Meet the Team
Sam Burnell
Vet
BVSc BSAVA PGCertSAM MRCVS and RCVS Advanced Practitioner in Small Animal MedicineSam qualified from Liverpool 2004, originally from Burley-in-Wharfedale, she moved to East Yorkshire to work in a small animal and equine practice for 3 years before returning to West Yorkshire to work in a small animal only practice. She joined Ashlands to take on the Skipton branch in September 2014. Her particular interests lie in medicine and small furries. She became an RCVS Advanced Practitioner in Small Animal Medicine in 2020. She became a Clinical Director in August 2021.
Nikki Holt
Vet
BVetMed MRCVS, Clinical DirectorsNikki joined us in September 2016. Her interest lies in surgery and she gained the Certificate in Small Animal Surgery in 2020. She became a Clinical Director in August 2021. Nikki and her partner are in the process of renovating a farm house.
Arron Longman
Vet
BVMS MRCVSArron has worked at Ashlands since 2006. He qualified from Glasgow University in 1994 and worked in a veterinary hospital in London where he discovered an interest in veterinary dermatology. He has attended the World Veterinary Dermatology Conference in Vienna and is a member of the British Veterinary Dermatology study group. He also has developed an interest in smaller pet animals and has been a member of the British Rabbit Council. Outside work Arron enjoys running and has participated in The London Marathon and The Great North Run. He also enjoys languages, gym training, cooking and attempting to grow odd shaped and usually quite small vegetables!
Ana Devesa
Senior Vet
PgCert SASAna graduated in Portugal in 2013, where she worked for a few years before moving to the UK in 2016. She worked in a mixed practice in East Yorkshire, before joining Ashlands in October 2018. She especially enjoys surgery and is studying for a Certificate in Small Animal Surgery.
Rosie Marshall
Senior Vet
BVetMed PGCertSAECC MRCVSRosie qualified in 2006 from The Royal Veterinary College and has worked in her native Yorkshire ever since.
She is an Advanced Practitioner in Small Animal Emergency & Critical Care, obtaining this qualification in 2019, and is currently studying towards a certificate in Small Animal Medicine to compliment this. Her main interests lie in these areas of practice, particularly optimising care for hospitalised pets.
Outside of work she enjoys playing football and running, having completed several marathons and half marathons over the years, in and amongst trying to tire out her Labrador Fonzie
Bianca Olivier
Vet
BVSc MRCVS. Wellness ChampionBianca graduated in 2020 and then spent a year working as a state veterinarian and at a SPCA as she has a passion for animal welfare, she also enjoys working with wildlife. Her special interests include small animal medicine and surgery. She comes from a beautiful coastal town in South Africa and in March 2022 moved to the UK. In her personal time she enjoys hiking and being outdoors. Bianca is studying towards a Small Animal Emergency and Critical Care certificate.
Cynthia Hodge
Veterinary Surgeon
MA VetMB MRCVSCynthia graduated from Cambridge University in 2003 and since then has worked in different parts of England from the Lake District to the Peak District. She joined Ashlands in 2022 and is happy to be back in Yorkshire now where she grew up. She is interested in all aspects of small animal medicine and she works between Ilkley and Skipton
Outside of work she is usually out with her little terrier walking in the Dales or on the coast.
Elli-Ioanna Papazoglou
Veterinary Surgeon
MRCVSElli graduated in Greece in 2018. She worked there for a year in a 24-hour animal hospital, before moving to the UK in 2019. She joined Ashlands in December 2019. Her main interest is medicine and she also enjoys dermatology cases. She is currently studying for a Certificate in Small Animal Medicine.
Hayley O’Reilly
Veterinary Surgeon
BVSc, MRCVS,Ryan Newman
Vet
MVDr MRCVSRyan graduated from the University of Veterinary Medicine and Pharmacy, Kosice in Slovakia in 2018. He started at Ashlands in August 2018, and enrolled on the Vet Partners new graduate programme He has a cat called Jim and enjoys running outside of work.
