Nicky graduated from the Royal Veterinary College in 2007 and joined The Royal Army Veterinary Corps. She served for 10 years: Firstly, with Military Working Dogs preparing them and their handlers for deployment to Iraq and Afghanistan.  Later she served as the veterinary officer for The King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery and The Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment where she developed Large Animal Rescue training as a core activity for the regiments. During this time, she was part of a large and complex team responsible for planning and providing emergency cover for high profile public events. 

After leaving the military Nicky worked in ambulatory equine practices for 2 years before moving to the charity sector. She now works as the Veterinary Director for The Horse Trust charity providing both the onsite veterinary provision for 150 residents, she provides internal and external training in many areas of equine care as well as providing part of the RVC final year rotations. Nicky is the Chairperson for the Board of directors for the British Animal Rescue and Trauma Association (BARTA).

Getting involved in BARTA early in her veterinary career, the skills learnt gave Nicky a huge amount of confidence in tackling emergency and rescue scenarios. Throughout her time in the mounted units Nicky worked with an incredibly competent rescue team and used the skills and techniques they were trained in to resolve some complex situations in the public eye. Working closely with BARTA to share experiences, learn, and further develop the training. 

Animals are an integral and essential part of human life either as companions, protectors, or a means of income. Incidents involving animals occur frequently and there is a huge potential for risk to human and animal life both through direct injury and the morbidity that follows an incident from the single animal trapped in a ditch to large scale flooding and evacuation. 

Ensuring people are trained, and all incidents are well prepared for will improve the quality of lives of both people and animals worldwide.