Remembering SWEP founder, Maureen Rolls 

Maureen will be remembered within the sanctuary and by countless others for her dedication to the welfare of ponies on Dartmoor and Bodmin moor and her compassion for all living creatures. 

Maureen always shared a connection with animals. She founded South West Equine Protection (SWEP) after moving to Dartmoor in her early life and witnessing moorland ponies in need. SWEP became a registered charity in 2001 and has helped hundreds of horses and ponies. 

When it came time for Maureen to retire, she looked to The Mare and Foal Sanctuary, to help secure the future of SWEP and the equines in its care.  

It was Maureen’s dream to provide care to horses and ponies in need and that dream was facilitated in 2018 when SWEP merged with The Mare and Foal Sanctuary. On land acquired by SWEP, The Mare and Foal Sanctuary built a specialist Moorland Rescue Facility, using Maureen’s original plans. 

Further to this, as a Trustee for the sanctuary from April 2019 until July 2021 Maureen continued to help vulnerable equines.  

Maureen died on Thursday the 29 June 2023 and will be sadly missed by her family and those whose lives she touched. 

Our chief executive, Sarah Jane Williamson, said: “Our thoughts are with Maureen’s family at this terribly sad time.  

Maureen was an incredible woman and an inspiration to us all. Her kindness will live on through the Moorland Rescue Facility and the contribution she made to improving the lives of horses at SWEP and as one of our trustees.”