BRITISH Horse Society (BHS) Regional Welfare Officer, Sylvia Sullivan-Tailyour has received an award from Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service in honour of the work that the Wiltshire branch of the equestrian charity has done to train fire officers in large animal rescue.

The Excellence Awards recognise the exceptional contributions of Wiltshire Fire and Rescue’s staff, partners and associates.

The BHS were awarded the Partner of the Year award – for the individual or organisation that has done most to help the service to achieve its aims.

Mrs Sullivan-Tailyour, who is the regional welfare officer for The British Horse Society in the South West region, said: "I am very pleased to receive this award on behalf of the Wiltshire Branch of The British Horse Society. Without the Society’s funding it would not have been possible to lay on these basic horse handling courses for the Fire Service's large animal rescue teams who do so much to help horses in difficulties throughout the county.

“Many of the fire officers had little or no experience of approaching and handling horses, but after the training their confidence improved to a remarkable degree. A further series of training days has just started, this time funded by the British Horse Society South West Region, after which it is hoped that all the teams in the force will have received the basic familiarisation course.

“It is very impressive how far the rescue teams have come over the past two years and how professionally they now deal with often very difficult and complicated situations. Horse owners owe a lot to their dedication and skill."