RFE Scholarship Recipients Seleted to Represent Veterinary Industry During World Equestrian Games

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Three RFE scholarship recipients played an important role in the recent World Equestrian Games held in Lexington, Kentucky in 2010.  Kirsty Husby (Iowa State), Kate LeVasseur (Wisconsin University) and Amy Norvall (LSU) were amongst 33 fourth year veterinary students handpicked by their veterinary school advisors to best represent their school to form a veterinary team for the games.  Each veterinary school in the United States and Canada sent their best equine oriented student to work under the supervision of Dr. Julie Wilson, Dr. Tracy Turner and Dr. Kent Allen.

The students were housed with area veterinarians who volunteered their homes and mentorship for one or two students each. The students were given the option of a 2, 3 or 4 week stay at the WEG venue. The students were at the Horse Park starting four days before the games began and stayed until all the horses had left the grounds three days after the closing ceremony.

They were scheduled for rotations through various jobs, including assisting various clinic, FEI, team, drug testing, specific event, thermography, night and chief veterinarians. They monitored the piroplasmosis and CEM barn, worked in public relations, assisted the treatment steward, physical therapist and on site farrier and were assigned to ambulance and laboratory duties.

On top of all these responsibilities, they still managed to observe many of the specific competitions, attend seminars held most evenings for them, given by various equine veterinary specialists in attendance at the games and do a little shopping and sightseeing!  Kirsty, Kate and Amy were tireless, talented and ambitious veterinarians-in-training and invaluable assets to the success of the 2010 World Equestrian Games