ASSOCIATION Meet 2024 AAEP President Dr. Katie Garrett
Dr. Katie Garrett is a board-certified surgeon as well as shareholder and director of diagnostic imaging at Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital in Lexington, Ky.
Dr. Garrett was born and raised in Rochester, N.Y., as the oldest of four siblings. Her father, Rick, is a general contractor, while her mother, Betsy, taught third grade. Dr. Garrett loved horses from a young age. Constant nagging of her parents eventually resulted in riding lessons at age 7 in what turned out to be more than just a phase. Dr. Garrett grew up riding and spending as much time as possible around the barn, including all day on Saturdays.
Dr. Katie Garrett
About the only thing she enjoyed as much as horses was crossword puzzles, and who would’ve thought that a
penchant for deciphering random clues would later influence the course of her career?
Dr. Garrett played volleyball in high school, which was around the time she pondered whether to pursue a career in veterinary or human medicine. At 18, she followed in the footsteps of her father and grandfather by becoming a volunteer firefighter as well as an EMT. According to Dr. Garrett, her experience as an EMT made the decision to pursue veterinary medicine much easier!
Dr. Garrett went off to Dartmouth College in New Hampshire, where she majored in biochemistry and molecular biology. During breaks in the academic calendar, Dr. Garrett shadowed at Genesee Valley Equine Clinic, where Drs. Ann Dwyer, Amy Leibeck and Celeste Boatwright mentored the aspiring horse doctor.
Upon graduating in 1999, she entered veterinary school at Cornell University intent on equine practice. After receiving her doctorate in 2003, Dr. Garrett completed a rotating internship at Rood & Riddle. She stayed on for an ambulatory internship and the rest, as they say, is history.
Dr. Garrett remained with the practice as an ambulatory associate; however, she discovered that, much like a crossword puzzle, she derived the greatest satisfaction from solving the medical puzzle as opposed to fixing the problem. To appease her medical curiosity, she started doing more imaging and, in 2008, embarked on a three-year surgery residency at the practice. Her goal was to use the knowledge acquired to improve her diagnostic imaging skills. It wasn’t long before she was appointed director of diagnostic imaging.
Equipped with a comprehensive suite of imaging modalities, Dr. Garrett is counted on to crack the case, whether the mystery involves a high-end race or sport horse or a beloved backyard pony. She has particular interest in musculoskeletal MRI and upper airway imaging.
When not solving medical mysteries, Dr. Garrett likes to unwind with her dog, Harriet. She also enjoys gardening, hiking and traveling, especially to the Atlantic Coast beaches in the northeast.
Instilled with the spirit of volunteerism and giving back by parents who modeled such behavior, and with a nudge from colleague and 2004 AAEP President Dr. Larry Bramlage, Dr. Garrett’s journey into AAEP leadership began with an appointment to the Educational Programs Committee in 2005. She would eventually chair the committee from 2012–2014, after which she was elected to the board of directors. She would later chair the Member Engagement Committee and serve as co-anchor of the popular Kester News Hour at convention before her appointment as AAEP vice president in 2022.
As AAEP president, Dr. Garrett looks forward to sustaining the momentum toward an equine veterinary profession that vets want to stay in and students want to enter. In other words, continuing to assemble the puzzle of retention and recruitment until it is “case closed.”
AAEP News January 2024 III
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