Texas Equine Veterinary Association

JOE PLUHAR, DVM, MBA JOE PLUHAR, DVM, MBA Growing up in Canyon, Texas riding western performance horses, being a performance equine veterinarian just made sense. The financial crisis of 2008-2009, right as I was beginning veterinary school, made me reconsider my plan to become a surgeon. I opted for a different path. I already had a smoldering interest in business and I decided to fan the flame. I took a year off of veterinary school to earn my MBA. Ever since, I have been comically obsessed about well-run businesses. What they do, how they do it, and what myths we/they believe in. In 2022, my wife and I decided that it was time to take the leap and started Freedom Equine, a whole-horse ambulatory performance medicine practice. Now we can test out theories and practices for ourselves. We love being able to include our two daughters in our day-to-day professional life. The lights are on, there is food in the fridge, so I think we are doing alright. PLUHAR PLUHAR STEPHENS STEPHENS DAVID STEPHENS, DVM, DABVP DAVID STEPHENS, DVM, DABVP Graduated from Texas A&M University in 1990, which was followed by a one-year internship at Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital. Upon completion of a surgery residency at Oklahoma State University in 1994, he became a Diplomate of the American Board of Veterinary Practitioners (Equine) in 1995. Subsequently, he was a staff surgeon at Equine Veterinary Associates in Conroe, Texas for 1 year, and then partnered with Dr. Scott Weems to establish Weems and Stephens Equine Hospital in 1997. Dr. Stephens is the TEVA Vice President and will be the program chair and President-Elect for 2025. He has very instrumental in the growth of the Texas Equine Foundation through his time serving as the Auction Committee Chair. SELBERG SELBERG KURT SELBERG, DVM, MS, DACVR KURT SELBERG, DVM, MS, DACVR Kurt Selberg is a North Idaho native; where his family owned a quarter horse ranch. After completing his doctorate in veterinary medicine from Washington State University, he completed an equine sports medicine internship at Virginia Equine Imaging in Middleburg, VA. He is boarded specialist in veterinary radiology and founding member of the subspecialty in equine diagnostic imaging where his also a boarded specialist. His area of interest is the equine athlete and musculoskeletal diagnostic imaging. Dr. Selberg is a certified member and lecturer at many of the International Society of Equine Locomotor Pathology continuing education events. He is also an FEI treating veterinarian. He has been the on site imaging consultant for the 2018 World Equestrian Games and the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Aside from radiology, he also enjoys telemark skiing , jiu jitsu, fishing, spending time with good friends and family, his lovely wife Katie and two children, and two yellow dogs. VARNER VARNER DICKSON VARNER, DVM, MS, DACT DICKSON VARNER, DVM, MS, DACT Dickson Varner grew up around livestock in the Ozarks of Missouri, where his parents were producers of rodeos and wild west shows, with a variety of western activity offerings to the general public. He practiced veterinary medicine for 4 years in Lexington, Kentucky prior to completing a residency in animal reproduction (theriogenology) at the University of Pennsylvania. He recently retired as Professor and Pin Oak Stud Chair of Stallion Reproductive Studies at Texas A&M University. His hobbies include horseback riding, mountain man exploits, and music. Dickson's instructional scope is wide, with university instruction of veterinary medical students and graduate students, as well as world-wide travels for education of both veterinary students and practicing veterinarians in the discipline of stallion reproduction. Dickson has served as past-president of the American College of Theriogenologists and is a past-director of the American Association of Equine Practitioners. He has also served on committees of several organizations, including the American Quarter Horse Association, the Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation, the International Symposium on Equine Reproduction, and the International Symposium on Stallion Reproduction. 55 | SPEAKERS

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