Crufts competitor's studies turn her love of animals into physiotherapy business

This weekend sees the return of Crufts to Birmingham’s NEC.

The show is the largest of its kind in the world – and a team of staff and students from Harper Adams University’s Animal Health, Behaviour and Welfare department will be on hand to talk to visitors.

As the weekend approaches, we caught up with Veterinary Physiotherapy alumna Hannah Thorp about the show, what it means to her, and how studying at Harper Adams University helped her turn her love of animals into a new career.

Hannah, from Dudley in the West Midlands, first visited Crufts as a competitor a decade ago.

She said: “Competing at Crufts is always the highlight of the competition calendar, with many months of preparation beforehand.

“I began competing agility in 2014 with my first dog, Baxter, and we qualified for Young Kennel Club (YKC) agility at Crufts the following year.

“Since then, I have competed in many YKC and senior events at Crufts with my collie crosses Izzie and Nova.

“Our best Crufts results include Izzie winning the YKC jumping dog of the year title in 2018 and qualifying for the Singles final in 2020. 

“This year, I'm excited to see how my youngest dog Nova performs in her first individual events at Crufts.”

Hannah, who graduated from her BSc (Hons) Veterinary Physiotherapy degree at Harper Adams last summer, was already a keen Crufts competitor by the time she began her studies at Harper Adams – having been inspired to seek a new career during the lockdowns of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Having started researching new roles, she added: “I found that veterinary physiotherapy fulfilled my desire to follow a career in science and with animals.

“I enjoyed the balance of theory and practical sessions offered at Harper, along with the opportunity to complete a placement year, which helped me to become more familiar with and confident in the industry.”

She enrolled on her course in 2020, and over the next four years, began working her way through her degree – and towards her current role running her own vet physio business which works to help rehabilitate dogs and small animals across the West Midlands.

She said: “Studying at Harper was challenging but incredibly rewarding. I really enjoyed completing my Honours Research Project, and I was given support to complete my research on a topic that I was passionate about.

“This made me feel like I could have a meaningful impact in the industry and gave me the confidence to get involved with the veterinary physiotherapy community post-graduation.

“I have set up my own vet physio business, InSync Veterinary Physiotherapy, and am enjoying the challenge of being self-employed and growing my client base.

“In addition to this, soon after graduating, I began lecturing on a veterinary physiotherapy course.

“The extensive knowledge I gained at Harper gave me the confidence to enter this role as a relatively new practitioner, and I am enjoying passing my knowledge on to the next generation of physios.”

As she builds a career working in an area she loves, and which couples her background in competing at events such as Crufts with her knowledge from her Harper Adams degree, Hannah has some words of advice for current and prospective students who are thinking about following in her footsteps.

She said: “Put effort into building a community with other professionals in your area -and stay in touch with your course-mates after graduation.

“In a field where many are self-employed, this support network is invaluable.”