Partners:

The hospital started in 1988 with the same two partners (Jim and Angus) and one nurse/receptionist (Michelle Goulding). Since then it has grown somewhat and now employs a total of 17 veterinarians during the breeding season and 22 support staff. They must be doing something right.

Jim Vasey: Jim is a graduate of Queensland University (around 1976 I think). He has always had a love of surgery and 'cut his teeth' at a horse practice in Oakey (with Reg Pascoe) before doing an large animal surgery internship at the University of Guelph in 1979 (Ontario, Canada). Apart from surgery Jim loves football and water-skiing. He counts Dennis Pagan as one of his friends and must have been badly torn in trying to decide to support Carlton (Dennis's last team) or the Kangaroos (his own team) when Dennis left.  Jim is a Fellow of the Australian College of Veterinary Science (FACVS) and is well known for his surgical abilities. Contact him?

Angus McKinnon: Angus graduated from Melbourne University in 1978 and met Jim while at the same University in Canada. Angus was a slower learner and consequently he was asked to stay at the Ontario veterinary College for almost five years before being allowed to head down to Colorado State University for another five years. I guess he missed his friends, family and farming in Australia as he finally came home and now breeds cattle and horses in his spare time. Angus is best known for his horse reproductive work. Contact him?

Registered Specialists:
Apart from Angus and Jim, we are fortunate enough to have another two registered specialists.

Tom Russell: Tom has a great sense of humour. He also has great knack for getting going faster as the day goes on. All the cases that come in later in day are his domain. Recently passed by examination the European College of Veterinary Surgeons (ECVS) surgery membership. There are only 4 other certified ECVS members in Large Animal Surgery in Australia. Congratulations Tom. Tom graduated from Glasgow (Scotland) and then seemed to follow that famous Australian song (I've been everywhere man!). Have a look.  Glasgow University , Scotland ; Lanark , Scotland; Cleveland , Northern England ; Travelling in S.E. Asia ; Resident in Equine Surgery, Melbourne University ; Caulfield racetrack, Melbourne ; Private Racetrack Veterinarian to Prince Badr bin Abdulazzizz, Saudi  Arabia; Official Veterinary Surgeon, Racing and Equestrian Club, Kingdom of Bahrain ; Surgeon, Macau Jockey Club; Equine Surgery Clinician, University College , Dublin ; Veterinary Registrar in Equine Surgery, Sydney University , Veterinary Centre, Camden , NSW; Goulburn Valley Equine Hospital. All that in 14 years. You can contact him about any horse problems.

Paige Jackson arrived from a Residency in Equine Medicine from Purdue University for the breeding season of 2008. Fortunately for us Paige liked it here and she keeps coming back. Paige is unique with a gentle style and yet has a strong underlying desire and personality needed to achieve the best for her patients. She never takes much time away from the clinic as she is so dedicated. Just the kind of person we want to employ I reckon. We hope she will make Australia her home one day. Time will tell. Until that issue is sorted Paige has agreed to stay on full time. That is exciting as it gives us good continuity in medicine and also the potential to take on a medicine resident.

Senior veterinarians:

Caroline Duddy: Caza is an Irish graduate that we were lucky enough to get as an intern. We liked her so much that we asked her to back (and back and back again) to work with us in the breeding season. She liked Australia so much she just keeps on accepting our invitations to work. When Allison decided to stop work we immediately called Caza. We were lucky and found her at a weak moment. So now she has joined us full time and she has made her home in Benalla. In fact she liked Benalla so much she married Rusell Osbourne who is a local trainer there. She is primarily an ambulatory veterinarian and manages large farms and has many other demands for her skills as well. Caroline is already well educated but we have noted that continuing education is a favourite of hers. We don't think she has a missed a conference in the last few years. 

Maxwell Hall: Max is midway through a Residency with us in Equine Surgery. When he was an intern with us we noted a drive that was above the normal. He is a 'young gun' but knows how to have fun as well work hard. Max comes from Brisbane in Queensland. Outside work Max is a fitness fanatic (I reckon he is on steroids). Moderation is not in his vocabulary and as a result he is a ball of muscle. He looks like becoming the fitness advisor to the hospital.  Max can be contacted on maxhall@gmail.com We are fortunate that Max has stayed with us, however there are still a few unanswered questions I have about him (see picture on right).

