News & Events

Gerald Leigh Lectures 2026

Tattersalls Ltd
3rd June 2026

The 10th annual Gerald Leigh Lectures were held on the 3rd June 2026 at the Sales Paddocks, Newmarket by kind permission of Tattersalls

Now firmly established as a respected educational event, BCET collaborated with the Thoroughbred Breeders Association to bring this year’s topic of “Breeding for Success: Tackling Reproductive Loss in the Thoroughbred Industry” which featured distinguished lecturers from both the UK and America.

It reflected the success Gerald Leigh has as a prominent owner breeder of racehorses, based at Eydon Hall Farm in Northamptonshire. He established himself as a leading international breeder by developing strong families with a small but select broodmare band.  His breeding programme produced champions including Barathea, Act One, Bosra Sham and Gossamer.

On the racecourse, he achieved international success with Classic and Group 1 wins in England, Ireland, France, America, Canada and Australia. Amongst these victories, Markofdistinction delivered a first Group 1 success for jockey Frankie Dettori in the 1990 Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot. His homebred Barathea, winner of the Breeders’ Cup Mile in a course record, was named “European Horse of the Year” at the 1994 Cartier Awards. Among his commercial successes in the sales ring, his broodmare Korveya was sold for a world-record $7 million in 1998.

Nick Wingfield Digby gave a fitting tribute to Gerald and we were delighted to raise a toast in his honour during our lunch, led by Sarah Whitney.

The BCET are incredibly grateful for the continued support from his Charitable Trust.

Refreshments and a delicious lunch were provided by Crown Caterers.

Gerald Leigh Charitable Trust Report

The Gerald Leigh Charitable Trust has been an integral part of Beaufort Cottage Educational Trust and its endeavours.   We owe a huge heartfelt thanks for their trust in us and helping BCET to achieve its aims.

They have produced an Addendum Report which outlines some of the Trust’s more recent projects.  For some of you it may also trigger some happy memories of a truly wonderful man.

“As the Gerald Leigh Charitable Trust now winds down, we would like to take this opportunity to reflect on the achievements and impact of its grant funding since Gerald Leigh established his own charity in 1974.  During those last 52 years, many millions of pounds have been donated to national and international charitable projects achieving significant impact within the areas that were special to our Founder”.

We are privileged to be able to share this with you.

GWL CT Annual Accounts Addendum Report 2025 – FINAL Amended (1)

Summer Scholars Presentations 2025

The Trust’s three successful veterinary student scholars were welcomed to Newmarket, along with their supervisors, on Tuesday 9th December to present their research to an invited group of clinicians and researchers. Anita Czacharowska (Liverpool), Alexandra Monks (Liverpool) and Madeline Jones (Liverpool) had spent the summer researching and documenting their chosen subjects:

Role of TIMP-1 and MMP-13 in Equine Mesenchymal Stem Cells: Advancing Osteoarthritis Therapy in Racehorses (Anita Czacharowska)

Cell Morphologies and Protein Changes in the Periodontal Ligament of EOTRH Affected Teeth (Alexandra Monks)

Therapeutic Potential of Bovine and Equine Milk-Derived Extracellular Vesicles.  An In Vitro Model of Equine Tendonitis (Madeline Jones)

The presentations were well thought out and detailed and were well received by the audience with Q & A’s to challenge their research.  The students also benefited from a tour of Rossdales Equine Hospital and Diagnostic Centre.

The scholarship was generously sponsored by The Gerald Leigh Charitable Trust of which we kindly thank them for their support.

Their presentations can be found below.

If you are interested in applying for future years please see our Grant and Awards page for further details.

Anita Czacharowska Presentation.   Alexandra Monks presentation.     Madeline Jones Presentation

Gerald Leigh Lectures published in Trainer Magazine

We are pleased to be able to share that Trainer Magazine have written an excellent article on the Gerald Leigh Lectures 2025.

Many thanks to the editorial team for writing the article and for publication.

Trainer Magazine article

Gerald Leigh Lectures 2025

Tattersalls Ltd
4th June 2025

What’s new in Upper Airway Diagnostics & Wind Surgery?

Updates in Tendon Injury: Therapy and Management

The Gerald Leigh Lectures were once again held at the Sales Paddocks, Newmarket on the 4th June 2025 by kind permission of Tattersalls.

Gerald Leigh was a prominent owner breeder of racehorses based at Eydon Hall Farm in Northamptonshire. He established himself as a leading international breeder by developing strong families with a small but select broodmare band.

