Dr. Stephanie Wilkinson was born and raised on the small island of Bermuda. At the age of 18, she moved to Ontario, Canada, to complete her B.S. Honors degree in bio-medical science from the University of Guelph. She went on to earn her Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine, graduating at the top of her class and fulfilling her childhood dream of becoming a veterinarian.

She discovered her passion for horses at a very young age and began competitively riding at the age of 6. She has represented Bermuda in show jumping in many different countries, including the U.K., Spain and the Caribbean. She continued to compete during her years in university, both on the U.S. and Canadian A circuit.

Dr. Wilkinson enjoys all facets of equine medicine but has a strong interest in sports medicine. At the beginning of 2018, she started her own equine veterinary practice in Bermuda, where she travels periodically to provide services to the equine community there. She successfully completed the animal chiropractic course at the Options for Animals College of Animal Chiropractic at the beginning of 2020 and is certified with the International Veterinary Chiropractic Association.

Her free time is in fact filled with more horses and her dog, Nova. She simply cannot get enough of horses and feels so fortunate to have found a career as fulfilling as veterinary medicine.

Email Dr. Wilkinson

Dr. Christy Moss grew up locally in Fairfax, Virginia. She began riding horses at a young age, training and competing in dressage until she went to William and Mary for her undergraduate studies. There she continued to pursue her love of animals, and especially horses, by majoring in biology and riding with the hunter/jumper equestrian program. She then ventured north to New York for veterinary school, graduating from Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine in 2018 with honors.

Christy performed her internship at Piedmont Equine after graduating vet school and has stayed with the team ever since, now serving as part of the associate veterinarian team. Dr. Moss completed a Theriogenology residency in 2024 and passed the College’s board exam the same year, becoming a Diplomate of the American College of Theriogenologists. Dr. Moss is able to bring specialized reproductive and neonatal knowledge to the Northern Virginia region as one of only a few equine-focused Theriogenologists in the state. She enjoys working with mares and foals in all capacities, offering services such as frozen semen breeding and embryo transfer.

In her free time, Dr. Moss enjoys running and hiking with her dog Barzy, as well as visiting local breweries and wineries. She lives in Gainesville, Virginia, with her husband, Ashton.

Email Dr. Moss

Dr. Lizzy Aksten has had a passion for horses that began at a young age as a member of the U.S. Pony Clubs and led to her eventing at the intermediate level. She grew up on a family farm in New Hampshire where her family boarded and trained horses. After spending a year in England as a working student, Dr. Aksten returned home to Ashwood Farm to help her mother run the day-to-day operations.

Dr. Aksten received her DVM from Ross University and attended Virginia Tech for her clinical year. After graduation she worked as an intern at Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital in Wellington, Florida. She then completed a second internship at the Piedmont Equine Practice, stayed on as a fellow and is now an associate veterinarian.

Dr. Aksten is certified in Equine Rehabilitation and Performance (CERP) and is an FEI-permitted treating veterinarian. She enjoys all aspects of veterinary medicine with a special interest in sports medicine, emergency medicine, podiatry and geriatric care. She lives with her husband and dogs in the Marshall area, where she spends her spare time gravel-biking and enjoying the outdoors.

Email Dr. Aksten

Dr. Kathryn Surasky hails from Winnipeg, Manitoba. Since graduating from the Western College of Veterinary Medicine in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, in the early 2000s and completing an internship, she has practiced in a sports medicine focused practice outside of Toronto, Ontario. There she had the opportunity to work on all levels of horses, from Olympians and world championship horses to family pets. She uses a combination of traditional sports medicine therapies as well as acupuncture and chiropractic care to manage and maintain horses of all levels. For the past six seasons, she has also traveled to Florida to help horses and clients through the winter season, in Wellington, Florida, and Ocala, Florida. She will be traveling to Ocala on behalf of Piedmont Equine this winter, providing continuity of care to our southbound clients. When not with clients, you can find Dr. Surasky working with her own horses, primarily in eventing. She finds a lot of satisfaction in working with a horse’s team, enabling the best performance no matter what the goal.

Email Dr. Surasky

Dr. Sara Verghis grew up in Richmond, Virginia, and she started riding at a young age. She always knew she wanted to be an equine veterinarian. She graduated with her bachelor's and master's degrees from Virginia Tech. While at Virginia Tech, she rode on the IHSA hunt seat team.

Dr. Verghis graduated from the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine. During veterinary school, she was actively involved in the student chapter of AAEP and received the Dr. Olive K. Britt Equine award. She loves all aspects of equine medicine, but especially enjoys general practice, emergency medicine, and building her sports medicine skills. Dr. Verghis has a passion for low stress handling. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her dog Atticus, watching Hokie football, traveling and being outside.

Email Dr. Verghis

Dr. Kylie Zehner was born and raised in the Indianapolis area and lived in Indiana until coming to the Piedmont Equine Clinic. She grew up with an interest in becoming a small animal veterinarian from the age of 9. She first became interested in horses by travelling to work with her dad, who was part of the mounted patrol team for the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department. She learned how to ride with him and then later started training with a Quarter Horse owned by a close friend. They rode barrels together and competed in 4-H shows around Indiana. Dr. Zehner then pursued a Bachelor of Science degree in biochemistry at Purdue University. During her undergraduate years, she cheered for the university and participated in equine inflammatory airway research under Drs. Laurent Couetil and Katy Ivester. Her interest in equine medicine grew stronger each year, and in 2018 she was accepted into Purdue’s College of Veterinary Medicine. Dr. Zehner spent another four years in West Lafayette, Indiana, pursuing her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree. She graduated from veterinary school in May of 2022 as a member of Phi Zeta and received the ACVS Large Animal Student Surgery Award. Dr. Zehner is interested in learning about the numerous aspects of equine medicine and has particular interests in sports medicine and surgery. In her free time, she enjoys running, spending time with her cats, and traveling to visit friends, family and explore new places.

