Staff

Creating great client relationships through communication and trust 

Dr. Guillemaud and ‘Summer’.

Anne Marie Guillemaud, owner and veterinarian, is an ‘Island Girl’ and grew up in Port McNeill.  Annie has loved horses her entire life. She was a member of the Ports North Pony Club, achieving her Horsemanship Level A. Some of you may remember her from her time showing horses in the Comox Valley under her maiden name, De Leenheer. Annie also used to compete in the Modern Pentathlon, which includes riding, running, swimming, shooting and fencing.

Dr. Guillemaud did her undergraduate degree at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, earning a Bachelor of Science in Food Nutrition and Health in 2008.  After that, she moved to Saskatoon and completed her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from the Western College of Veterinary Medicine in 2012.  She stayed on at the College to spend a year working as an Intern in Equine Field Service. She was then a Clinical Associate in Equine Field Service for two years, before returning to the Island to join Epona Equine in 2015.  In 2019 she purchased the practice from Dr. Andrea Plaxton. Dr. Guillemaud’s areas of interest include reproduction, dentistry, and lameness.

When not working Annie can be found enjoying time with her Dutch Warmblood ‘Summer’, filly ‘Raeah’, her husband, Chris, and daughters, Hannah and Hailey.

 

Dr. Tamara Hockley

Tamara Hockley, associate veterinarian, also known as Red grew up in a dairy family in Alberta as the oldest of four kids. Although her path to becoming a veterinarian has not been as streamlined as most, she fell in love with veterinary medicine at the age of 6 when she rescued a pair of sick, abandoned kittens. As a teen, Red spent many hours riding her horses in the foothills of the Rockies and riding shotgun with her veterinary mentors.

Red is a graduate of the Olds College veterinary technician program and has 10 yrs of business experience. After starting her family and working as an equine technician, she attended vet school at Saint George’s University, on the island of Grenada in the West Indies before completing her clinical year at Oregon State University in 2020. She  completed an internship with Paton & Martin Veterinary Services in 2021 and joined Epona Equine in August of that year. Red has a particular interest in surgery and dentistry.

Kayleigh

Kayleigh Janssen, veterinary assistant. Kayleigh grew up & has spent most of her life living in Victoria, and moved to the Comox Valley in May 2022. She started her journey in the veterinary industry as a receptionist in a small animal emergency hospital before transitioning to a regular small animal practice. In 2018, she joined an equine veterinary practice in Victoria as vet assistant and moved her way into the practice manager position before moving up island. Kayleigh started riding when she was 13 and has loved it ever since. In her spare time, she can be found at the barn riding or with her mini horse Tinkerbelle, working on her brand & web design business, or spending time with her partner & black lab, Loki.

 

Former Staff Members

Dr. Julia Cusack

Julia Cusack, former associate veterinarian, is originally from Nova Scotia. She attended Dalhousie University in Halifax and the University of Queensland in Australia for her undergraduate coursework. She completed her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree at the Atlantic Veterinary College in Charlottetown, PEI in 2019. She then headed to the Western College of Veterinary Medicine in Saskatoon where she completed a large animal rotating internship. This included rotating through medicine, surgery, field services and theriogenology. Julia was with Epona Equine from 2020-2021 before leaving to pursue a radiology residency. We wish her all the best!

Shannon & ‘Summer’.

Shannon Eykelenboom, former Animal Health Technologist, is originally from Alberta. She moved to the Comox Valley in 2016. with her husband and 2 young children. She brought along her Paint gelding, Kohlie.

Shannon graduated from the Animal Health Technology program in 2002 from NAIT in Edmonton. She worked at an emergency clinic, small animal clinic and then a mixed animal practice in Alberta.

Shannon joined Epona Equine in October 2017 as a part-time vet which eventual turned into a more full time position. Shannon and her family moved to the Yukon in early 2021. We miss her very much and hope they move back to the Valley some day. Kohlie stayed behind and lives with Dr. Guillemaud.

 

Kasey and ‘Figgy’

Kasey Lathangue, former veterinary assistant. Kasey gradated from the Animal Care Aide program at North Island College in May 2020. She has been riding since she was 13 an has worked at local stables as well as a small animal clinic and a pet food store. She joined Epona in April 2021 and was with us until July 2022.

Cassidy and ‘Skyla’

Cassidy Roe, veterinary assistant. Cassidy started working as a vet assistant in 2017 at Van Isle Vet and joined Epona part time in November 2021. She is currently in her final year of her veterinary technician program through Thompsons River’s University. Cassidy has been around horses her whole life, she has a palomino named Skyla, who she got when she was 12. She joined us in November 2021 and has since moved on to further pursue her degree as a Registered Veterinary Technician focusing on small animals.