Environment submissions database

Hartpury University became eligible for this REF exercise in September 2018. For a considerable proportion of this period, we have been subject to quarantine or lockdown restrictions related to the pandemic, which has substantially impacted our research activity. Our unique physical environment supports our applied research. As a result of the pandemic, our research capacity and ability has been reduced, due to being unable to access our on-site specialist facilities, including the Rider Performance Centre and Sports Academy. Access to external research environments and industry partners, sporting events and athletes has also been restricted or cancelled due to government regulations. We have also had to postpone research planned with special populations both on- and off-site, for example our academy athletes and riders participating in Hartpury’s national and international equine competitions. At the same time, non-elite sport has ceased during lockdown periods resulting in a number of research projects being suspended. These restrictions have particularly affected the planned expansion of the Clem Burke Drumming Project (Impact Case Study 1), which was reliant on access to schools and care homes, while the postponement of the Tokyo Olympics has reduced our work with para-athletes as well as the dissemination and broader impact of how our research into effective equine water treadmill training translates into competitive success in sport horses (Impact Case Study 2). Hartpury’s broader teaching and learning response to the pandemic to support our students, has directly affected research staff during this period. We have a limited resource for research and during 2020-2021 we have diverted approximately 50% of our research capacity to maintain teaching quality and student experience, thus restricting research-related activities. In addition, our unique environment has required resource and staffing to maintain our livestock, animal collections, and resident horses. At the start of the pandemic, we promptly invested time and resources to support our postgraduate research students, including new fora for tutorial and wellbeing support. Concurrently, the external funding environment has become more challenging. Our key funding sources for research are trusts and charities, many of whom who have diverted research budgets to support their members and other activities. Alongside this a number of core funding sources, such as the Horseracing Betting Levy Board, have suspended grant programmes, reducing the options available to finance research. Despite this, throughout this challenging period, the University has been agile and responsive to the research opportunities the pandemic has brought. We have supported the communities and industries we serve by engaging in rapid response research exploring the impact of Covid-19 on horse owners around the world, the British Horseracing Industry and UK agriculture. Our research has informed sector responses, including producing Covid-19 guidance for equine facilities endorsed by leading equine charities (e.g. World Horse Welfare and the RSPCA) and sector governing bodies (e.g. the British Horse Society and British Equine Veterinary Association). In summary, we have spent at least a third of our time as a university affected by Covid-19 restrictions. Despite this, we have continued to progress on our research journey.