At the British Horse Society Annual General Meeting on Thursday 15 Jun 2000 Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal, President of the Society, presented the Society's Awards of Merit. John Featherstone of Bricket Wood, St Albans, Hertfordshire was one of the recipients. The Society is indebted to hundreds of volunteers who give unstintingly of their time, energy and expertise to furthering the care of horses in the areas of welfare, training, education, safety, and access and rights of way. The Award of Merit is given for outstanding services to the British Horse Society.

John Featherstone has been a valued access and bridleways officer for the British Horse Society for over twenty five years. John's bridleways work started in part of Greater London, but more recently he has been the BHS Hertfordshire Access Officer. He has tirelessly travelled miles over the county, gathering vital evidence on use of bridleways and doing extensive research into public records, which has taken hours, frequently days, and sometimes weeks of his time and effort. Both horse and rider have benefited from his enormous determination and selfless dedication. John's performance at public inquiries has always given great credit to the Society, which has benefited from his expertise.