EVOLUTION VETS - Key Persons

Ashley qualified from the Royal Veterinary College in 2012 and spent the next 36 months working in mixed practice in Devon, focusing mainly on farm and equine work. Ashley joined Evolution back in November 2015, and right from the start fit easily into the fast-paced life and team spirit. He very quickly became an integral part of Evolution Equine and has alongside Heidi helped to build an extremely loyal client base. That has led to the exceptional growth and success of Evolution Equine. He particularly enjoys working up challenging medical cases, but also put a lot of pride and effort into my equine dentistry - something that some vets shy away from, but not Ash. He hasn't fully hung up his farm vetting gear and is still involved in on-call for farm. He has the ability to put his hand to anything and has always been very skilled at surgery. His father's life-time dedication to racing has doubtless had a lot to do with Ashley's abiding interest in horses - not to mention his ambition to one day breed a Cheltenham Festival winner. When not caring for horses; Ashley can also be found playing football for Nether Stowey FC, enjoying a round of golf or exploring the Quantocks with his partner Stacey and their dog Luna.

Brendan is a person who usually achieves whatever he sets his mind to achieving - and, luckily for Evolution, he decided at some point in his past to become a vet. He went on to qualify from Cambridge in 2009 and has worked in 100% farm animal practice ever since. He joined Evolution as an assistant vet in January 2012 when it was decided quite quickly that, to stop him from ever getting fed up and leaving, he should be made a partner. This aim was fortunately mutual and was achieved in August 2012. As well as being an excellent vet, Brendan has brilliant IT skills (for which we understand we should be thanking his father) and has progressed the practice to heights of record-keeping and communication which were previously mere dreams. He is responsible, amongst much more, for building this web-site and for creating our online-buying facility - which is (so far!) available to clients only. While he was at university, Brendan met Heidi, decided that she was the one for him and . . . they were married in May 2013, just before Heidi joined us to set up Evolution Equine. Again, this must have been a mutual aim, as Heidi is at least as determined as Brendan! In 2016, they welcomed their daughter, Eliza Rose, who persuaded Heidi that maternity leave was actually enjoyable after all - but who will doubtless lead them many merry dances as she grows older and begins to put her double-dose of determination to good use. Brendan, like Sally, spends a lot of his "chill-time" still thinking about the practice, but he does find time to indulge his keen interest in cooking (lucky Heidi!). His dream, having raised his first animal to slaughter-weight a while ago, is to own sufficient land on which to raise his own beef. Brendan is registered as a BCVA Accredited Johnes Adviser Brendan is a registered veterinary surgeon for BVDfree England.

George qualified from The University of Bristol in 2022 with an enthusiasm for all things Farm! Some of you may recognise him from his time with us as a student. George's interest in becoming a farm vet was sparked by spending time helping at his Uncle's dairy farm in the Mendips. As a recent graduate, he has an interest in all aspects of farm animal medicine and is casting a wide net when it comes to finding his niche. He is passionate to work with farmers to maximise herd health and profitability. Alongside, George's enthusiasm for equine medicine is obvious for all to see. When not on farm George can be found running on the Quantocks, climbing and route setting for climbing gyms, or in the mountains putting his recent qualification as mountain leader to good use. He's also a keen baker which always goes down a storm in the office.

Heidi grew up on her grandmother's farm in Cornwall, surrounded by animals. Having completed a Biochemistry degree at Exeter University, she followed quickly with a veterinary degree and qualified from Cambridge in 2008. Working life for Heidi began in a large mixed practice in Norfolk, where she got her first taste of dairy practice while helping the diminishing number of farms in that area to expand and to develop their profitability. Heidi had met Brendan (see above!) while both were at Cambridge and when Brendan joined Evolution back in 2013, she came with him to Somerset and it was here that her gravitation towards equine work began. After a short spell with a mixed practice (and after she and Brendan were married), Heidi moved to Evolution with the aim of developing our equine section. This she achieved rapidly - and with quite spectacular success. However, she has not forgotten her beginnings and very much enjoys being able to support the farm vets and maintaining involvement with our farm clients.

Jo joined us mid-2013 - and it wasn't long before we wondered how we had ever managed without her! Many of you will know her well and be familiar with her great efficiency in the day-to-day running of the office, often being your first point of contact when phoning the practice. Amongst all this, she also manages to fit in almost anything else that is thrown her way including the bookkeeping and management accounts for the practice. The glue that holds the practice together, Jo was promoted to Practice Manager in November 2022.

Sally qualified from Glasgow University in 2002 and has practised large animal veterinary medicine ever since. She has worked with practices in Cumbria, New Zealand and Somerset, whilst also completing a short period of time as resident vet at Genus bull stud in Wales. Her area of greatest interest is undoubtedly dairy cattle. Having set up Evolution Farm Vets in 2007, she completed her Diploma in Bovine Reproduction in 2008. She has steadily developed more interest in the business side of dairy farming and works hard on helping farmers to make their business more successful through improving the herd health side of their enterprise. Much of this is done on-farm in a consultancy role. But, in 2017, Evolution Farm Training was launched. This is another way in which Sally is able to share her knowledge with farmers. She finds improving their skills on-farm very rewarding and the practically-based Farmer Training which is carried out both in the Practice and on-farm is becoming ever more popular. Sally is on the Board of Directors for the British Cattle Veterinary Association (BCVA) as well as being a registered BCVA Accredited Johnes Adviser and BVD-Free Advisor. Evolution is very important to Sally and most of her waking hours are given over to the Practice. But always, running through all that she does, is her devotion to her family. Her ever-supportive husband and her two fantastic children make it all worthwhile (most of the time!) Whatever spare time is left over is spent at her local CrossFit Box. She is addicted to fitness, runs half marathons on the hills and is always working on her Olympic Lifting in the hope that she may one day do well in some of the CrossFit competitions she insists on entering!

Tom qualified from the university of Surrey in 2019. Quantock born and bred, Evolution were very pleased to employ Tom as a farm vet. Prior to joining the team, he spent a year in New Zealand milking cows. He has since been back on sabbatical and joined our favourite NZ vets for 6 months, where he was able to broaden his experience in all things farm vetting. He has also become a major part of Evolution Equine and is renowned for his calmness and relaxed attitude which is popular amongst horses and owners alike! Tom has always wanted to be a farm vet, that compliments his true passion for sustainable agriculture and the future of farming. His desire to work with cattle and sheep along with his personable attitude make him the perfect fit for Evolution. Whilst not at work it's almost certain that you'll find Tom with hockey stick or cricket bat in hand. He's also a keen skier, so will be found on the slopes for sure at some point during the season. Any spare time he has left is spent helping out at home on his family run beef and sheep farm.