Becoming an equine veterinarian is all Charlotte Tate ever wanted to do.

She hasn’t let any roadblocks stand in the way of her goal — and there have been a few along the way. But finally, at age 36, Tate is a senior at the University of Athens Veterinary School in Georgia.

She grew up on East Connecticut Avenue in Southern Pines and graduated from The O’Neal School. She is the first resident of Southern Pines to go to veterinary school with an eye toward working in an equine practice since Dr. Ronald B. Gaeta lived here more than 25 years ago.

(Gaeta graduated from the College of Veterinary Medicine at N.C. State in 1987. He currently practices equine veterinary medicine on Long Island.)

Tate was home in March doing an externship with Jim Hamilton, of Southern Pines Equine Associates, as part of her senior year clinics. She rode around with Hamilton doing farm calls for three weeks, gaining hands-on experience in equine veterinary medicine.

“The externship is a chance to gain more experience at diagnostic imaging of horses,” said Tate. “The last three weeks have been an opportunity to do lameness exams. I’ve been learning to diagnose lameness and learning different treatment methods.

“There are so many ways to attack different problems. I’m also getting experience in being prepared for owners’ questions, particularly concerning the prognosis of a particular injury. The biggest challenge is figuring out the thought process for attacking each case.”

According to Hamilton, the externship gives students experience in areas that veterinary school does not.

“They have an opportunity to interact with clients, learn the basic skills and techniques of a farm practitioner and learn about practice management,” he said.

Determination, Perseverance

Tate’s route to veterinary school was fraught with roadblocks. It took determination and perseverance to achieve her goal.

After a few false starts at Babson and Meredith colleges, Tate eventually graduated from N.C. State in 1997 with a degree in math. She then went back to school for two years to get the prerequisites for veterinary school.

Knowing it would be difficult to get into veterinary school, she took a job at Duke working in the Developmental Neuro Toxicology lab for six years. She applied to the Veterinary School at N.C. State twice in that time period and was rejected.

“I wasn’t going to let that stop me,” said Tate.

She applied to Ross University in St. Kitts and was accepted. She spent one-and-a-half years there and transferred to the University of Georgia in 2008.

Tate gives her grandmother, Elizabeth (Lizzy) Tate, who taught Charlotte to ride, the credit for influencing her determination.

“My grandmother, who lived in Wilmington and taught riding, definitely had an influence on me,” she said. “Her approach to teaching young people to ride was to give them rotten ponies — the kind that won’t just pack you around.

“At 5 years old, I learned to ride on a Shetland pony called Busy Bee, who liked to dump you on the ground. You had to have a bit of tenacity to ride her. I wasn’t going to let that pony get the best of me.”

Tate was a member of Pony Club, where she got a taste of the sport of three-day eventing. She competed through Preliminary with her horse, Evita, and also competed at the Intermediate level with Pathfinder.

“I had unfortunate luck with my horses,” said Tate. “I became very good at doctoring them.”

A Leg Up for Medicine

Tate’s experience with horses gives her a definite leg up for equine veterinary medicine.

“Charlotte represents an ever smaller percentage of veterinary students that say they want to do equine work and have a lifetime experience working with horses. These students are the exception rather than the rule, and it definitely gives them an advantage,” said Hamilton, who has taken a few dozen students on externships over the past few years. “Charlotte is one of the gifted individuals who excels at academic work and can use the information to develop thought processes that result in diagnosis.

“She will be a very good veterinarian. I’m certain of it.”

According to Hamilton, between five and six percent of veterinary students who graduate nationwide go into equine practice. And out of that, half “cross over to the dark side” and go into small animal veterinary practice.

“There are two reasons for this,” said Hamilton. “The income of a small animal veterinarian exceeds the equine practitioner in the first five years of practice.

“And the quality of life is an issue.”

Hoping to Return

Tate is low key, unassuming and, by her own admission, doesn’t like to talk about herself.

However, one thing stands out while talking with her, and that is that if Tate determines she wants something, she will methodically work toward achieving that goal.

Tate said she would like to return to Southern Pines to practice equine medicine after she graduates. If so, she will have come full circle — back to a life with horses and practicing in the field of her dreams.

Patricia Smith can be reached at fotobytocco@vbbi.us