Horse surgeons join Cornell's Belmont hospital

Cornell Ruffian Equine Specialists (CRES), an equine referral and emergency care hospital that opened this spring near the Belmont Racetrack in Elmont, New York, has hired three equine surgeons and emergency clinicians. The hospital will offer 24/7 critical care starting Aug. 1.

The veterinarians are Dr. Kyla Ortved, assistant clinical professor in the Department of Clinical Sciences at the College of Veterinary Medicine; Dr. Samuel Hurcombe, clinical associate professor and specialist in equine emergency surgery and internal medicine; and surgeon Dr. Gabriel Cook ’92.

Ortved earned her DVM at the University of Guelph, Ontario, Canada, in 2006. She completed a large animal internship at the University of Georgia and large animal surgery residency at Cornell. During her Ph.D. program in comparative biomedical sciences, she worked as a large animal emergency surgeon while studying gene therapy to improve cartilage healing.

Ortved has published in academic journals, attracted independent research funding for her work on gene therapy and stem cell research, and taught lectures and laboratories on equine diagnosis, surgery and therapy.

“I’m excited for the chance to be a part of something from the beginning and help build up this practice,” said Ortved. “CRES is a phenomenal facility. … There is also an excellent team in place led by some of the best equine surgeons in the world. There’s a lot of enthusiasm among trainers, owners and clients. They’re excited about what the facility has to offer, and I look forward to working with them.”

Hurcombe’s interests include medical and surgical gastrointestinal disease (colic); equine cardiac, respiratory and musculoskeletal conditions; and infectious diseases. He earned a Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine and Surgery with first-class honors from Murdoch University, Perth, Australia, (2003); a Master of Science and a residency in equine internal medicine (2008) and a fellowship in equine emergency and critical care (2010) at Ohio State University.

Hurcombe is a diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care and of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine. He has published numerous papers in and served as a reviewer for peer-reviewed journals and authored chapters in books on equine veterinary care. His teaching spans clinical surgery skills, lameness and neonatology.

Cook completed an internship at the Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital in Lexington, Kentucky, and a large animal residency at North Carolina State University in 1996. He served as a staff surgeon at a private practice in the San Francisco Bay area before joining New England Equine Practice in 1998 and is a diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Surgeons.

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Joe Schwartz