Racetrack practitioner Jeff Blea, DVM, a partner in VonBluecher, Blea, Hunkin Inc., Equine Medicine and Surgery, in Sierra Madre, Calif., was installed as president of the American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP) during the Dec. 10 President’s Luncheon at the association’s 59th Annual Convention in Nashville, Tenn.

Blea possesses significant expertise in ethical and policy issues affecting racetrack veterinarians and is a strong advocate for improving the racing model for both the horse and the practitioner through adoption of uniform rules among racing jurisdictions.

At the age of 8, Blea moved with his family from Santa Fe, N.M., to New Orleans, La., where his father trained Thoroughbred racehorses. In high school, Blea began exercising horses in the mornings before taking out his jockey’s license during his senior year, winning his first race aboard Miss Ethel at the Fair Grounds on Feb. 13, 1983. However, a morning training accident five months later at Jefferson Downs abruptly ended Blea’s riding career.

Blea enrolled at Colorado State University, where he obtained his bachelor’s in 1989 and his DVM in 1993. After graduation, he was hired as an associate with Robert Story Equine in New Mexico where he cared for racing Quarter Horses and Thoroughbreds at Sunland Park and Ruidoso Downs. The following year, Helmuth VonBluecher, DVM, brought Blea into his Southern California racetrack practice, where Blea became a partner in 1998. The five-veterinarian practice serves Santa Anita Park, Hollywood Park, Del Mar and Pomona racetracks. Blea concentrates his practice on musculoskeletal issues and lameness diagnostics