ALEX Atock, former chief veterinary officer of the Turf Club and then creator and former head of the veterinary department of the FEI, died peacefully on Thursday, September 3rd at home in England, surrounded by his family. He was in his 94th year.

He was a highly-respected Irish veterinarian and equine welfare advocate, who played a significant role in international horse racing and equestrian regulation over several decades.

He was born in Dublin in 1932 and studied veterinary medicine at the Veterinary College of Ireland in Ballsbridge. During his time as an undergraduate, he rode out as an amateur rider for the legendary Tom Dreaper, who later trained the immortal Arkle.

Following his graduation in 1958, Alex spent several years in practice in England before returning to Dublin where he founded one of the city’s leading small animal clinics in Dundrum.

He moved on from private practice there some 10 years later, to take on the role of chief veterinary officer for the then Turf Club (now the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board) in the 1970s.

He subsequently accepted the position of head of the veterinary department of the Fédération Équestre Internationale (FEI) at its then base in Bern in Switzerland. He revolutionised this position during his tenure, where he developed policies and procedures that embedded welfare considerations into international equestrian competition.

Horse inspections

He established formal horse inspections at elite equestrian events, including the Olympic Games and World Championships. The FEI’s inauguration of horse inspections at the Moscow Olympics in 1980 and the World Jumping Championships in Dublin in 1982 occurred under his watch. These inspections allowed veterinarians to advise the organisers to remove horses that were lame, injured, exhausted, or otherwise unfit to compete. This represented a major cultural shift.

Prior to these reforms, decisions about a horse’s suitability to compete were often left largely to owners, trainers or riders. Veterinary oversight introduced independent welfare-based decision-making.

Alex Atock was also influential in developing modern approaches to medication control in horse sport. He had a longstanding interest in doping regulation and harmonisation of medication policies between racing and equestrian disciplines. He was rightly proud of the creation of the Medication Control Programme of the FEI, based on the principle that horses should compete free from performance-altering substances that could mask injury or compromise welfare. These principles remain central to contemporary FEI and racing regulations worldwide.

Another area where Alex had lasting influence was international horse movement and disease prevention. He worked extensively on protocols governing the movement of horses between countries and on strategies to manage disease outbreaks affecting international competition and racing.

He oversaw the research into the improvement of long distance equine transport that was carried out at the Irish Equine Centre. Modern biosecurity frameworks, pre-export health certification systems, and movement controls are founded on the same welfare principle that underpinned his work: protecting both individual horses and wider horse populations from preventable disease risks.

Consultancy roles

Following his FEI career, he accepted consultancy roles, initially with the UAE Equestrian and Racing Federation and then with World Horse Welfare in the 1990s.

His work with World Horse Welfare expanded his focus beyond elite racehorses and competition horses to include working equids in developing countries. Through training and education programmes, he promoted practical welfare improvements for horses, donkeys and mules used for transport, agriculture and livelihoods. His diplomatic skills came to the fore during his tenure as general secretary of the then World Equine Veterinary Association, as it transited from being a part of the World Veterinary Association into its current role as a stand alone international equine veterinary educational charity, devoted to helping gratis, in less developed countries.

Throughout his career, Alex Atock consistently argued that horses should be viewed as sentient animals, whose welfare must be actively protected by regulators, veterinarians, governing bodies, owners and riders.

In 2018, he published his memoir, My Friend the Horse, which chronicles his career in racing, equestrian sport and veterinary regulation.

For those involved in planning and development affecting horses, his work is particularly relevant because he emphasised that welfare extends beyond preventing cruelty. It includes providing an environment that supports health, safety, normal behaviour and freedom from unnecessary stress. These principles align closely with contemporary welfare frameworks used in policy and regulatory assessment today.

Alex Atock was among the pioneers, who transformed equine welfare from a matter of good practice into a formal system of international veterinary regulation and welfare oversight. Despite the many contentious issues that crossed his desk during a distinguished career, Alex never lost his characteristic charm and diplomacy. Immaculately dressed, gracious in manner, always kind and generous in spirit, he remained a gentleman to his fingertips. D.L.