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Highly-respected local vet, Lee Paul from B&W Equine Vets in Gwaelod-y-Garth near Cardiff, in Wales, has been chosen as one of just three finalists for this year's Petplan Equine Vet of the Year Award. Now into its fifth year, the winner of this prestigious people's award, which is sponsored by the UK's specialist equine insurance provider Petplan Equine in association with Horse & Rider magazine, will be announced at annual Animal Health Trust (AHT) Equestrian Awards Ceremony on Thursday 1st November 2012 in London.

Lee, who specialises in internal and stud medicine, qualified at Edinburgh University's Royal Dick Veterinary School in 2002. His first graduate position was at Park Veterinary Group in South Wales where he practised for four years before joining B&W Equine. Two years later Lee became a partner and now he runs the Welsh part of the practice from the Cardiff clinic

Nominations for Lee praised his willingness to 'never give up' and to go beyond the call of duty. They comment on Lee's dedication and willingness to always be available such as on the occasion when a horse he had been treating for a swelling in her throat presented complications during a weekend when he was not on duty. Contacted by the duty vet for background information, Lee attended the call himself within an hour complete with the stethoscope he'd collected from the surgery en route and with his family in his car!

Being nominated for the Petplan Equine Vet of the Year Award came as an enormous surprise to Lee and upon receiving the news that he had been selected as one of just three finalists he said: "It's amazing, a really big shock and I am super, super grateful to everyone who nominated me. I can't believe they think that much of me and I hope I can keep on doing whatever it is that they appreciate. I love what I do and I am grateful that my clients allow me to do it. I haven't been to work since I qualified" he enthused.

Horse owners from all over the UK have been nominating vets who they feel are worthy of the prestigious title of Petplan Equine Vet of the Year. Once all the nominations were in, the difficult job of choosing three finalists took place, from whom the winner will be selected by an independent judging panel.

Isabella Von Mesterhazy, Head of Marketing for Petplan Equine commented: "Anyone motivated to nominate their vet for this award must hold them in extremely high regard so once again we were very impressed by both the quality and quantity of nominations we received. It is heartwarming and inspiring to read the submissions that describe the outstanding contributions made by all the nominees in keeping owners happy and horses healthy. It has not been easy to select just three from all the worthy nominees to go through to the final but Lee is clearly a most deserving finalist," she explained.

The winner will be posted on www.petplanequine.co.uk on Friday 2 of November 2012.

 

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For more information please contact the Petplan press office on:

Name	Telephone	Email
Charlotte Collyer	0208 707 8335	[email protected]

Petplan Equine is the UK's leading horse insurance provider offering a wide variety of flexible horse insurance and rider insurance policies which cater for all levels of experience.

Established more than 20 years ago, Petplan Equine is part of Allianz Insurance, one of the largest general insurers in the world.

For more information about a Petplan Equine horse insurance policy, please visit:
petplanequine.co.uk/insurance/quote.asp

Note to editors:

• Petplan Equine was founded in 1988.
• It is part of Allianz Animal Health, the largest provider of animal health insurance in the world and part of Allianz – one of the largest general insurers in the UK.
• In addition to horse and pony insurance options, Petplan Equine provides dedicated products for veteran horses and rider only insurance cover.
• It is the sister brand of Petplan, the largest provider of small animal insurance in the UK.
• Petplan Equine believes in supporting the equine community and provides more financial support to equestrian sports and activities than any equine insurance provider in the UK.
• The Pet Plan Charitable Trust was founded in 1994 to raise much needed funds for animal welfare and veterinary projects. Money is raised by Petplan and Petplan Equine customers giving an optional £1.50 to the Trust when they take out or renew their policy. To date, almost £5 million has been awarded by the Trust.
• Petplan and Petplan Equine are specialist insurers. As such, the company employs more horse riders and owners than any other and more former veterinary practice staff than any other to ensure the provision of specialist knowledge.
• Petplan Equine is the only insurer to offer illness and accident cover for older horses, up to the age of 25 as long as the policy is taken before your horse reaches the age of 20.