Stuart Black
Vet
BVMS MRCVSStuart graduated from the University of Glasgow in 2014, He has since worked in small animal practice for 2 years in Newcastle area before moving and working abroad for a further 2 years in Australia and New Zealand whilst travelling around in a camper van! He returned to the UK in 2018 where he joined the Ashlands team. He is interested in all areas in small animal practice. When not working Stuart enjoys hiking and camping particularly in the Yorkshire Dales.
Jenny Chapman
Clinical Nurse Manager
Cert VNECCGalina Harrison
RVN
Lead NurseGalina qualified as a Registered Veterinary Nurse in 2008, and has worked at a veterinary dental referral practice. She joined Ashlands in 2018. She has just started a Diploma in behaviour, and has an interest in surgical nursing. She has a dog and a cat, and enjoys crafting and gardening.
Steph Ellis
Lead Nurse
RVNSam Holmes
RVN, NCert(AnaesthNsg)
Lead NurseSam came to us in 2013 whilst on her degree placement from the Royal Veterinary College. She then qualified in July 2016 and took on the role of Lead nurse at Skipton, early 2022. Most recently, she completed her Nursing Certificate in Anaesthesia in March 2023. Outside of work, Sam enjoys taking walks with her Cocker Spaniel, relaxing with her rescue cat, and PC gaming.
Ella Sievewright
RVN
Elsa Fawbert
RVN
Night NurseElsa qualified as a Veterinary Nurse in 2021.
Elsa joined Ashland's as a night nurse, and her role is to look after inpatients and respond to out-of-hours enquires.
She has a Border Collie called Tyke and a cat Called Chip, which are both rescues.
Outside of work, Elsa's hobbies include walking, traveling, and embroidering
Sarah Prior
RVN
Laura Nelson
RVN
Night NurseLaura has always had a keen interest in animals and after completing an animal management course went on to study veterinary nursing at Myerscough college, where she graduated as a Registered Veterinary Nurse in July 2015. She is passionate about the care and wellbeing of animals with a keen interest in medical nursing. At the start of the pandemic, Laura stepped in to look after the inpatients and help with emergencies during the night, a role which she has continued. In her free time she likes to go walking with her two spaniels Jazz and Poppy.
Megan Fowler
RVN
Megan has been a member of the Ashlands Nursing team since 2017, joining the Nursing register in 2021. Megan has a keen interest in medical nursing.
Becky Wright
RVN
Becky qualified with a degree in veterinary nursing from Myerscough college in 2007. During her career she has worked in Leicester, Guildford and Portsmouth before settling at Ashlands in 2021. Beckys favourite part of Veterinary Nursing is client care and education. In 2015 Becky was named as Pet Health Councillor of the year for her work with clients, students and the community. In practice Becky is most at home in the nurse consult room offering advice to our clients about various aspects of health care. Becky is actively involved in the training of our student Veterinary nurses. Outside of work Becky enjoys watching films of all kinds and also crafting, especially knitting and crossstitch
Yvonne Howard
Nurse
Senior NurseYvonne worked at Ashlands in 2000 when Anne and Andy took over. She left to pursue a career in supermarket management a few years later, but missed her veterinary nursing so much she returned in 2014. She has two border collies and is a keen dog agility competitor.
Zoe Andrews
RVN
Zoe passed the veterinary nurse training with Myerscough College in 2021. She has two Shetland ponies that she carriage drives and four indoor little guinea pigs that she adopted from a local rescue
Megan Whitehead-Edwards
Student Nurse
Niketa Thorpe
Student Nurse
Charlotte Stamp
Animal Nursing Assistant
VCA : SQP : Stock ChampionCharlotte was first interested in veterinary nursing at the age of 14. At 16yrs old she got her first job as a trainee nurse where she stayed for 5 1/2yrs before joining Ashlands working for previous owners Pam Braithwaite & Geoff & Geraldine Hale. She has worked for Andy & Anne since they took over the practice in 2000, apart from a brief absence when she went to work for a pet insurance company as a veterinary advisor. She now works part time at Ilkley dividing her time between reception and nursing duties.
