North Carolina equine vet wins AAEP’s 2026 My Vet Rocks award
Bottom line
North Carolina equine veterinarian Dr. Briana Blackwelder, owner of Hawk’s Ridge Mobile Veterinary Services in Hickory, has been named the grand prize winner of the American Association of Equine Practitioners’ 2026 My Vet Rocks Award, a recognition sponsored by Zoetis. AAEP said Blackwelder was nominated by client Sierra Severt for her clinical skill, responsiveness, and horse-first approach. Blackwelder earned her DVM from North Carolina State University in 2025, completed a one-year internship at Tryon Equine Hospital, and launched her ambulatory practice in June, where she focuses on lameness, integrative medicine, and equine urgent care. She’ll be recognized December 8 at the AAEP’s 72nd Annual Convention in Las Vegas. (aaep.org)
Why it matters: For veterinary professionals, the award does more than spotlight one early-career clinician. It underscores how client recognition, visibility for ambulatory equine practice, and support from industry groups are being used to reinforce morale in a field facing well-documented recruitment and retention pressure. AAEP’s Equine Veterinary Sustainability Initiative was launched in response to shortages of equine practitioners in many parts of the U.S., and the organization has tied workforce strategy to issues including compensation, emergency coverage, practice culture, internships, and student support. (aaep.org)
What to watch: Watch for how AAEP and sponsors like Zoetis continue to connect recognition programs with broader equine workforce retention efforts at the December 8, 2026 convention. (aaep.org)
A newly launched ambulatory equine practice in North Carolina is getting national visibility after Dr. Briana Blackwelder of Hawk’s Ridge Mobile Veterinary Services was selected as the grand prize winner of the AAEP’s 2026 My Vet Rocks Award, sponsored by Zoetis. According to AAEP, Blackwelder was recognized for clinical proficiency, responsiveness, and her horse-side manner, based on a nomination from client Sierra Severt. She will be honored on December 8 at the AAEP’s 72nd Annual Convention in Las Vegas. (aaep.org)
The recognition lands at a time when equine medicine continues to wrestle with workforce sustainability. AAEP says it formed its Commission on Equine Veterinary Sustainability in 2022 in response to shortages of equine practitioners across many areas of the United States. The group’s work has centered on five pressure points: compensation, emergency coverage, practice culture, internships, and support for equine veterinary students. (aaep.org)
Blackwelder’s background also fits a story the profession is watching closely: whether early-career veterinarians can enter equine practice and stay there. AAEP’s release says she graduated from North Carolina State University in 2025, completed a yearlong internship at Tryon Equine Hospital in Columbus, North Carolina, and opened Hawk’s Ridge Mobile Veterinary Services in June 2026. Her practice website says the business offers equine urgent care, acupuncture, fascial release, and lameness exams, with a mobile model built around field-based service. (aaep.org)
My Vet Rocks is designed to put that veterinarian-client bond in public view. AAEP and trade coverage describe the 2026 campaign as an invitation for horse owners to submit short videos explaining why their equine veterinarian is exceptional, with a grand prize, runners-up, and special recognition categories. In addition to Blackwelder, AAEP named Dr. Rachel Liepman of Arizona and Dr. David Miller of Ohio as runners-up. Zoetis’ equine marketing leadership said the company supports the program to raise awareness of the role equine veterinarians play and to encourage horse owners to recognize them. (aaep.org)
AAEP’s press release included a short reaction from Blackwelder, who said, “every single equine veterinarian is a hero,” while thanking veterinarians and support staff working daily to help horses and their owners. That framing is notable, because recognition programs like this often function as soft workforce strategy as much as celebration, especially in segments like equine practice where long hours, emergency duty, and lifestyle concerns have weighed on recruitment and retention. AAEP’s compensation and sustainability materials, along with its early-career survey reporting, show the organization is actively trying to address those structural issues. (aaep.org)
Why it matters: For veterinary professionals, this award is less about a single accolade and more about what it signals. Blackwelder is a very recent graduate who moved through internship training into independent ambulatory practice quickly, in a part of the profession that badly needs durable career pathways. Public recognition from AAEP and Zoetis may help elevate the appeal of equine field practice to students, interns, and pet parents, but it also highlights the gap between celebrating equine veterinarians and solving the business and lifestyle constraints that make retention difficult. (aaep.org)
There’s also a practical business angle. Hawk’s Ridge positions itself around urgent care and integrative medicine, suggesting a niche-forward ambulatory model rather than a traditional generalist-only structure. For practices watching the equine labor market, that may be one of the more relevant takeaways: newer clinicians are building service mixes that reflect both client demand and the need to create sustainable, differentiated practice models. That’s an inference based on Blackwelder’s service offerings and the broader AAEP sustainability conversation, rather than a stated goal of the award itself. (hawksridgevet.com)
What to watch: The next marker is December 8, 2026, when Blackwelder is formally recognized at AAEP Convention in Las Vegas. Beyond the ceremony, the bigger question is whether AAEP, sponsors, and practices can turn high-visibility recognition into measurable gains in equine recruitment, retention, and practice sustainability over the next few years. (aaep.org)