Our staff of thirteen veterinarians bring together the foremost in equine veterinary care to all the horses that come to Alamo Pintado. From a child’s beloved pet horse, to working Quarter horses, to show horses of all breeds, to thoroughbred athletes, these horses come to Alamo Pintado seeking the healing and caring touch of our veterinarians.

VETERINARY TEAM

Doug Herthel, DVM
Born in Fort Lee, Virginia, completed his undergraduate degree at the University of California at Davis, where he met his wife Sue. He stayed at Davis to complete his Doctorate in Veterinary Medicine. Returning from a trip to Los Angeles, they stumbled upon the Santa Ynez Valley. Stunned by the beauty and tranquility of this yet undiscovered valley, they settled into a small house in Los Olivos and founded the Alamo Pintado Equine Medical Center. Dr. Herthel and Sue have resided in town since. They have two sons Mark who runs Platinum Performance and Troy who is in a surgical resident at Alamo Pintado Equine Medical Center.

Mark Rick, DVM
A native of Ann Arbor, Michigan, Mark obtained his undergraduate degree at Montana State University, continuing on to Washington State University for his veterinary education. Following his doctorate degree, he completed the Surgical Intern/Residency Program at UC in Davis. There he met his wife Kathy and together moved into the valley, where they have resided in the town of Ballard with their two sons Jonathan and Carson.

Greg Parks, DVM
Born in Washington, DC, Dr. Parks moved to California to attend the University of California at Santa Cruz, after which he went on to The Ohio State University for his veterinary degree. He participated in the internship program at Alamo Pintado in 1988 and has stayed as a staff veterinarian since. He now lives in the town of Los Olivos.

Ed Hamer, DVM
Born in Yerington, NV, Dr. Hamer attended the University of Nevada at Reno for his undergraduate degree. He completed his DVM degree from The Ohio State University, coming to Alamo Pintado as an intern the following year. Dr. Hamer has remained a staff veterinarian since then, settling in the town of Los Olivos with his wife Kristina and daughters Hayley and Kassidy and son Hayden.

Erin Byrne, DVM, Dip. ACVIM
From her hometown of Sunol, CA, Dr. Byrne moved to Davis to complete her undergraduate degree at the University of California, where she continued on to achieve her DVM degree four years later. Following her veterinary education, she moved to College Station, TX to participate in the internship program at Texas A&M University, where she remained as a resident in large animal internal medicine. After successfully completing the strenuous board accreditation process, Dr. Byrne is now a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine.

Carter Judy, DVM, Dip. ACVS
Originally from Pasadena, California, Dr. Judy attended the University of California at San Diego for his undergraduate work in Animal Physiology and Neurosciences. He then attended the School of Veterinary Medicine at the University of California Davis. After achieving his veterinary degree, he completed an internship in large animal medicine and surgery at Texas A&M University and a residency in equine surgery and performance evaluation at U.C. Davis. Having successfully completed the strenuous board accreditation process, Dr. Judy is a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Surgeons. Dr. Judy has joined the veterinary team at Alamo Pintado and now resides in the town of Ballard.

Lisa Teske, DVM
Born in Omaha, Nebraska, Dr. Teske moved to Fort Collins to attend Colorado State University as an undergraduate student in agricultural business. After completing her degree, she successfully applied and stayed at CSU to participate in the veterinary program. Accomplishing her veterinary degree, she then moved to Alamo Pintado Equine Medical Center where she took part of the 2000-2001 Internship program. Now Dr. Teske has joined the permanent staff as an ambulatory field veterinarian. She has particular interest in equine field medicine and the sport of dressage.

Dr. Tania Kozikowski, DVM, DIP ACVIM
Originally from Brimfield, Massachusetts, Dr. Kozikowski obtained her bachelors degree at Middlebury College in Vermont. She then attended the School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University. After achieving her veterinary degree, she completed an internship at Arizona Equine Medical and Center and a residency in large animal internal medicine at U.C. Davis. Dr. Kozikowski has joined the veterinary team at Alamo Pintado and now resides in the town of Los Olivos.