Ellie Judd
Student Veterinary NurseEllie joined Ashlands in November 2021 and is currently an animal nursing assistant. She is starting the veterinary nurse training course at Myerscough College in September 2022. She has a beagle called Dotty and enjoys long walks in the countryside.
Ben Ogden
Practice Manager
ADCBM, RVNBen has been working in the Veterinary industry since 2004, qualifying as a registered Veterinary Nurse in 2008. He took over the role of Practice Manager in January 2022. In his spare time Ben is a scout leader for a local scouting troop.
Amy Thornbarrow
RVN
Deputy Practice ManagerAmy began her career at Ashlands in 2006, to pursue her ambition of becoming a Veterinary Nurse. She started training at Myerscough College, as well as being employed full time with the practice, and in November 2009 she successfully qualified as a Registered Veterinary Nurse. Since qualifying as a Veterinary Nurse she was given the role of Deputy Head Nurse at Glusburn which entails ensuring the well being of a professional nursing team. She has now taken on the role of Deputy Practice Manager. She has a keen interest in physiotherapy and medical nursing, which she hopes to gain knowledge and experience of in the years to come. Amy has enrolled on a hydrotherapy course.
Alison Fortey
Reception
Alison joined us in June 2017, having spent the previous 14 years working as a teaching assistant in a primary school. She has a grown up daughter and a cat called Tigger.
Cathy Lamb
Support Team
Insurance administrationCathy has been at Ashlands since 2008. She qualified as a Veterinary Nurse in 2010. Cathy looks after our Laboratory, having worked in a Lab previously, and deals with all insurance claims. She rescued a black Labrador puppy with a severe congenital abnormality which was corrected by surgery here. He has grown into a bouncing healthy dog and Cathy loves long walks on the moor with him.
Elaine Moore
Reception
Previously a client of Ashlands, Elaine joined our reception team in October 2021. Elaine has 3 grown up children and two cockapoos called Pippa and Mabel who enjoy long countryside walks.
Francesca Wanley
Reception
Jane Strachan
Support Team
FinanceJane has worked at Ashlands Vet Centre since 1997. Initially she worked as a nurse then branched out into the accounts department. She left us in May 2016, but decided that she'd like to return and came back in June 2017 to help with the financial side.
Janet Gibbs
Reception
Jayne Woodward
Reception
Judith Phillips
Support Team
Client Services ManagerJudith started at Ashlands in 2005 having previously worked at a doctor's surgery. She has two pets, a rescue cat from Cats Protection who is now 14 years old and is getting very grumpy in his old age and 7 year old Parson Russell terrier who is the cause of her cat's bad moods. She has two grown up sons.
Julia Sabin
Reception
Previously a client at Ashland's for a number of years, Julia joined the team as a receptionist in November 2021. Julia has an Italian Spinone called Rhubarb and also adopted a Golden doodle called Eddie earlier. Julia enjoys walking in the beautiful Yorkshire Dales. Julia has also hand reared a goose and looked after an injured owl releasing it successfully back into the wild a week later
Katie Harrison
Reception
Mandie Anderson
Maintenance and Logistics
Mandie joined the team in July 2014 when Ashlands merged with Cats Only. She has 2 border collies, 5 RSPCA rescue cats, a very talkative African grey parrot and 18 hens. Mandie, as well as completing a Diploma in animal management, has worked at Hesketh farm park, been a puppy walker for Guide Dogs and worked with the local RSPCA. She looks after the maintenance at the three surgeries and steps in to cover as an animal care assistant and receptionist when needed.
Rachel Mawson
Reception
Rachel joined us in 2016, she has two children, two dogs and loves horse riding with her family.
Sue Trewatha
Reception
Sue started at Ashlands in 2004 having previously worked as a doctor’s receptionist. Sue and her husband Barry enjoy long walks with their spaniel Ellie. Sue enjoys spending time in her garden growing an assortment of fruit and vegetables. Sue has two grown up children.
Victoria Sievewright
Reception