MARK YOUR CALENDARS for 2025! August 22 & 23!

Dr. Raul Bras grew up in Puerto Rico, where he was raised showing and breeding Paso Fino horses. He completed his undergraduate at Louisiana State University with a Bachelor’s degree in Animal Science. He graduated from Ross University Veterinary School in 2005 and completed his clinical year at Auburn University.

In 2005, Dr. Bras completed a surgery internship at Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital. The following year, Dr. Bras remained an Associate Veterinarian in the Podiatry Department of Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital. Dr. Bras completed the farrier program at Cornell University in 2007 and, in 2010, became a Certified Journeyman Farrier of the American Farriers Association. In 2012, he became a shareholder at Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital.

Dr. Bras currently travels all over the world providing his expertise and knowledge in Equine Podiatry with others. He is devoted to improving the Veterinarian-Farrier relationship and is an active participant in all associations in the industry, such as the AAEP, NEAEP (former President) , AAPF, AFA and many others. Dr. Bras was recently appointed in 2024 as a member of the AAEP Board of Directors. While remaining as a shareholder of Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital, Dr. Bras also joined forces to collaborate as the Podiatry Clinical Instructor for NC State Equine Hospital, and affiliated faculty member of Colorado State University-College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. 

In 2015, Dr. Bras was inducted into the International Equine Veterinarian Hall of Fame. Dr. Bras shares his passion as a veterinarian with his identical twin brother, Dr. Jose J. Bras (Equine Surgeon-Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital in Wellington), and sister, Dr. Dineli Bras, world-renowned, board-certified ophthalmologist. Dr. Bras is devoted to family, dedicated to his beautiful wife, Katie Mather, and two lovely kids, Rauli and Lilli. 

Thirteen years leading No Anvil LLC out of forty-three years of progressive equine industry experience. Inventor of the Polyflex horseshoe, a patented, flexible polyurethane composite horseshoe designed to mimic the performance of the barefoot hoof while providing the protection of a standard metal horseshoe. Full-time farrier for over twenty-nine years. 

Former member of the AAPF/IAPF Board of Directors. Proven expertise in glue-on shoeing and quarter crack repair techniques and best practices. Farrier to top class equine athletes of all disciplines, from 2020 Olympic silver medal winning dressage stallion Sanceo, to 2018 Thoroughbred Triple Crown winning colt Justify. 

Britt Conklin is the Associate Dean for Clinical Programs and a Professor.   He grew up on a farming and ranching operation in the panhandle of Texas and has a diverse agricultural and veterinary background. He attended both Texas Tech University and Texas A&M University and was an owner of a large equine referral practice in Weatherford Texas. His practice interests are in sports medicine and podiatry. He was a Senior Equine Professional Services Veterinarian for Boehringer-Ingelheim before joining the Texas Tech School of Veterinary Medicine. His specialty, within industry, was focused on performance horse pharmaceuticals and chronic diseases that affect lameness and horses feet.

Britt's focus is on all aspects of equine sports medicine, diseases of the equine digit and podiatry applications in the equine athlete; clinical practice and the role of the veterinarian in rural and regional communities. His areas of research include, Equine Performance horse medicine, immunology, endocrinology and podiatry.

Britt has served on numerous boards and committees and provided continuing education both nationally and internationally. He is a member of the American Association of Equine Practitioners, the Texas Equine Veterinary Association, the American Veterinary Medical Association and the American Farriers Association.

Dr. Horne completed both her Bachelor of Science and Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine degrees at North Carolina State University (NCSU). 

Upon graduation, she completed a one year equine imaging focused internship at Equine Diagnostic Imaging in Gainesville, FL to further her education in musculoskeletal ultrasound and MRI. 

She then returned to NCSU for a residency in Equine Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation and became a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation (ACVSMR) in the spring of 2020. 

She continues to practice as a clinical veterinarian at NCSU on the Equine Sports Medicine and Orthopedic Surgery Service doing lameness/sport horse practice, diagnostic imaging with a special focus on musculoskeletal ultrasound and MRI, and rehabilitation of all injuries.

  Jim Kiser is President and Co-Founder of Kiser Arena Specialists, Inc. Jim has decades of experience in equine footing selection, installation and management.