On the racecourse, he achieved international success with Classic and Group 1 wins in England, Ireland, France, America, Canada and Australia. Amongst these victories, Markofdistinction delivered a first Group 1 success for jockey Frankie Dettori in the 1990 Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot. His homebred Barathea, winner of the Breeders’ Cup Mile in a course record, was named “European Horse of the Year” at the 1994 Cartier Awards. Among his commercial successes in the sales ring, his broodmare Korveya was sold for a world-record $7 million in 1998.

The BCET are incredibly grateful for the continued support from his Charitable Trust.

This year was focused more towards the racing/fast paced side of the industry and effectively had two parts:

Upper Airway Diagnostics & Surgery followed by Tendon Injury.

Once again we attracted a large audience from various backgrounds to listen to some renowned speakers from across Europe.  This was combined with two excellent discussion sessions with questions debated and discussed from the audience.

Refreshments and a delicious lunch were provided by Crown Caterers.

BCET Summer Scholars Presentation 2024

On Wednesday 11th December Beaufort Cottage Educational Trust trustees welcomed our three successful veterinary student scholars, Natasha Poulter (Liverpool), Jasmine Poon (Bristol) and Jordan Green (Liverpool) to Newmarket to present their research to an invited group of clinicians and researchers.

All gave excellent presentations which were well received by the audience with Q & A’s to challenge their research.  The students also benefited from a tour of Rossdales Equine Hospital and Diagnostic Centre and were invited to stay and meet the Rossdales Interns.

The scholarship was generously sponsored by The Gerald Leigh Charitable Trust of which we kindly thank them for their support.

Their presentations can be found below.

If you are interested in applying for future years please see our Grant and Awards page for further details.

Natasha Poulter Presentation.   Jordan Green presentation.     Jasmine Poon Presentation

Gerald Leigh Lectures 2024

Tattersalls Ltd
12th June 2024

Optimising Youngstock Growth and Development

The Gerald Leigh Lectures were once again held at the Sales Paddocks, Newmarket on the 12th June 2024 by kind permission of Tattersalls.

Gerald Leigh was a prominent owner breeder of racehorses based at Eydon Hall Farm in Northamptonshire. He established himself as a leading international breeder by developing strong families with a small but select broodmare band.

On the racecourse, he achieved international success with Classic and Group 1 wins in England, Ireland, France, America, Canada and Australia. Amongst these victories, Markofdistinction delivered a first Group 1 success for jockey Frankie Dettori in the 1990 Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot. His homebred Barathea, winner of the Breeders’ Cup Mile in a course record, was named “European Horse of the Year” at the 1994 Cartier Awards. Among his commercial successes in the sales ring, his broodmare Korveya was sold for a world-record $7 million in 1998.

The BCET are incredibly grateful for the continued support from his Charitable Trust.

This year’s theme was entitled “Optimising Youngstock Growth and Development” which attracted a large audience to hear some prominent and distinguished guest speakers discuss some very relevant topics.

Refreshments and a delicious lunch were provided by Crown Caterers.

Farrier Travel Scholarship

Beaufort Cottage Farrier Travel Scholarship

Beaufort Cottage Educational Trust in conjunction with Simon Curtis would like to offer newly graduated, UK based farriers a unique opportunity to spend 4-6 weeks with Aaron Gygax in Brittnau, Switzerland.

This large progressive specialist farriery also works closely with the neighbouring equine clinic. The successful candidate will gain invaluable experience in all aspects of remedial farriery in both TB and Sport-horses. We envisage this to be an excellent opportunity for farriers intending to take apprentice examinations and priority will be given to those farriers who have applied to sit these exams, but any farrier with at least two years post graduate experience will be eligible to apply.

The scholarship will cover reasonable travel expenses and a living wage for the 4-6 week placement, accommodation will be provided on site.

Farriers wanting to apply should do so by emailing a copy of their CV, along with a covering letter and a letter of recommendation from a mentor. Applicants will then be invited to an interview either in person or via Zoom before a successful candidate is selected.

All applications and further enquires please contact the Beaufort Cottage Educational Trust beaufortcottageet@gmail.com

Application deadline Summer 2025.

BCET Summer Scholarship Presentations 2023

On Friday 8th December Beaufort Cottage Educational Trust trustees welcomed our two successful veterinary student scholars, Alex Wylie (Liverpool) and Eilidh MacDonald (Liverpool) to Newmarket to present their research to a group of clinicians and researchers.

They both gave excellent presentations and it was clear that a huge amount of effort had gone into their research and projects.

Their presentations can be found below.

If you are interested in applying for future years please see our Grant and Awards page for further details.

Alex Wylie Presentation.   Eilidh MacDonald presentation