Elizabeth M. Santschi, DVM, DACVS
Associate Professor, Equine Surgical Services Ohio State University

Dr. Santschi comes to us from the Equine Surgical Service at The Ohio State University (OSU) where she is an Associate Professor. Throughout her practice and academic careers, Dr. Santschi has provided surgical service to many different types of horses and horse owners. She is committed to patient care and to meeting the needs of clients and referring veterinarians. Her special interests include issues affecting stud farm, including colic, urogenital surgery, and high risk pregnancy. She also has a special interest in musculoskeletal disorders of the juvenile equine athlete, and has many publications onosteochondrosis, septicarthritis and conformation aldeviations.

Previous to OSU, Dr. Santschi served as Chief of Large Animal Surgery at The University of Wisconsin, School of Veterinary Medicine. She has also been a faculty member at the University of Minnesota and a staff surgeon at Peterson and Smith in Ocala, Florida. Dr. Santschi trained under Dr. Donnie Slone at that practice, which primarily serves Thoroughbred breeding farms and racing clients.

Brad J. Kerbs
Breeder, International Warmblood Breeding Judge, Eureka, Missouri

Brad Kerbs was raised on ranches in Wyoming and Kansas learning to ride Quarter horses initially. He graduated from Kansas State University in 1969 with a degree in Agricultural Economics. He has been a member of the American Trakehner Association (ATA) for 35 years and is the ATA's Inspection Committee Chairman. He is the immediate Past President of the ATA. He has also served as chairman of the Canadian Sport Horse Association's inspection committee.

Brad lived and worked in Europe near the Dutch / German border for 6 years and while there attended numerous warmblood breeding stock inspections for a number of breeds including Trakehners, Hanoverians, Holsteiners, Westfalens, and Dutch Warmbloods. He has also judged warmblood breeding classes in the US, Germany and Canada including the horse breeding divisions of the Royal Winter Fair in Toronto, the largest indoor livestock exposition in North America. He has scored and judged over 8,000 warmblood horses since 1988.

Kerbs retired as President and CEO of Purina Mills headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri and also was Chairman of the Board of Burke Industries headquartered in San Jose, CA. During his former career at Purina, he organized the company's sponsorship of the United States gold medal winning Olympic 3-Day Eventing Team at the Los Angeles Olympic Games in 1984.

For 25 years he has attended the Trakehner Stallion Inspections in Neumünster, Germany and occasionally while there he officially judged the breeding stock at the large exposition. He is an avid fan of Thoroughbred racing and breeding. Early in his career at Purina, he consulted with a number of Thoroughbred farms in Kentucky and Virginia including the Meadow Stud, home of Secretariat, Sir Gaylord, Riva Ridge and Somethingroyal.

Dean Johanningmeier
Certified Journeyman Farrier, Madison, Wisconsin

Farrier Dean Johanningmeier of Cross Plains, Wisconsin has two passions when it comes to footcare: therapeutic work and passing on what he has learned to others in the shoeing world. Growing up in northern Iowa, he began his career as a youngster, shoeing not only his own horses, but also those of his many brothers and sisters. After college, service in the United States Army, and a job with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, he switched to full-time shoeing. For the past 25 years, Dean has worked closely with the UW School of Veterinary Medicine's equine veterinarians. Not only does he do considerable therapeutic work, but also helps teach and educate both students and veterinary staffers on the importance of proper footcare.

Silvia Geyer
Trainer, KD Trakehners

Silvia Geyer was born and raised in Austria where horses have been a passion of hers ever since she can remember. In 1999 she enrolled at the Professional School of Agriculture – Specialized Department of Horse Economy in Austria. She completed a full year of practical training at two different stables. First with the upper level dressage trainer and show rider Isabella Willibald, and next, at Friesian stable HTC-Hellmayr. In 2003, Silvia graduated with honors and was ready to put her training to use.

Silvia went to work for Trakehner Gestüt Gorlo, one of Germany's largest and internationally acclaimed breeding farms. Here she started young horses under saddle and prepared them for, and showed them at competitions. In addition, she advanced the skills of mature horses, enabling them to compete at higher levels.Toward the end of her tenure at Trakehner Gestüt Gorlo, she had a strong desire to learn to train for and compete at the higher levels. It was at the specialized Practical Training Program designed and conducted by Olympic Rider Ingrid Klimke where Silvia felt she could rapidly learn new skills. Under the guidance of Ms. Klimke, she was trained in the Classic German riding method.

Silvia met David Beattie and Kevin O'Meara of KD Trakehners in the Spring of 2005. They were pleased by her work and offered her a job on their farm as a trainer. Inspired by their passion for horses, and intrigued by the idea of working and living in America, Silvia gladly accepted their offer.