Dr. Andy Dell

Dr Andy Dell is a conservation biologist from Kendal, Cumbria, where he and his partner Jill run a smallholding shared with horses and Shetland Sheepdogs. A lifelong horseman, he has bred Cleveland Bays under the Endmoor prefix and has played a major role in safeguarding the breed’s future.

A former Council Member, Trustee and Honorary Life Member of the Cleveland Bay Horse Society, Andy led the development of SPARKS — a pioneering breed-management system adapted from zoo conservation science to control inbreeding and protect genetic diversity. His work earned the Rare Breeds Survival Trust / Marsh Christian Trust Award for Technical Support of Conservation of Biodiversity, and he now serves on the RBST Expert Advisory Panel.

SPARKS has since been adopted by multiple critically endangered equine breeds, including the Suffolk Punch, Shire Horse, Eriskay Pony, Highland Pony and Dales Pony, as well as Vaynol and Lincoln Red cattle. Andy completed his doctorate on Cleveland Bay genetics at the University of Lincoln in 2010 and has been recognised with Honorary Life Memberships across several breed societies.

He is a Visiting Fellow at Nottingham Trent University, collaborates with the TBA and Weatherbys on Thoroughbred inbreeding research, and is the lead author of several peer-reviewed papers, including 16 Years of Breed Management… in Ecology and Evolution.