The 71st annual American Association of Equine Practitioners convention and trade show wrapped up on Dec 10, 2025, in Denver, Colo. The event featured a range of equine wellness and business topics, including footcare and related joint and metabolic health sessions. Monday, Dec. 8, included sessions on therapeutic decision-making, lameness evaluation, foot care and rehabilitation. Costa Rican veterinarian and farrier Ramon Batalla led a demonstration on how to shoe the laminitic foot with a rocker shoe. Batalla has also spoken at the International Hoof-Care Summit on hind-limb lameness and mechanics in therapeutic shoeing. On Tuesday, veterinarian and farrier Jaret Pullen led sessions on managing thin-soled horses and hoof care for acute laminitis. The full schedule of events can be found here.
President & Board of Directors
During the convention, the AAEP also announced new leadership. Succeeding the previous president of the AAEP, Dr. Tracy Turner, is Dr. Sarah Reuss. Reuss is a Littleton, Colo.-based equine technical manager with Boehringer Ingelheim.
“Dr. Reuss possesses a unique perspective from a diverse career encompassing private practice, academia and industry,” the AAEP says. “Dr. Reuss spent six years on faculty at the University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine as a clinical assistant professor and chief of the large animal medicine service. She served on the Admissions and the Internship and Residency Evaluation committees and as a faculty advisor to the AAEP and AVMA student chapters. Dr. Reuss transitioned from academia to industry in 2016 with Merial, which was subsequently acquired by Boehringer Ingelheim. She served as a professional services veterinarian for Boehringer Ingelheim from 2017–2020 before assuming her current role as equine technical manager.”
She received her veterinary degree in 2005 from the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine. Her professional interests include gastrointestinal disease, neurology, endocrine disease and infectious diseases of the horse and foal.
In addition, succeeding the previous vice president, Dr. Eric Mueller, is Dr. Emma Adam, an associate professor and industry liaison at the University of Kentucky’s Maxwell H. Gluck Equine Research Center in Lexington, Ky.
Adam is a second-generation equine veterinarian who has practiced in four countries in positions encompassing clinical practice, research and academia with a focus on industry outreach, according to the AAEP. She completed her veterinary degree from the Royal Veterinary College in London. Later, she completed an internship at Colorado State University, an internal medicine residency at Texas A&M University and a surgical residency at the New Bolton Center, University of Pennsylvania. In 2016, Adams completed her PhD in regenerative medicine as it relates to articular cartilage using RNA sequencing at the University of Kentucky.
Drs. Stacey Cordivano and Ernest Martinez, II, are also joining the board of directors in 2026. Cordivano operates a two-doctor equine ambulatory practice in Chadds Ford, Penn. In 2020, she launched The Whole Veterinarian Podcast committed to holistic professional wellbeing. Martinez is a field care veterinarian at Hagyard Equine Medical Institute in Lexington, Ky. He focuses on Thoroughbred farm breeding work, mare and foal care, stallions, herd health and dentistry, also overseeing the practice’s internship and externship programs.
2025 Awards
The AAEP awarded nine individuals during the December convention.
The research award was given to Dr. Liara Gonzalez for her research in equine intestinal injury, recovery and ex vivo modeling that will advance the creation of new therapies for intestinal disease.
“She is a professor of gastroenterology and equine surgery at North Carolina State University College of Veterinary Medicine,” the AAEP says. “Dr. Gonzalez’s research is advancing understanding of intestinal disease through expanded knowledge and use of equine intestinal stem cells in modulating mucosal barrier repair following ischemic damage.”
The distinguished educator award for academic excellence was given to Dr. Wayne McIlwraith, a University Distinguished Professor and Barbara Cox Anthony University Endowed Chair Emeritus at Colorado State University College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences.
“He pioneered the use of arthroscopic surgery for the treatment of equine joint injuries, and his research interests have focused on equine orthopedic surgery and joint disease, including novel treatments for osteoarthritis and articular cartilage repair, mesenchymal stem cell and gene therapies and early diagnosis of osteoarthritis and pre-fracture disease using imaging and fluid biomarkers,” says the AAEP. “Dr. McIlwraith founded the university’s Orthopaedic Research Center and is namesake of the Translational Medicine Institute. He has authored seven textbooks and more than 500 scientific publications and textbook chapters, many serving as foundational resources for veterinarians and students alike.”
The distinguished educator award for mentorship was given to Dr. Stephen Reed, equine neurologist at Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital in Lexington, Ky.
“Throughout his career, Dr. Reed has actively mentored hundreds of junior faculty in academia and residents in private practice, remaining a mentor and positively influencing careers long after mentees’ early training is completed,” says the AAEP. “In addition to his extensive mentorship, Dr. Reed continues to provide continuing education in neurology to equine practitioners and internal medicine specialists. He has edited four editions of Equine Internal Medicine, a pivotal textbook for equine practitioners pursuing board certification in veterinary internal medicine.”
