California Specialty Practice Owner Joins AAEP Board of Directors

Phoebe Smith, DVM, DACVIM, owner of Riviera Equine Internal Medicine & Consulting in Santa Ynez, Calif., has joined the board of directors of the American Association of Equine Practitioners. She was installed Dec. 10 during the AAEP’s 70th Annual Convention in Orlando, Fla. Her three-year term expires in 2027. 

Dr. Smith brings a multifaceted perspective to the board; she has practiced general and specialty medicine and has worked in private practice and academia. 

Upon receiving her veterinary degree from Auburn University in 1997, Dr. Smith completed an internship at Alamo Pintado Equine Medical Center in Los Olivos, Calif. Following two years in private practice, Dr. Smith completed an internal medicine residency at the University of California, Davis, from 2000–2003 while concurrently working as a relief veterinarian with Loomis Basin Large Animal Clinic in Loomis, Calif.  

After achieving board certification with the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine (ACVIM) in 2003, Dr. Smith rejoined Alama Pintado as an internal medicine specialist. In 2007, she joined the faculty at The Ohio State University as an assistant professor of equine internal medicine until establishing her current practice in 2010.  

Dr. Smith is a former chair of the AAEP’s Educational Programs Committee, and she served on the Nominating and Infectious Disease committees as well as the Continuing Education Steering Committee. Beyond the AAEP, Dr. Smith served on the ACVIM board of regents from 2019–2022, as chair of the Large Animal Specialty within the Marketing and Communications Committee, and as chair of the ACVIM Annual Forum Program Committee. Dr. Smith currently serves on the Research Advisory Committee of Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation.  

About AAEP 

The American Association of Equine Practitioners, headquartered in Lexington, Ky., was founded in 1954 as a non-profit organization dedicated to the health and welfare of the horse. Currently, AAEP reaches more than 5 million horse owners through its over 9,000 members worldwide and is actively involved in ethics issues, practice management, research and continuing education in the equine veterinary profession and horse industry.