Virginia Sport Horse Practitioner to Serve as AAEP Vice President

The American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP) has named R. Reynolds Cowles, DVM, founder and past president of Blue Ridge Equine Clinic in Earlysville, Va., as its 2015 vice president.

Dr. Cowles was installed during the Dec. 9 President’s Luncheon at the AAEP’s 60^th Annual Convention in Salty Lake City, Utah, and will assume the role of AAEP president in 2017.

A 1967 graduate of Oklahoma State University College of Veterinary Medicine, Dr. Cowles established Blue Ridge Equine Clinic in 1979 as a full-service clinic serving central Virginia and the Shenandoah Valley. Dr. Cowles remains involved in the day-to-day activities of the clinic, where the bulk of his practice focuses on lameness in race and performance horses.

Dr. Cowles is chair of the AAEP’s Professional Conduct and Ethics Committee. He previously served as the treasurer of the association from 2006-08; on the board of directors from 2000-02; and on numerous committees, including Educational Programs, Finance, Foundation Advisory, Nominating, Political Liaison, Practice Management and Public Policy.

His longtime involvement with the Virginia horse industry includes current positions on the Virginia Racing Commission’s Racing Safety and Medication Committee and as president of the Farmington Hunt Club. Recipient of the Virginia Veterinary Medical Association’s Distinguished Veterinarian Award in 2009, Dr. Cowles is a past president of the Virginia Thoroughbred Association and served on the Advisory Committee for the Marion duPont Scott Equine Medical Center at Virginia Tech and on the Research Advisory Committee for Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation.

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.