The Sage Kester lifetime achievement award was given to Dr. Tim Mair, “for the extraordinary breadth and depth of his contributions to equine veterinary medicine through clinical practice, clinical research, scholarly publications, continuing education, teaching and mentorship,” the AAEP says.
“Mair is senior veterinary surgeon at Bell Equine Veterinary Clinic in Kent, England, and longtime editor of the peer-reviewed journal Equine Veterinary Education. He is a recognized specialist of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons in both Equine Internal Medicine and Equine Soft Tissue Surgery as well as a founding diplomate of the European College of Equine Internal Medicine.
“He pioneered use of standing MRI while also driving advancements in colic surgery and the medical and surgical management of neoplasia. Dr. Mair has authored 250 peer-reviewed articles, served as editor or co-editor of 10 textbooks, contributed 30 chapters in additional textbooks, and delivered more than 330 lectures and presentations at scientific conferences and continuing education meetings. In addition, he’s been a key member of the committee organizing the triennial International Equine Colic Symposium as well as a driving force behind establishment of the INCISE international colic surgery audit and registry.”
The George Stubbs award, which recognizes a non-veterinarian who has contributed substantially to equine veterinary medicine, was given to Tracey Forfa, recently retired director of the FDA’s Center for Veterinary Medicine.
“Throughout her 32-year tenure with the FDA, Forfa advocated for policies serving the best interests of the horse and veterinary medicine,” says the AAEP. “In her role as liaison between the FDA, their stakeholders and the AAEP, she worked cooperatively to ensure that enacted policies were fair, ethical and upheld the welfare of the horse.”
The A. Gary Lavin Equine Welfare award, recognizing a non-veterinary organization or individual that has demonstrated exceptional compassion or developed and enforced rules and guidelines for the welfare of horses, was given to Unbridled Sanctuary, a nonprofit equine rescue and protection facility.
“Unbridled Sanctuary’s efforts extend beyond its facility and the equids in its care to include advocacy, education and legislative initiatives to improve equine welfare,” says the AAEP. “Through the sanctuary, CEO Susan Kayne has spearheaded legislative changes in New York to ensure greater protection for equids, presented frequently at the Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics at the University of Oxford and developed the ‘Stable Classroom’ curriculum, through which students use the stories of rescued equines to cultivate empathy and compassion.”
In addition, three inaugural awards were presented at the AAEP convention, including: the Olive Bendrick Britt Rising Star award, the Futurity award and the Margaret Phyllis Lose Solo Practitioner award.
The Rising Star award was given to Dr. Jamie Clark, a Montana-based equine ambulatory relief veterinarian who is prioritizing retention efforts in equine veterinary medicine.
“After receiving her veterinary degree from Washington State University in 2019, Dr. Clark completed an equine field service internship at Colorado State University before joining Montana Equine Medical and Surgical Center in 2020 as an associate in its Helena division,” says the AAEP. “Beyond her daily practice, Dr. Clark has embraced and actively contributed to AAEP’s equine veterinary sustainability efforts. She has been integral to the growth and success of the AAEP’s Foundational Skills in Equine Practice continuing education event, designed to equip early career practitioners with essential skills for long-term success."
The Futurity award, which recognizes an AAEP student member who is making important contributions to the association of their peers through engagement within the AAEP, was given to Kylie Yancey, a fourth-year veterinary student at Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colo.
“As president of her AAEP student chapter in the 2024-2025 academic year, Yancey prioritized mentorship, leadership development and professional growth opportunities,” says the AAEP. “During her term, she co-founded Giddyup, an equine mentorship program that pairs undergraduates with veterinary students for skill-building in horsemanship.
“Beyond her AAEP student chapter contributions, Yancey spearheaded development of a new foal exam lab for the veterinary teaching hospital’s foal care team. She organizes veterinary student participation in a pair of Equitarian Initiative trips to serve the Cheyenne River Reservation in South Dakota, and she also serves as veterinary care liaison to Vista Verde Ranch.”
Finally, the Solo Practitioner award, recognizing an AAEP member in solo practice who demonstrates commitment to the advancement of the equine veterinary profession while also striving for work-life harmony, was given to Dr. Amanda McCleery.
“McCleery initiated the 2017 formation of the North Florida Large Animal Emergency Cooperative, comprised of four solo ambulatory practitioners who share emergency coverage responsibilities and meet monthly for case discussion and collegiality,” says the AAEP. “The following year, she joined Decade One, a professional development and peer support program for early career practitioners, and shared with her Decade One group the beneficial impact of her emergency cooperative. Group members began to explore and initiate their own emergency cooperatives, and the idea spread to other Decade One groups across the US.
“Dr. McCleery helped spearhead the 2020 AAEP Emergency Coverage Survey, the results of which she presented at the 2021 AAEP Annual Convention highlighting how perceived challenges and concerns with emergency cooperatives can be addressed or mitigated."
To learn more about award recipients or the AAEP leadership, visit AAEP.org.
