Meet the team
Sally Wilson BVMS DBR MRCVS
07912123557
Sally qualified from Glasgow University in 2002 and has practised large animal veterinary medicine ever since. She has worked with practices in Cumbria, New Zealand and Somerset, whilst also completing a short period of time as resident vet at Genus bull stud in Wales. Her area of greatest interest is undoubtedly dairy cattle. Having set up Evolution Farm Vets in 2007, she completed her Diploma in Bovine Reproduction in 2008. She has steadily developed more interest in the business side of dairy farming and works hard on helping farmers to make their business more successful through improving the herd health side of their enterprise. Much of this is done on-farm in a consultancy role. But, in 2017, Evolution Farm Training was launched. This is another way in which Sally is able to share her knowledge with farmers. She finds improving their skills on-farm very rewarding and the practically-based Farmer Training which is carried out both in the Practice and on-farm is becoming ever more popular.
| Sally is on the Board of Directors for the British Cattle Veterinary Association (BCVA) as well as being a registered BCVA Accredited Johnes Adviser and BVD-Free Advisor. |  |
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Evolution is very important to Sally and most of her waking hours are given over to the Practice. But always, running through all that she does, is her devotion to her family. Her ever-supportive husband and her two fantastic children make it all worthwhile (most of the time!)
Whatever spare time is left over is spent at her local CrossFit Box. She is addicted to fitness, runs half marathons on the hills and is always working on her Olympic Lifting in the hope that she may one day do well in some of the CrossFit competitions she insists on entering!
Brendan John MA VetMB MRCVS
07912123558
Brendan is a person who usually achieves whatever he sets his mind to achieving - and, luckily for Evolution, he decided at some point in his past to become a vet. He went on to qualify from Cambridge in 2009 and has worked in 100% farm animal practice ever since. He joined Evolution as an assistant vet in January 2012 when it was decided quite quickly that, to stop him from ever getting fed up and leaving, he should be made a partner. This aim was fortunately mutual and was achieved in August 2012. As well as being an excellent vet, Brendan has brilliant IT skills (for which we understand we should be thanking his father) and has progressed the practice to heights of record-keeping and communication which were previously mere dreams. He is responsible, amongst much more, for building this web-site and for creating our online-buying facility - which is (so far!) available to clients only.
While he was at university, Brendan met Heidi, decided that she was the one for him and . . . they were married in May 2013, just before Heidi joined us to set up Evolution Equine. Again, this must have been a mutual aim, as Heidi is at least as determined as Brendan! In 2016, they welcomed their daughter, Eliza Rose, who persuaded Heidi that maternity leave was actually enjoyable after all - but who will doubtless lead them many merry dances as she grows older and begins to put her double-dose of determination to good use.
Brendan, like Sally, spends a lot of his "chill-time" still thinking about the practice, but he does find time to indulge his keen interest in cooking (lucky Heidi!). His dream, having raised his first animal to slaughter-weight a while ago, is to own sufficient land on which to raise his own beef.
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Brendan is registered as a BCVA Accredited Johnes Adviser | |
Brendan is a registered veterinary surgeon for BVDfree England. |
Heidi John BSc MA VetMB MRCVS
07702492201
Heidi grew up on her grandmother's farm in Cornwall, surrounded by animals. Having completed a Biochemistry degree at Exeter University, she followed quickly with a veterinary degree and qualified from Cambridge in 2008. Working life for Heidi began in a large mixed practice in Norfolk, where she got her first taste of dairy practice while helping the diminishing number of farms in that area to expand and to develop their profitability.
Heidi had met Brendan (see above!) while both were at Cambridge and when Brendan joined Evolution back in 2013, she came with him to Somerset and it was here that her gravitation towards equine work began. After a short spell with a mixed practice (and after she and Brendan were married), Heidi moved to Evolution with the aim of developing our equine section. This she achieved rapidly - and with quite spectacular success. However, she has not forgotten her beginnings and very much enjoys being able to support the farm vets and maintaining involvement with our farm clients.
When not at work Heidi can often be found borrowing horses for hunting around the Quantocks, or walking her whippet lurcher Bluebell.
Ashley Stewart BVetMed MRCVS
07725833712
Ashley qualified from the Royal Veterinary College in 2012 and spent the next 36 months working in mixed practice in Devon, focusing mainly on farm and equine work. Ashley joined Evolution back in November 2015, and right from the start fit easily into the fast-paced life and team spirit. He very quickly became an integral part of Evolution Equine and has alongside Heidi helped to build an extremely loyal client base. That has led to the exceptional growth and success of Evolution Equine. He particularly enjoys working up challenging medical cases, but also put a lot of pride and effort into my equine dentistry – something that some vets shy away from, but not Ash. He hasn’t fully hung up his farm vetting gear and is still involved in on-call for farm. He has the ability to put his hand to anything and has always been very skilled at surgery.