Email Dr. Zehner

Dr. Jacob Crotts grew up in Sumter, South Carolina. He began riding at an early age in nearby Camden, South Carolina, where he developed a passion for foxhunting and steeplechase racing. As a teenager, Dr. Crotts worked as an exercise rider for trainers Arch Kingsley, Jr. and Michael Matz. Dr. Crotts graduated from Clemson University with a bachelor’s in animal science before attending veterinary school at the University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia.

While in veterinary school, Dr. Crotts served as president of his class and was an active member of both the student AAEP chapter and the Omega Tau Sigma veterinary fraternity. Dr. Crotts also worked as a student vet assistant in the UGA Large Animal Teaching Hospital. During his clinical year he received UGA’s Large Animal “In House” medicine and surgery award. Dr. Crotts has special interests in emergency medicine, theriogenology, sports medicine and anesthesia. In his free time, Dr. Crotts enjoys running, live music, spending time with his dog Murphy, following college football and basketball, and cooking.

Ava was born and raised in Atlanta, GA. She went to the University of Georgia for undergraduate and veterinary school (Go Dawgs!). She grew up eventing and competing on the UGA Club Eventing Team with her OTTB, Harvey.

During veterinary school, Ava was an active member of the student chapter of AAEP and received the ACVS Student Surgery Proficiency Award. Ava worked as a surgery technician in the UGA Large Animal Hospital for after-hours emergencies. After graduating veterinary school, Ava completed a hospital internship at Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital in Lexington, KY. In Kentucky, she developed a love for emergency and critical care, surgery, and neonatal medicine. Ava was drawn to Piedmont Equine Practice for a second internship to pursue her interest in sports medicine, imaging, and ambulatory practice.

Outside of her career, Ava enjoys spending time with her husband, cooking, traveling, and getting out in nature.

Dr. Faircloth grew up helping with the mares and foals on her family’s small Thoroughbred farm in Maryland. When she wasn’t helping with chores or prepping yearlings for the sales, she was lucky enough to take part in Pony Club competitions and USEA eventing around the state and country. She followed her love of travel and equestrian sports to New Zealand after completing her undergraduate studies in animal science. While living in New Zealand, Dr. Faircloth completed her veterinary degree at Massey University and booked herself a ticket back to the US for a 12 month rotating equine internship at Steinbeck Country Equine Clinic of California and a 6 month fellowship in internal medicine during the busy foaling season at Hagyard Equine Institute of Kentucky. She then returned to New Zealand to provide field and referral services at a hospital on the South Island for 3+ years.

In 2021, she began her residency training in Large Animal Emergency and Critical Care at the Loomis Basin Equine Medical Group of California, working primarily on the equine, caprine, ovine, and camelid patients presenting for 24-7 emergency care. Dr. Faircloth completed her residency training in early 2024 and returns to the east coast of the US with a passion for providing high level emergency treatment and patient care. Outside of her veterinary interests, Dr. Faircloth enjoys travelling, hiking, running, skiing, diving, and painting and is often accompanied by her husband and their dog Tux on outdoor adventures.

Email Dr. Faircloth

KT Steward, DVM, MS, DACVS-LA has joined Piedmont Equine Practice to provide regular in-hospital sports medicine and elective surgery services and emergency/surgical care.

Dr. KT Steward grew up in a diverse setting, moving with her family from California to Missouri to Texas to Florida. Her first riding ‘competition’ was on her third birthday, riding leadline in a saddle seat horse show on an old Saddlebred named Bourbon. From there, she competed on the hunter/jumper circuit and went on to earn her Bachelor’s degree in English Equestrian Studies while riding for the IHSA team at the University of Findlay in Ohio.

She then headed back to Florida where she attended the College of Veterinary Medicine at UF. Following graduation, Dr. Steward completed three referral hospital internships at Peterson Smith Equine Hospital (Ocala, FL), New Bolton Center (University of Pennsylvania), and Colorado State University. She then completed a three-year Residency in Equine Surgery at Colorado State University while also earning her Master’s degree in Clinical Sciences. Dr. Steward passed her surgical specialty boards in 2023, becoming a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Surgeons (Large Animal). Dr. Steward has spent the past 2.5 years practicing at Montana Equine Medical and Surgical Center in Bozeman, Montana, where she provided sports medicine evaluation, elective arthroscopy, laparoscopy, upper airway surgery, and emergency surgery including colic and fracture repair.

When not at work, KT is still an avid horseback rider and has enjoyed returning to the jumper ring since residency. She is so excited to join the Virginia horse community! Outside of her equestrian endeavors, KT enjoys gardening, fly-fishing, hiking, and skiing. She also has mad skills on the saxophone and loves to spend time at home beekeeping and bread making with her husband, two dogs, and two cats.

Email Dr. Steward