remarkable distinction of being the most painted horse in the world.
Freddie appears in all of Gillian’s books and features extensively in the Horses Inside Out Academy, helping to educate thousands of horse owners, riders, and professionals.
Through his extraordinary contribution, Freddie played a vital role in transforming the way we understand equine anatomy, biomechanics, and how we care for horses today. This award honours his legacy and the lasting impact he continues to have on the equestrian world.
Call for Nominations
Do you know someone who has made a truly exceptional impact on the equestrian world?
We invite nominations for individuals or organisations worldwide who have made a significant and lasting contribution across all of the following areas:
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Equine anatomy and biomechanics
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Improving understanding of how horses work
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Sharing knowledge through education and/or training
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Advancing horse welfare
Who Can Nominate?
Anyone can submit a nomination.
You may nominate someone you know personally, such as a friend or colleague, or someone you admire from afar.
Nominations should demonstrate how the individual or organisation has advanced equine welfare through work in areas such as:
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Equine anatomy, functional anatomy, locomotion, and biomechanics
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Understanding and management of musculoskeletal dysfunction
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Factors influencing the horse, including the horse–tack–rider relationship
And importantly:
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How this knowledge has been shared with the wider equestrian community through education or training
Deadline for nominations: Friday 11th December 2026
Shortlist Announcement: A shortlist of finalists will be announced in January 2027.
Judging Panel: Nominations will be reviewed by a panel of industry experts, equine professionals, and veterinary specialists. The panel will select the shortlist and choose the award winner.
AWARD WINNERS
FREDDIE FOX AWARD
The late Caroline Moore was celebrated as the winner of the inaugural Freddie Fox Award in 2026. Caroline was an incredibly well respected rider, mentor and trainer, who worked tirelessly to support the sport. She worked with riders of all ages, and was known for her help across Junior, Young Rider, and Senior Teams.
Her dedication extended to the PMP, which exists to support riders through offering education and world class training through the programme. Even latterly, despite a devastating cancer diagnosis some three years before she passed, Caroline showed just how passionate she was about everything equestrian, particularly eventing, by continuing to work and support riders.
Caroline's positivity and can-do attitude are something that she will be remembered for, as well as the legacy she leaves through the riders she inspired, and continues to so posthumously, through the PMP.
The award was collected by Sue Ringrose, one of the PMP mentors
Dr Kirsty Lesniak
This award is to recognise how her expertise has further supported the equine world with her specialism in hoof-related anatomy providing valuable insight for so many.
Kirsty has been a huge supporter of Horses Inside Out conferences, the scientific poster competition, and since 2010 has been involved with the company’s annual dissection.
Dr Sue Dyson
Dr Sue Dyson received the second special award. Sue was celebrated for her Ridden Horse Performance Checklist that is helping to improve welfare of horses all over the world.
She has been a keen supporter of the company and its ambitions since 2013 when she first spoke at a Horses Inside Out conference.
David and Maggie Kempsell
WOW Saddles works hard to promote the importance of equine anatomy and biomechanics in relation to saddle fit, to further support comfort for horses.
This company has attended every Horses Inside Out conference, but more than this, has presented lectures at the conferences as well as courses and events.
David and Shirley Higgins
And last not least, Gillian’s parents, David and Shirley, received a special recognition award.
Both have been involved in the Horses Inside Out journey from the start, from behind the scenes roles such as running the bookshop, organising events, and building skeletons, to welcoming delegates to conferences, problem solving, and supporting Gillian and the Horses Inside Out team.
Scientific Poster Competition Winner Jenna Payne
Jenna won the award for her research titled, 'A Preliminary Investigation into the Effect of Pony Age and Rider Weight on the Mechanical Nociceptive Thresholds (MNTs) of the Epaxial Muscles and Heart Rate Variability (HRV) of Exmoor Ponies'.
Jenna produced a poster that was well-researched, interesting, and very timely, given that the rider weight debate and associated welfare issues are at the forefront of many minds.
Scientific Poster Competition Runner Up Jade England
Jade England was the Runner Up for her poster titled, 'Investigating the Challenges in Lameness Identification Amongst Equine Owners'.