Redwings Horse Sanctuary pair bask in limelight after earning Team of the Year title

A pair of senior field officers at the UK’s largest horse welfare charity have won a national award, recognising more than 50 years of service between them.

Jo Franklin and Julie Harding, from Redwings Horse Sanctuary, were given the Team of the Year Award by the National Equine Welfare Council.

Jo, who joined the charity in 1990, and Julie, who became part of the team in 2000, have rescued thousands of horses, ponies, donkeys and mules from cruelty and neglect.

The pair, who have worked together for decades, were surprised with the award last month, after being secretly put forward by colleagues.

Ms Harding said: “It wasn’t just being recognised by Redwings and other organisations, but also the feedback afterwards. It was nice to hear people saying such lovely things.”

Mrs Franklin added: “Obviously, the fact we are needed is incredibly sad, but we love our jobs. We know that once we bring in a horse, it will receive everything it needs, and that’s just so humbling.”

The pair have played crucial parts in the life stories of many of the horses that have gone through Redwings.

Lynn Cutress, the charity’s chief executive, said: “Julie and Jo work tirelessly and mostly unseen to protect the welfare of equines every day.

“It is a very demanding job that requires them sometimes to deal with such hard and horrible situations.

“The horses, ponies, donkeys and mules cannot thank them themselves, so we wanted to take this opportunity to do that on their behalf.”