Sarah Jalim: Sarah was born in Wales and then after learning to ride at about 4 decided that horses and veterinary medicine were going to be her thing (before she met boys of course). She went to vet school in Edinburgh and left there in 2001. Not seeing many horses in Cuba her next stop was working for the English Government in helping stem the devastation that was the outbreak of Foot and Mouth Disease. Later she went to the Animal Health Trust which was lucky for us as she came here for an internship with a big investment in lameness knowledge that has been most useful. Sarah has just finished a three year resident position in surgery with us and will take her surgery Fellowship exams quite soon..

Past Associates (within the last few years):

Hadley Willsallen: A Sydney Grad. Hads did her internship at Agnes Banks Equine clinic in Richmond NSW before working with Canberra Veterinary Hospital. Later she travelled and visited Universities around North America. We were fortunate to entice her back to work with us. If we hadn't been quick she would have be lost and part of the 'brain drain' overseas that we all talk about. Hads wants to concentrate on surgery. When here she was an integral part of the team and showed much interest in the digital Yearling X-ray program. Hadley is missed by us all but she is not that far away. She has started an Equine Surgery residency at Wagga (Charles Stuart University).

David Beehan: David was another Irish graduate (we still have three of them working for us). A quiet, considerate type of man, he was a favourite with the girls. His main interest is reproduction. When he was here for the breeding season he is the go-to man for collecting semen and often spent most of the day with a helmet, protective vest and AV on his arm.
After completing an internship, David has was asked to stay on and manage the recipients and the morning work in the Reproduction Lab. He also has took over as the micro man. Davey has started a Theriogenology Residency at Louisiana State University.

Simon Staempfli: We had so many Simon's in 2008 we nick named him 'Swiss' because of his origins. He arrived as part of our Large Animal Residency programme  that we run in conjunction with Louisiana State University. As part of this they spend 6 months with us during our breeding season. The arrival of Simon was associated with much excitement. He was a good person to have around and was immensely popular. Although he seemed not to notice he was a bit like the 'Pied Piper' as everywhere he went he was followed by the female portion of our practice and all the visiting femal veterinarians and students. Simon was dedicated to hard work and academic success. As part of his time here he wrote papers and researched new hormones. He wrote a chapter as well on Prostaglandins for Angus's new edition of 'Equine Reproduction' which is due to released in 2009. When Dickson Varner came to visit Simon was both nervous and excited. A few days together mustering cattle and they were all firm friends. Simon's girl friend (sorry girls!!) reckons he has a man crush on Angus and Dickson (we still dont; know hat that is !!)

Allison Arnott: Born in a country town near Mildura, she finally departed for vet school in Queensland. After graduation she went to Narrabri (central NSW) where she learnt to play polocrosse (a skill she has imparted to a few of us down here). Later she moved to Wangarrata where she lived and worked for five years (with the traditional aussie vet trip to England and also the Middle East). We grabbed her as she left the comforts of Wangaratta and thrust her to a fully equine ambulatory position living in Euroa and commuting to the hospital every day. Lucky for us that we found her. She was a great addition to the team.

Guy Alexander: A Kiwi that came to Australia from England to do a residency at Murdoch University in Western Australia. He loves surgery and has just sat and passed exams for the FACVS (which is the highest degree by exam that is available in Australia). He then went to Perth which is where he has always had a bit of luck. The only thing that he has been concerned about with us is the lack of opportunities to meet people in Shepparton. That is probably our fault. We should look for a better picture. Most recently Guy has moved to Dubai. He can be contacted at his e mail.

Robyn Charman Robyn is a Melbourne Graduate (cicra 1984). At veterinary school she met the  man of her dreams. She joined our practice in 2004 and hails most recently from Kooweerup where she and her husband Neil had a mixed practice. Robyn loves surgery and has a wealth of talent. She has completed a three year surgical residency with us and soon will take the Fellowship Examinations. After the birth of her fourth child she has taken a part time position at Melbourne University. We miss her and her wisdom. 

Bruce Christensen: Bruce arrived in September 2007. He hails from Washington and was certified as a reproductive specialist through the American College of Theriogenology, after Residency training from the University of Florida. A tall, strong man he fitted well into our team. He was employed as a seasonal veterinarian and we were sorry to see him go. His clients were mainly standardbreds and he adapted to the Australian life very well and very quickly. His stud farm clients were also sorry he has gone back the US..

