Antonio Nardi-Dei da Filicaja Dotti, President
Antonio is a wine producer in Tuscany. He has been near horses living in free herds since childhood. On September 1999, while he was looking for some horses to keep on his estate, he started to discover what there is behind the trade, transportation and use of equines. On November 2001 one of his “free horses”, Flaminia, was killed by a hunter’s gunshots. Flaminia’s killing marked the beginning of Antonio’s realization of how unhealthy the relationship between man and animals can be. This knowledge, after some experiences of equine rehab and human education, will lead him, on October 2009, to the creation of IPH, along with Sonny Richichi.






Sonny Richichi, Organizational Manager
Sonny manages IHP’s accounting, communication and fundraising. He supervises the care and management of the horses and selects and coordinates the volunteers. He liaises with the public prosecutor’s office in relation to confiscated equines maintained by IHP, handles reports of possible mistreatment and organises the IHP investigations.
Sonny has been a LAV (Lega Anti Vivisezione - Italy’s most important animal rights association) volunteer for many years, covering various offices starting from 1999. Among the other things, he has been a LAV National Directive Council member from 2002 to 2006, LAV President from 2004 to 2006, and the National Manager of the whole LAV Equine Sector from 2004 to 2008. Then he has been Flaminia da Filicaja Foundation’s Director in 2009, before undertaking his current office inside IHP, which he founded. Sonny has worked in a bank for many years, rising up to the position of branch office director, before completely changing his life, and choosing to make a job of his passions.
s.richichi@horseprotection.it


Adolfo Sansolini, International Relations Manager
Adolfo, previously Director and National President of LAV (Lega Anti Vivisezione - Italy’s foremost animal rights association), has worked over the years for Europe’s most important animal welfare organisations.
In 1993 he helped to launch the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) Italian office, along with former European Commissioner Carlo Ripa di Meana.
From 1998 to 2001 he served as Southern European Campaigns Coordinator of the European Coalition for Farm Animals (ECFA) promoted by Compassion In World Farming (CIWF).
From 2001 to 2004, as consultant for Eurogroup for Animal Welfare (now Eurogroup for Animals), he coordinated projects addressed to the European Institutions in Greece, Italy and Slovenia.
Having moved to London, from 2004 to 2006 was CEO of the British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection (BUAV) and coordinated the European Coalition to End Animal Experiments (ECEAE).
From 2006 to 2010 he worked as Trade Policy Advisor and Policy Advisor for RSPCA, WSPA, CIWF and Eurogroup for Animals, representing them to institutions such as the WTO, EU, UN and various state governments. He organised the session “Can Farm Animal Welfare Standards be WTO-compatible?” at the WTO Public Forum (Geneva, September 2008) and, in partnership with the European Commission, the International Forum on “Global Aspects of Farm Animal Welfare” (Brussels, April 2008) and the conference on “Global Trade and Farm Animal Welfare” (Brussels, January 2009).
Since September 2010 Adolfo has been a freelance consultant, and in May 2011 he launched his website AnimalWelfareAndTrade. Currently his main commitments are to the 8hours campaign (promoted by Animals’ Angels and Danish MEP Dan Jørgensen and supported by IHP) and to the activities developed around the CAROdog website (promoted by VIER PFOTEN International and Istituto G. Caporale Teramo).
As a journalist, Adolfo Sansolini hosted the regular radio programme “Un Habitat per Tutti i Viventi” (“A Habitat For All Living Beings”) for the Vatican Radio from 1996 to 2003. Since 1998 he has been a contributor to various BBC programmes, and has written for magazines, newspapers and websites in several countries.


Irene Calvani, Donations, Adoptions and Visits
Irene takes care of distance adoptions and donations, of the relations with our supporters and manages their database. She lives in Montaione, studies Naturopathy and she has a great passion for animals, especially for horses. This is why she has chosen to be integral part of our project. You can contact her for information about how support IHP and to organize a visit to our centre: just write to ihp@horseprotection.it or call the number +39 327 9041393.








Paolo Baragli, Scientific Manager
He oversees IHP’s publications about horse ethology and the courses about the human-horse relationship. He supports IHP in the divulgation, also looking after a specific section of our site dedicated to in-depth ethologic topics.
Paolo Baragli is a researcher of the Equine Behaviour Laboratory (Department of Veterinary Sciences, Pisa University) and deals with cognitive ethology and equine behaviour and wellbeing. He conducted experimental researches about spatial abilities, about the horse’s emotional behaviour, and about the development of cognitive ways in the relationship with the human being. He is aiming to improve the horses’ psycho-physical wellbeing by the practical application of the results of his research, and the divulgation of the correct scientific knowledge about the horse behaviour and its interaction with the humans.



Agnese Santi, veterinary responsbile.
She graduated at the University of Bologna in 2005. After an Internship focused on reproduction at Select Breeders Service-Italy and an externship at Peterson and Smith equine hospital (Ocala, Florida), she worked as a resident vet in a Stud Farm in Ireland (Kedrah House stud) before undertaking an equine hospital internship at Valley Equine Hospital in Lambourn (UK) where she continued as a junior clinician. She left the UK to come back home and spent a month volunteering for ACE in Luxor (Egypt). Since 2010 she has been working in Tuscany as an Equine Practitioner.







Monique Cavallari, events responsible
Monique is responsible for planning events and special appointments.
She lives in Florence, where she has worked for years at the European University Institute as organizer of conferences and symposiums. A life-long animal lover, she has decided to make her experience available in her spare time to IHP, whose objectives and ideals she shares.