His father’s life-time dedication to racing has doubtless had a lot to do with Ashley’s abiding interest in horses – not to mention his ambition to one day breed a Cheltenham Festival winner. When not caring for horses; Ashley can also be found playing football for Nether Stowey FC, enjoying a round of golf or exploring the Quantocks with his partner Stacey and their dog Luna.
Tom White BVMS MRCVS
07399650079
Tom qualified from the university of Surrey in 2019. Quantock born and bred, Evolution were very pleased to employ Tom as a farm vet. Prior to joining the team, he spent a year in New Zealand milking cows. He has since been back on sabbatical and joined our favourite NZ vets for 6 months, where he was able to broaden his experience in all things farm vetting. He has also become a major part of Evolution Equine and is renowned for his calmness and relaxed attitude which is popular amongst horses and owners alike! Tom has always wanted to be a farm vet, that compliments his true passion for sustainable agriculture and the future of farming. His desire to work with cattle and sheep along with his personable attitude make him the perfect fit for Evolution.
Whilst not at work it’s almost certain that you’ll find Tom with hockey stick or cricket bat in hand. He’s also a keen skier, so will be found on the slopes for sure at some point during the season. Any spare time he has left is spent helping out at home on his family run beef and sheep farm.
George Rich BVSc MRCVS
07702951252
George qualified from The University of Bristol in 2022 with an enthusiasm for all things Farm! Some of you may recognise him from his time with us as a student. George’s interest in becoming a farm vet was sparked by spending time helping at his Uncle’s dairy farm in the Mendips. As a recent graduate, he has an interest in all aspects of farm animal medicine and is casting a wide net when it comes to finding his niche. He is passionate to work with farmers to maximise herd health and profitability. Alongside, George’s enthusiasm for equine medicine is obvious for all to see.
When not on farm George can be found running on the Quantocks, climbing and route setting for climbing gyms, or in the mountains putting his recent qualification as mountain leader to good use. He’s also a keen baker which always goes down a storm in the office.
Amber Cradock
07538871352
Amber is our Head Vet Tech and Approved TB Tester. She grew up on her family farm near Bath where they have a suckler herd and rear dairy replacement heifers. She has always adored cows, especially channel island breed and realised her passion for dairy through relief milking during her days off! She attained her degree in Agricultural Management from Plymouth University in 2019, and became assistant herd manager on a 250 organic dairy farm. This background led her to Evolution in 2021 and it’s hard to remember life without her! She is now an integral part of the team, supporting the vets where required as well as building up her own client relationships. Her hard work ethic, willingness to help and positive outlook on life make her very popular with staff and clients alike! Having grown up with horses, she is also comfortable supporting Evolution Equine with Gastroscopes and X-rays. Amber is currently working towards the first available “official” Vet Tech qualification which is based at Harper Adams and will be complete by 2024.
Amber’s favourite areas of her job include pregnancy diagnosis (she has her DEFRA-approved ultrasound scanning certificate) and calf routine work. When not at work she can be found walking her dogs on the Quantocks, relief milking or back helping out at her home farm.
Jo joined us mid-2013 - and it wasn't long before we wondered how we had ever managed without her! Many of you will know her well and be familiar with her great efficiency in the day-to-day running of the office, often being your first point of contact when phoning the practice. Amongst all this, she also manages to fit in almost anything else that is thrown her way including the bookkeeping and management accounts for the practice. The glue that holds the practice together, Jo was promoted to Practice Manager in November 2022.
Although she has lived down here for almost 30 years, you will recognise her on the phone by her Brummie accent. Jo lives near Taunton with Ziggy, whom she married in 2017.
Miles is our practice manager. His is the thankless task of ensuring that the wheels of our busy practice run smoothly – despite our seemingly-best efforts at getting them to run so fast that they drop off! Well-liked by the clients, he gets satisfaction from ensuring that our service is top-notch and takes pride in getting our fortnightly deliveries out on time, with minimum mistakes.
When not working, he can be found on the Quantocks taking photographs or enjoying a ‘wee dram’ (or two) with his farmer-friends . . . unless it’s a skittles night. A skittles night is, of course, for skittles only.
Peter oversees the smooth running of our storeroom. He puts together your meds orders, makes sure that our shelves contain the necessary stock levels, checks that we do not keep meds beyond their expiry dates – and keeps the place spick and span. Amongst all of this, he also answers the telephone when Jo and Miles are otherwise engaged and books orders to client-accounts. His job is somewhat akin to a juggling act, and needs concentration and organisation . . . possibly not quite the step down from stress and responsibility he envisaged when he left his previous career-path in retail!
Away from work, Peter’s Saturdays are often spent wandering our beautiful countryside with his camera. He enjoys good music and will often be found watching cricket in the summer.