Padhraic Doran: AKA Legend. Padhraic is another Irishman and has been on the move ever since graduation. Like a sailor he has a girl in every port (that's why he keeps moving). His job with us is to manage the Stud Farms in Nagambie, Victoria. His principle responsibilities were Darley, Erinvale Thoroughbreds, Wood Nook, Gil Gai and Grange Thoroughbreds. More recently he has started his own veterinary practice. He will be good at it.

Darien Feary: DJ  was an intern with us in 2000. Wow..... how could that happen that all those years have passed so quickly? It just seems like yesterday that her smiling face was around the hospital. After leaving us she went to Colorado State University to do a residency in Equine Medicine. She did so well that she was hired at the University of California at Davis. Not an easy  task for an Australian. Later after specialist critical care training she went to Florida to work with Rob Franklin (see below- what a small world!!!!. When we needed a medicine specialist with the sudden departure of Kirsten Neil, both Darien and Rob put their hands up to help out. How lucky we are to have such good friends. Since DJ's arrival the foals have had the best of care and everyone has breathed a sigh of relief that we have a medicine specialist again. Darien is now an Internal Medicine clinician at the University of Sydney at Camden (currently on maternity leave).

Laura Fennell: A Kiewa (northern Victoria) farm girl that went to Sydney University. She is so smart that she graduated with 1st class honours (not seen around here before I can tell you). Since arriving there aren't too many skills that she hasn't mastered and has now been put in the position of reproduction clinician at the hospital and on the road. Laura briefly worked in Scotland before being enticed back here for the breeding season. During the 2006  breeding season she was responsible for sending cooled transported semen out from Standardbred studs that ended up with over 800 pregnancies. Laura has just finished an Equine Medicine Residency at Melbourne University.

Rob Franklin: Rob started last August. 'Bobba' as he is known to us is a Texan. His interest is medicine and he excels at it. He did his internal medicine training at Florida and he was so well thought of that we received unsolicited phone calls encouraging us to take him (I suppose that could be taken in different ways). His impact on our hospital was immediate. His ability to manage not only difficult cases but people as well meant that he was able to reorganise the medicine department right away. He instigated new treatments and training programs for the interns that were only dreamt about before his tenure. Rob and Laurie (his High School sweethart and wife) had a great time in Australia. They travelled and saw parts most of us never get to. From here they went to Florida to work in the Equine Medicine Centre of Ocala  and more recently became part of the team at the Weatherford Equine Medical Center in Texas. Rob and Laurie have two baby girls Bree and Colby . They can be contacted on e mail.

Mitzi Klein completed her internship with us in 2005 and we liked her so much that we have her on a part time anaesthesia position. She has a great talent and energy and kept the cases going (into and out of surgery). She was very instrumental in us breaking the 1000 surgery barrier under anaesthesia in 2006. Currently Mitzi is doing a residency in surgery at Melbourne University.

Lisa Maclellan: Lisa has a PhD in reproductive physiology. She has spent quite  few years at Colorado State University where she developed unique talents and was part of the team that first produced a foal from a mare that had died. To do this they had to be sent the ovaries and then incredibly, find and mature a tiny little immature oocyte (the female egg). Then they had to fertilise it and get the subsequent pregnancy to develop properly. Quite a feat!!! With us she was put in charge of making media for freezing semen and was chief laboratory technician. 

Stacy McGregor: Queensland born, raised and educated, Stacey joined us after working for three years. We had met her numerous times as a student and had keenly sought her to work with us. She brought a youthful enthusiasm when she first arrived and those that have had the pleasure in dealing with her on cases can still attest to the fresh and vibrant person that she is.  Stacey is now trying to juggle the roles of parent, worker and spouse. Stacey has left our practice to make her own way in the world.

Kirsten Neil was our internal medicine specialist for two years. Kirsten graduated from Melbourne University in 1996 and then after working in Narre Warren and Lilydale she went on do the inaugural Scone Internship. Following on from this she went to Michigan State University where she completed two years of internal medicine training as well as receiving her Diplomate status for the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine (ACVIM). This is a difficult exam to pass. We have three previous GVEH graduates who have passed this exam (Jane Axon, Imogen Johns, Darien Feary and most recently Fiona Anderson). Kirsten left us to pursue other goals. 

As if we didn't have enough medicine types we also talked Kate Savage into doing a day a week after her young family came back from the States. Kate travelled to Colorado where she was instrumental in teaching medicine to the students and graduate students. After that she developed a private referral practice in Virginia. She is quite famous and wrote a text in demand called 'Equine Medicine Secrets'. Now she is part of the team of the Equine Clinical Services at Melbourne University in Werribee.