Troy Herthel, DVM
Born and raised in Los Olivos, California, Troy obtained his undergraduate degree in Animal Science and Agricultural Business from California Polytechnic University in San Luis Obispo.  He then earned his veterinary degree at Oklahoma State College of Veterinary Medicine.  Following graduation, Dr. Herthel completed a year-long internship at Weatherford Equine Medical Center in Weatherford, TX focusing primarily on lameness, surgery, and reproduction in western performance horses.  Dr. Herthel is now working on completing a surgical training residency under the guidance of Dr. Carter Judy, D.V.M., Dip. ACVS.  Troy is the youngest son of Alamo Pintado founders, Dr. Doug and Sue Herthel.

INTERN VETERINARIANS

Ashley Troncatty, DVM
Ashley was born, raised and grew up with horses in Old Agoura, CA. Following high school she attended Los Angeles Pierce College and completed an Associate of Science degree and was heavily involved in the pre-veterinary program.  She then obtained her Bachelors of Animal Science degree from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo in 2006.  Ashley then had the privilege to work as a surgery and anesthesia technician here at the APEMC for 1 year prior to being accepted to vet school.  After completing her veterinary degree at the Atlantic Veterinary College in Prince Edward Island, Canada in 2011 she is honored to be back at the APEMC to complete a 1 year internship. During her year at APEMC she hopes to expand her knowledge base and gain valuable clinical skills in equine veterinary medicine and surgery.  She has a strong interest in dentistry, anesthesia and surgery and potentially would like to pursue a surgical residency in the future.  In her free time she enjoys team roping, trail riding, snowboarding and wake boarding.

Lauren Gummery, BVSc MRCVS
Lauren grew up in Essex, England and achieved a Bachelors of Veterinary Science at Liverpool University. Following graduation, she volunteered neutering cats and dogs, then worked in a (very) mixed animal practice for four months -including some exotic work with the local safari park! Growing up with horses, she maintained a special interest in equine veterinary medicine, especially orthopaedics, the development of OCD, and novel therapies including stem cell therapy. During her year at APEMC she hopes to further develop skills in many areas including ultrasound, anesthesia and neonatal intensive care. After completing the internship she intends to enter general equine practice in the UK with the potential to apply for a residency position in the future. In her spare time, she enjoys riding, painting and spending time with friends.

Natalie Zdimal, DVM
Natalie grew up with horses in Northern California and competed in three-day eventing in England for 2 years. She later returned to California where she achieved her Bachelors of Science and Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine at UC Davis. During her course, she worked at the 2010 World Equestrian Games as well as attending sport horse clinics in Dubai, Germany and Holland. She remains highly interested in working with competition horses and has a special interest in diagnostic imaging. At APEMC, she intends to build a comprehensive foundation in all areas of equine veterinary medicine, after which she hopes to complete the FEI certification and  enter the field of equine sports medicine. Outside of work, Natalie enjoys traveling with her husband Joel and one day hopes to have enough time to return to competing.

Alejandra Garza, MVZ
Dr Alejandra Garza grew up in Monterrey, Mexico. She completed her degree at the Universidad Autonoma de Nuevo Leon, Mexico. After discovering a passion for veterinary work with horses she decided to undertake an internship at La Silla Equine Hospital, Monterrey, where she was able to develop skills in sports medicine and reproduction and assist in many surgeries. She soon decided she wanted to pursue an interest in surgery in the United States. During her year at Alamo Pintado Equine Medical Center Ale intends to learn as much as possible about all areas of equine practice with a strong focus on surgery. On completion, she hopes to apply for surgery residencies in the United States. In her spare time Alejandra enjoys being outdoors, swimming and abseiling.

CONSULTING VETERINARIAN:

Travis Saveraid, DVM, DACVR
Born in California, Dr. Saveraid grew up in Iowa and received his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from Iowa State University, following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather. After practicing in Maine for two years, he completed a three year radiology residency at Washington State University where he had extensive training in equine and small animal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). He is board certified by the American College of Veterinary Radiology. Dr. Saveraid is currently a clinical faculty member at the University of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine where he is developing the equine and small animal 3T MRI clinical investigation program. He has served as the interpreting MR radiologist at Alamo Pintado from the time of the first MR study in March 2006. As of September 2007, Dr. Saveraid has interpreted over 800 MR exams from 400 horses at Alamo Pintado. He also reviews the small animal MR scans from Alamo Pintado and serves as a consulting radiologist in small animal and equine MRI for veterinary hospitals across the country.