Dr. Stephanie Wilkinson was born and raised on the small island of Bermuda. At the age of 18, she moved to Ontario, Canada, to complete her B.S. Honors degree in bio-medical science from the University of Guelph. She went on to earn her Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine, graduating at the top of her class and fulfilling her childhood dream of becoming a veterinarian.

She discovered her passion for horses at a very young age and began competitively riding at the age of 6. She has represented Bermuda in show jumping in many different countries, including the U.K., Spain and the Caribbean. She continued to compete during her years in university, both on the U.S. and Canadian A circuit.

Dr. Wilkinson enjoys all facets of equine medicine but has a strong interest in sports medicine. At the beginning of 2018, she started her own equine veterinary practice in Bermuda, where she travels periodically to provide services to the equine community there. She successfully completed the animal chiropractic course at the Options for Animals College of Animal Chiropractic at the beginning of 2020 and is certified with the International Veterinary Chiropractic Association.

Her free time is in fact filled with more horses and her dog, Nova. She simply cannot get enough of horses and feels so fortunate to have found a career as fulfilling as veterinary medicine.

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Dr. Christy Moore grew up locally in Fairfax, Virginia. She began riding horses at a young age, training and competing in dressage until she went to William and Mary for her undergraduate studies. There she continued to pursue her love of animals, and especially horses, by majoring in biology and riding with the hunter/jumper equestrian program. She then ventured north to New York for veterinary school, graduating from Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine in 2018 with honors.

Dr. Moore performed her internship at Piedmont Equine after graduating veterinary school and has stayed with the team ever since, now serving as an associate. She enjoys all aspects of veterinary medicine, especially internal medicine, neonatology and reproduction. Dr. Moore is proud to help Piedmont Equine offer reproductive services such as management and breeding of mares with frozen semen.

In her free time, Dr. Moore enjoys running and hiking with her dog Barzy, as well as visiting local breweries and wineries. She lives in Gainesville, Virginia, with her husband, Ashton.

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Dr. Lizzy Aksten has had a passion for horses that began at a young age as a member of the U.S. Pony Clubs and led to her eventing at the intermediate level. She grew up on a family farm in New Hampshire where her family boarded and trained horses. After spending a year in England as a working student, Dr. Aksten returned home to Ashwood Farm to help her mother run the day-to-day operations.

Dr. Aksten received her DVM from Ross University and attended Virginia Tech for her clinical year. After graduation she worked as an intern at Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital in Wellington, Florida. She then completed a second internship at the Piedmont Equine Practice, stayed on as a fellow and is now an associate veterinarian.

Dr. Aksten is certified in Equine Rehabilitation and Performance (CERP) and is an FEI-permitted treating veterinarian. She enjoys all aspects of veterinary medicine with a special interest in sports medicine, emergency medicine, podiatry and geriatric care. She lives with her husband and dogs in the Marshall area, where she spends her spare time gravel-biking and enjoying the outdoors.

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Dr. Kathryn Surasky hails from Winnipeg, Manitoba. Since graduating from the Western College of Veterinary Medicine in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, in the early 2000s and completing an internship, she has practiced in a sports medicine focused practice outside of Toronto, Ontario. There she had the opportunity to work on all levels of horses, from Olympians and world championship horses to family pets. She uses a combination of traditional sports medicine therapies as well as acupuncture and chiropractic care to manage and maintain horses of all levels. For the past six seasons, she has also traveled to Florida to help horses and clients through the winter season, in Wellington, Florida, and Ocala, Florida. She will be traveling to Ocala on behalf of Piedmont Equine this winter, providing continuity of care to our southbound clients. When not with clients, you can find Dr. Surasky working with her own horses, primarily in eventing. She finds a lot of satisfaction in working with a horse’s team, enabling the best performance no matter what the goal.

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Dr. Sara Verghis grew up in Richmond, Virginia, and she started riding at a young age. She always knew she wanted to be an equine veterinarian. She graduated with her bachelor's and master's degrees from Virginia Tech. While at Virginia Tech, she rode on the IHSA hunt seat team.

Dr. Verghis graduated from the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine. During veterinary school, she was actively involved in the student chapter of AAEP and received the Dr. Olive K. Britt Equine award. She loves all aspects of equine medicine, but especially enjoys general practice, emergency medicine, and building her sports medicine skills. Dr. Verghis has a passion for low stress handling. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her dog Atticus, watching Hokie football, traveling and being outside.

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Dr. Kylie Zehner was born and raised in the Indianapolis area and lived in Indiana until coming to the Piedmont Equine Clinic. She grew up with an interest in becoming a small animal veterinarian from the age of 9. She first became interested in horses by travelling to work with her dad, who was part of the mounted patrol team for the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department. She learned how to ride with him and then later started training with a Quarter Horse owned by a close friend. They rode barrels together and competed in 4-H shows around Indiana. Dr. Zehner then pursued a Bachelor of Science degree in biochemistry at Purdue University. During her undergraduate years, she cheered for the university and participated in equine inflammatory airway research under Drs. Laurent Couetil and Katy Ivester. Her interest in equine medicine grew stronger each year, and in 2018 she was accepted into Purdue’s College of Veterinary Medicine. Dr. Zehner spent another four years in West Lafayette, Indiana, pursuing her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree. She graduated from veterinary school in May of 2022 as a member of Phi Zeta and received the ACVS Large Animal Student Surgery Award. Dr. Zehner is interested in learning about the numerous aspects of equine medicine and has particular interests in sports medicine and surgery. In her free time, she enjoys running, spending time with her cats, and traveling to visit friends, family and explore new places.

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Dr. Jacob Crotts grew up in Sumter, South Carolina. He began riding at an early age in nearby Camden, South Carolina, where he developed a passion for foxhunting and steeplechase racing. As a teenager, Dr. Crotts worked as an exercise rider for trainers Arch Kingsley, Jr. and Michael Matz. Dr. Crotts graduated from Clemson University with a bachelor’s in animal science before attending veterinary school at the University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia.

While in veterinary school, Dr. Crotts served as president of his class and was an active member of both the student AAEP chapter and the Omega Tau Sigma veterinary fraternity. Dr. Crotts also worked as a student vet assistant in the UGA Large Animal Teaching Hospital. During his clinical year he received UGA’s Large Animal “In House” medicine and surgery award. Dr. Crotts has special interests in emergency medicine, theriogenology, sports medicine and anesthesia. In his free time, Dr. Crotts enjoys running, live music, spending time with his dog Murphy, following college football and basketball, and cooking.