Meet the Vets
Director Arnie Agnew founded the practice in 2001. After getting his degree from The Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies in Edinburgh, Arnie has been an equine veterinary surgeon in the area since 1990 and is very experienced in all aspects of equine veterinary medicine – with a particular interest in lameness investigations. Arnie combines work with an active family life and the breeding of competition horses. Arnie is married to Gayle and they have two children Alice and Dan who are both active pony clubbers
Director Robin Densem joined Agnew Equine in 2005 has been a horse vet since 1997, after graduating from The Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies in Edinburgh. He joined the practice from a large equine hospital in Gloucestershire where he worked for five years. Robin has a lifelong association with horses and is particularly interested in equine medicine. Robin was awarded the Royal College Certificate in Equine Medicine in 2011 the only vet in the area to have achieved this qualification. Robin is married to Abby and they have two young boys Arthur and Stanley
Director Stuart Pearson joined Agnew Equine in 2017. Also graduating from The Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies in Edinburgh, a large part of his 20-year experience in equine practice was spent in a large equine hospital in Newmarket. He has gained recognition as an advanced practitioner in equine orthopaedics and lameness investigations, an area that he specialises in. In addition to first opinion work, he gives second opinion advice and examination of challenging lameness cases. Stuart is married to Jenny and has 3 pony-loving daughters.
Bernardo Melo Franco is an experienced equine vet, and over the past 10 years since graduating from the University of Lisbon in 2014, he has added to his veterinary skills with additional specialist training. In 2017 in Newmarket, he spent a year’s internship concentrating on lameness and poor performance. The year before, he had completed a year’s internship at a world-class equine hospital in Belgium. In 2021, he was awarded a certificate in equine lameness diagnosis and therapeutics by the University of Liverpool after further intensive study alongside his day-to-day practice commitments. He has also completed a comprehensive ultrasonography course, mainly focusing on musculoskeletal apparatus of the horse. Bernardo is joining us after working for the past 6+ years as an ambulatory vet in the area. Before qualifying as a vet, Bernardo was a competitive rider who particularly enjoyed show jumping. In 2012, he participated as a volunteer for the organising committee at the World Equestrian Games in Normandy where he had the privilege to help and rub shoulders with his show jumping idols. Outside of horses, Bernardo enjoys socialising, travelling, learning to play the piano (for relaxation!) and renovating his home. While considering himself truly at home in the North West of England and very much a native by now, Bernardo is happy to meet clients who prefer to converse in any of the 5 European languages that he speaks!
Niamh Duquemin (pronounced Neeve) grew up in Guernsey and lived there until moving to the UK for vet school at 18, and graduated from the University of Surrey. She's excited to get stuck into all aspects of ambulatory equine work, with a particular interest in medicine - and she especially enjoys meeting and communicating with clients. Having ridden from a young age, her family now has a collection of retired ponies in Guernsey who she enjoys caring for when she goes home. She also loves hacking out on her sister’s 16.3hh warmblood mare called Rubsie, based in Nottingham, whenever she can. Being from an island, she loves wild water swimming, as well as walking and hiking, and she's looking forward to exploring the Peak District. She currently has a cheeky rescue kitten called Pudding and hopes to be adding a dog into the mix to join her on her walks. When not outdoors, she loves reading and is also a keen knitter; she's rarely without multiple projects on the go and loves making handmade gifts for friends and family!
Cora Dooley (Vet) has joined to cover much of our out of hours work at Agnew Equine. Cora graduated from the University of Liverpool in 2022 after which she went to work in a busy equine ambulatory practice in Manchester. She then went back to Leahurst to complete a 13 month rotating internship to further build her clinical skills. Her biggest love has always been horses from having her own as young as she can remember and riding from the age of 4. She loves cross country! In her spare time she loves to travel and spend time with her 2 very lively dogs. She is super excited to be joining the team and looks forward to getting out and meeting some of you and your horses - and helping you through any emergencies should they arise.
