Founding Director of Westgate Labs Lifts BETA Lifetime Achievement Award

David Booth, Managing Director and founder of veterinary laboratory, Westgate Labs, was honoured with the highest industry accolade in the British Equestrian Trade Association (BETA) Awards, 22nd September 2024.

Scientist and entrepreneur, David Booth, was presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award to recognise his ‘invaluable contributions to the equestrian industry and his unwavering dedication to equine welfare’.

The judges said he had “redefined parasite control for horses by pioneering the postal worm egg count service to horse owners” which he first launched in 1999. They commented: “David’s foresight, bravery and the ingenuity to champion this cause has undoubtedly slowed the rise of wormer resistance and paved the way for the equine community to avert the potential disaster this would bring.”

They went on to praise not only his business achievements but the values and ethics that have gone into making the company what it is today. As well as a focus on sustainable parasite control, Westgate Labs has made significant investments into mitigating its environmental impacts. In 2018 David and his wife Gillian began developing a nature reserve on 135 acres of restored open cast land beside the farm where the lab is based. In 2020 the company moved to compostable, reusable packaging and have just announced further steps in this area with the launch of a compostable sample pot.

Under the company culture that David has instilled, Westgate Labs remains a small family business at its heart. No work celebration or trip is complete without requests for his legendary bread buns. Staff say he can always be relied upon to get into the spirit, dressing up for an ABBA night, wearing a silly hat for charity or donning his wellies to get stuck in with the composting.

Commenting on the award David said: “It was such a shock to see my own face come up on the screen but now that it’s sunk in, I feel very honoured! Our focus has always been on integrity, on providing reliable results that people could trust, on taking time and effort to educate people, to be friendly and approachable and to provide an accessible service to help horse owners to understand their horse’s worm burden. We had no inkling that Westgate could ever become what it is today. It’s wonderful to have a team of staff that share those values and can continue the focus on providing the very best service to our customers.”

The award was presented by BETA President Jane Holderness Roddam at the Gala dinner held at Coombe Abbey Hotel, Coventry. 2024 is Westgate Labs’ 25th Anniversary as well as David’s 70th birthday year, so this is an apt time to recognise the significant contribution he has made to this often underappreciated area of horse health and the wider equine industry.