I arrived early in the morning to the shiny new Techo International Airport in Phnom Penh, and was kindly greeted by and Dr Rinda and Mr Sengly, part of the amazing team at CPWO who I would be joining to carry out my research. I was staying at a lovely hotel with a view from the balcony of my room of the Genius Resort Equestrian Centre, which I would go on to visit later in my trip!

After settling in, we set off to the first community and we were joined by Mr Dara, who would be translating the responses. It was great to hit the ground running and talk to owners about their experiences of biosecurity, see the responses coming in, and start to spot patterns in different communities and areas. Seeing the ideas for my research that had been in the pipeline for so long be brought to life on the ground was extremely inspiring and I learnt so much even after the first few responses. All of the owners were very generous with their time and willingness to take part in the research, and we were able to interview each owner individually after they had been seen by the team for worming treatments, clinical exams and trot-ups. It was amazing to watch the team in action and so inspiring to see how many ponies and owners they were able to help. 

We continued in this pattern over a number of communities and provinces, staying overnight in some areas that were further away. I felt very lucky to have experienced such beautiful and different places, seeing pagodas, lotus flower farms, banana trees and more pass by the car window. To get to one community we even took a ferry which was a great experience too! After finishing the surveys, owners were often kind enough to invite us in for a coconut or some local fruit which was always delicious! It was also great to meet and get to know the local village vets who help to coordinate between communities and CPWO, and some of the veterinary students at the university on one of the days when I shadowed Dr Rinda there. I was able to watch some of his lectures on equine dentistry which was some good revision for me as I approach my final university exams!

At the end of the two weeks, we had managed to gather over 90 responses to the survey which was very rewarding and should mean the data can be used to help guide future biosecurity and disease work for CPWO. We had asked a variety of questions about reporting, isolation, quarantine, vector control and laboratory testing and the responses were very wide-ranging. 

Overall, I am extremely grateful to World Horse Welfare for giving me this incredible and life-changing opportunity, and to the team at CPWO for hosting me and making me feel so welcome. It was amazing to experience Cambodian food, community and culture in such an immersive way, and I was shown so much kindness and hospitality by everyone throughout my trip. On days off, I was lucky enough to be able to visit museums, temples and the royal palace and it was very kind of the team to show me around. As a bonus, there was also an FEI youth cup competition which I was able to watch at the Genius Resort, it was really inspiring to see such talented young people across Asia competing, and very interesting to learn about FEI accreditation and inspection processes from the veterinary team involved.

I really hope to come back to Cambodia in the future, and I look forward to writing up the data and sharing the results of my research.