History

The First International Symposium on Equine Reproduction (ISER) was held in Cambridge, UK in July 1974 and was initiated by Twink Allen with the support of John Hughes, Doug Mitchell, Bill Pickett and Peter Rossdale. The purpose of the meeting was to provide a forum for biologists and veterinarians interested in equine reproduction to exchange and argue their views, to review the present state of knowledge of the subject, to produce guidelines for future research, and to foster international friendship and collaboration.

The meeting brought together scientists and veterinarians from around the world and provided a forum for exchange of information on clinical and basic research aspects of equine reproduction. The proceedings, entitled 'Equine Reproduction', were published as a supplement of the Journal of Reproduction and Fertility. This was the start of a successful and productive series of symposia on equine reproduction.

The Second International Symposium on Equine Reproduction was held four years later (July 1978) at the University of California, Davis, USA. Eighty-three papers were presented on basic and clinical research in all aspects of equine reproduction. The proceedings of this meeting, appropriately entitled 'Equine Reproduction II', were again published as a supplement to the Journal of Reproduction and Fertility and are still quoted in the current literature. A tradition was born.

Since 1978, the International Symposium on Equine Reproduction has continued to be organised every four years: Sydney, Australia 1982; Calgary, Canada 1986; Deauville, France 1990; Caxambu, Brazil 1994; Onderstepoort, South Africa 1998; Fort Collins, Colorado USA, 2002; Kerkrade, the Netherlands, 2006 and Lexington, Kentucky USA, 2010.

ISER XII - Cambridge, UK 2018

Lifetime Achievement Awards
The International Symposium on Equine Reproduction Lifetime Achievement Award in Equine Reproduction was established in 2017 to honour individual(s) who have made significant contributions to the discipline of Equine Reproduction, either through research or clinical practice. These contributions, whether they have been in research, leadership or mentorship, must have had a lasting impact on the discipline of equine reproduction, and candidates must have demonstrated a lifetime commitment to progress in the discipline. The First Lifetime Achievement Award(s) will be presented at the ISER XII Meeting in Cambridge, UK (2018). The recipient(s) will be acknowledged in the proceedings of the meeting at which the award is announced.
The Michelle LeBlanc Young Presenter Award
The Michelle LeBlanc Award is awarded to an individual who is early in their career and who gives an oral presentation at International Symposium on Equine Reproduction. Individuals currently in a Residency, Master’s program, Ph.D. program (or regional equivalent) or a postdoctoral researcher, or within 2 years of having completed their final degree are eligible. Abstracts will be scored (View score sheet PDF) by a sub committee of the International Committee. The prize winners will be announced at the Closing Ceremony on Friday afternoon.
The ISER Committee Poster Award
The ISER Committee Poster Award is awarded to an individual who is early in their career and who gives a poster presentation at International Symposium on Equine Reproduction. Individuals currently in a Residency, Master’s program, Ph.D. program (or regional equivalent) or a postdoctoral researcher, or within 2 years of having completed their final degree are eligible. All trainees who applied to be considered for the Michelle LeBlanc Young Presenter Award that had abstracts accepted for poster presentation will automatically be eligible for the ISER Committee Poster Award. Posters will be judged in poster sessions by a subcommittee of the International Committee using the attached scoring criteria. Poster presenters are strongly encouraged to consider these criteria and the poster guidelines for the conference when preparing their posters. The prize winners will be announced at the Closing Ceremony on Friday afternoon.

ISER XI – Hamilton, New Zealand, 2014

The Eleventh International Symposium on Equine Reproduction was held in Hamilton, New Zealand. There were 80 oral presentations and 72 poster presentations. The John Hughes memorial lecture given by R. John Aitken from Priority Research Centre in Reproductive Science, University of Newcastle, New South Wales. entitled ‘Aspects of Sperm Physiology - Oxidative Stress and the Functionality of Stallion Spermatozoa’. There were also parallel workshop sessions on the Tuesday and Thursday evenings in which topics of interest to the practising veterinarian were discussed in a more informal fashion; these were extremely well attended. The social programme included a visit to Rotorua Te Puia Thermal valley and Maori cultural centre. The closing dinner was held at held at Cambridge raceway and preceded by harness racing with special races in which delegates were able to compete in dual sulky races (i.e. with a professional driver!). There was a 2.5 day practitioners meeting organized by Angus McKinnon that paralleled the last part of the conference.

ISER X - Kentucky, USA 2010

The Tenth International Symposium on Equine Reproduction was held in Lexington, Kentucky. ISER X proved to be a very popular meeting with many potential delegates having to be turned away. There were 79 oral presentations and 84 poster presentations. The John Hughes memorial lecture given by Professor Twink Allen from the Paul Mellon Laboratory and it was entitled 'Sex, science and satisfaction: a heady brew'. There were also parallel workshop sessions on the Tuesday and Thursday evenings in which topics of interest to the practising veterinarian were discussed in a more informal fashion; these were extremely well attended. The social programme included a barbecue on Sunday evening, a visit to a bourbon distillery followed by dinner on Monday evening. On Wednesday afternoon delegates visting various veterinary practices and horse farms in the area which was then followed by dinner and dancing at the Kentucky Horse Park. The closing dinner was held at Keeneland Racecourse.

ISER IX - Kerkrade, the Netherlands 2006

The Ninth International Symposium on Equine Reproduction was held at Rolduc Monastery in Kerkrade, Limburg - the most southerly province in the Netherlands. ISER IX broadly maintained the popular and successful format of previous meetings by adhering to the limit of 275 delegates, approximately half of whom (143) presented short oral presentations (75) or posters. The John Hughes memorial lecture on the subject of the 'Fetal Origins of Adult Disease' was delivered by Professor John Challis of University of Toronto. As has now become customary, the scientific programme was augmented with parallel workshop sessions on the Tuesday and Thursday evenings in which topics of interest to the practising veterinarian were discussed in a more informal fashion. The social programme was also enjoyable including a 'safari dinner' through Maastricht on the Monday evening, and with the Wednesday afternoon trip encompassing a horse show, visit to the famous grottoes and a boat trip on the River Maas. Immediately before ISER IX an extra course was organised to enable practising veterinarians to benefit more directly from the presence of this large group of equine reproductive 'experts'.

Click here to view selected pictures from this meeting

Delegates from previous meetings



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