Kiser Arenas has consulted and/or constructed arenas in 45 states and 11 countries. Over $250 million in prize money has been awarded on equine footing selected/installed and maintained by Kiser Arenas.

Kiser Arenas selects/installs/maintains the equine arena footing for the nation’s most prestigious equine associations and events. Kiser Arenas invented and manufactures the Kiser Arena Drag, the gold standard in equine footing maintenance. The iconic red Kiser Arena Drag is the preferred equine footing maintenance equipment for the nation’s top horse shows as well as fairgrounds, event facilities, universities, private ranches and farms across the US and Canada.

Dedicated to improving equine footing to ensure the safety and soundness of equine athletes, Kiser Arenas is proud to be entrusted with the arena footing maintenance at some of the nation’s top equine show facilities.

A 2nd generation horseman, former horse trainer (both in the US and in Europe) and show judge. Jim Kiser resides in Gainesville TX, the heart of North Texas horse country with his wife Courtney and son Wade, a 3rd generation horseman.

  Rick is a 1974 graduate of the Oklahoma State University College of Veterinary Medicine and is a senior associate at Fairfield Equine Associates in Newtown, CT and Wellington, FL. 

He has been internationally certified in veterinary acupuncture (IVAS) and

equine locomotor pathology (ISELP), is a certified Radiation Safety Officer, and he completed requirements for Diplomate status in the American College of Veterinary Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation (ACVSMR) in 2015. 

Rick served as an official veterinarian to the US Equestrian Team at six Olympic Games between 1992 and 2016. He has a particular interest in lameness diagnostics and imaging. 

Rick was recognized as a distinguished life member of the American Association of Equine Practitioners and as a distinguished alumnus of Oklahoma State College

of Veterinary Medicine in 2022.

Dr. Sara Tufts is a second year Equine Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation resident at NC State. She received her veterinary degree from NC State in 2021. She then completed a rotating internship at the Equine Medical Center of Ocala followed by a specialty internship in Equine Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation at NC State where she stayed on for a residency training

program. 

Her main interests include rehabilitation and advanced imaging diagnostics. 

Dr. Tufts is the proud recipient of a 2023 CESMEF resident grant for research in hydrotherapy, which will be presented at the 2024 symposium.

 Heidi Zorn is the president and co-founder of Premier Equestrian, a company that specializes in equine sporting goods for a variety of equestrian disciplines including Dressage, Show Jumping and Eventing. 

Premier Equestrian is one of the largest North American distributors of arena footing products, barn and farm products and ground stabilization. 

A lifelong equestrian herself, Zorn grew up in a suburb of Salt Lake City, Utah where she competed in hunter/jumpers. 

As she transitioned into Dressage, she recognized a need in the market for safe, stylish, and affordable arena products. In 2000, Zorn engineered the first Premier Classic Dressage Arena, which led to a revolutionary line of dressage arenas, letters, flower boxes, maintenance-free jumps, and a line of synthetic footing and arena surface products.

Zorn’s constant drive to learn more about equine wellness and ways to keep horses happy and healthy has made her a sought-after lecturer on equine biomechanics and the effects of sand and footing products on equine health and safety. She is recognized as one of the leading footing experts in North America. She has given several lectures at symposiums, webinars, and conventions. Heidi was appointed the role of FEI Footing Advisor. 

She helped to create, test, and maintain all the arena surfaces for the 2022 FEI World Championships in Denmark. Quoted widely in equine media, Zorn’s expertise has been published in Riding Magazine,Dressage Today, and Underfoot, the popular arena guide published by the United States Dressage Federation. 

When she’s not analyzing sand samples, testing out new footing products, or educating equestrians about the importance of proper riding surfaces, you’ll find Zorn traveling the globe with her husband, Mark (Premier Equestrian CEO), or riding her horses, Primo and Izzy. 

Lexi is from Laurel Hill, NC where she grew up on her family's farm with poultry broiler houses, cows, and horses. She grew up riding and competed in barrel racing throughout high school and undergrad. 

Lexi attended UNC Pembroke for her undergraduate degree where she was the first UNCP Veterinary Education Access Scholar. Lexi is currently a fourth year veterinary student at NC State and she plans to complete an equine private practice internship following graduation. 

Lexi's long term goal is to return to rural North Carolina to be an equine general practitioner in underserved areas.