We operate a 24 hour emergency service
Woodbridge: 01394 380083 Felixstowe: 01394 284554 Rendlesham: 01394 420964 Ipswich: 01473 274040
We operate a 24 hour emergency service
Woodbridge: 01394 380083
Felixstowe: 01394 284554
Rendlesham: 01394 420964
Ipswich: 01473 274040

Meet the Team

Ben Ryder-Davies BSc BVM&S MRCVS

Partner and Equine Veterinary Surgeon

Ben qualified from Edinburgh University in 2000 and following a spell in mixed practice in Shropshire returned home to Suffolk in 2002 and became a partner in the Practice in 2005. He enjoys all aspects and challenges of working in equine general practice but has a special interest in breeding and stud work including artificial insemination with chilled and frozen semen. He is a member of the British Equine Veterinary Association, a member of the Association of Racecourse Veterinary Surgeons enabling him to provide veterinary cover on racecourses and an FEI Permitted Treating Vet. He is Official Veterinary Surgeon to the Shire Horse Society and a Veterinary Examiner for the Worshipful Company of Farriers as well as a member of their Executive Examination Group. His partner, Abi owns and runs a Saddlery and they have a son with a passion for sailing and a daughter who has shown ponies since an early age and now enjoys showjumping and is worryingly developing an interest in eventing.

Dr Joe Steventon BVSc MRCVS

Partner and Veterinary Surgeon at Woodbridge Surgery

Joe qualified from Liverpool in 1997. He started as a mixed practice vet on the Welsh borders, however his love for small animal work soon took over and after a brief stint teaching vet students at the RVC, he spent a few years running a practice in London. He then returned to his home town of Woodbridge and joined our practice in 2007. Joe is now our small animal partner and has a love for all aspects of small animal work. He has a keen interest in orthopaedic surgery and small animal medicine. Away from work he and his wife Kelly are kept busy by their two lively children, Harper & Noah, Cookie the cat, Tallulah Wilson the tortoise, a brood of chickens and tropical fish!

Dr Tim Gamston BVetMed(Hons) CertVM&S MRCVS

Head Veterinary Surgeon at the Ipswich Surgery

Tim graduated with honours from the Royal Veterinary College 2013. He initially worked in equine practice in Shropshire before later returning to his roots in Suffolk 2015. Since then he has focused his career on companion animal medicine. His main clinical interests are internal medicine and diagnostic imaging. To further these interests he recently completed a years internship at a specialist veterinary hospital, Dick White Referrals. Whilst there he gained a certificate in veterinary medicine and surgery, and he is currently working towards attaining his advanced practitioner status.
Tim lives locally with his wife, baby son, two terriers, a tortoise and an ever growing flock of hens. In his spare time Tim can be found on his allotment, paddle boarding or exploring the beautiful Suffolk countryside.

Dr Holly Game MA VetMB MRCVS

Head Veterinary Surgeon at the Felixstowe Surgery

Holly grew up in Woodbridge and after graduating from Cambridge University moved back to her home town. Holly joined our Ipswich surgery as a small animal vet in September 2016, and was promoted to Head Vet at our Felixstowe surgery in 2020.

She has two very pampered guinea pigs called Hazel and Edith. Outside of work, Holly enjoys keeping fit. She runs, cycles and rows, and has recently started cross-fit. Holly also likes to make the most of her holidays by travelling as much as possible.

 

Dr Aleksandra Petryka DVM MRCVS

Head Veterinary Surgeon of Emergency OOH team

Aleks joined Ryder-Davies & Partners in 2018 after working for different emergency veterinary services across the UK and Ireland, including training in university referral hospital of University College of Dublin. She enjoys all aspects of emergency and critical care and never panics. In 2020 she took the position of the Head Vet of Emergency OOH service, which strives to provide the best care for your pets when they need it the most. Aleks also runs ultrasound clinics in the Woodbridge branch as ultrasonography is her special interest which she is constantly advancing.

In free time she enjoys travelling and working as a veterinary volunteer to help less fortunate animals in developing countries.

Dr Alex Harrison BVSc MRCVS

Equine Veterinary Surgeon

Alex qualified from Liverpool in 2007 and worked in Manchester for a year before moving to sunny Suffolk where she has lived and worked since. She enjoys all aspects of first opinion equine practice but particularly medicine cases; in fact, she is known as the worm lady in our practice due to her constant encouragement of responsible parasite control! Outside of work Alex enjoys riding (especially a bit of a play around the cross country course), walking her Border Collie Tess, skiing (as much skiing as she can fit in a year!) and running.

 

Dr Katie Kershaw BVSc CertAVP(EM) MRCVS

RCVS Advanced Practitioner in Equine Internal Medicine

Katie joined Ryder-Davies in 2012 after qualifying from Bristol Vet School. Most of her work is with horses, although she has a keen interest in small holdings, especially sheep and goats. She has recently completed a certificate in Equine Medicine.

Many of you will have met her cocker spaniel ‘Dixon’ who spends a lot of time walking in the countryside. She doesn’t currently have her own horse, instead exercises friends horses in her spare time.

 

Dr Annabel March BVSc MRCVS

Equine Veterinary Surgeon

Dr Alice Brown BVSc MRCVS

Small Animal and Equine Veterinary Surgeon

Dr Sue Manning BVMS MRCVS

Senior Veterinary Surgeon at the Woodbridge and Rendlesham Surgery

Sue qualified from Glasgow Vet School in 1985, started with us in 1986 and apart from a brief spell in Framlingham she’s been with us ever since. She does mainly small animal work and enjoys seeing small furries, especially rabbits. She and her husband are restoring a large crumbling farmhouse and keep very busy with 25 ewes, 27 cows, 2 pigs, 13 geese, 20 chickens, 2 dogs, 2 cats, 1 mouse, 2 teenage children and a husband! In her spare time she used to enjoy sailing, but had to sell the boat to buy the house, so now she enjoys spinning wool, making felt and is currently trying to knit up the wool mountain in her loft!

 

Dr Jazzmin Arundell BVetMed MRCVS

Veterinary Surgeon at the Woodbridge surgery and Emergency OOH team

Jazzmin has been working for Ryder-Davies and Partners since she moved to Suffolk in 2018, and in 2020 became a hybrid vet, working half of her time on day shifts, and half of her time on the nighttime emergency service. Never happy sitting still, Jazzmin loves a busy day. She is currently studying for her post graduate certificate in small animal surgery. Her pride and joys are her two rescue dogs, Jesse, a retired racing greyhound, and Milton, a goodness knows what crossbreed, who, after many hours of training, can just about walk on a lead (as long as there are no cats or squirrels in eyeshot). She hates all exercise, but tries to go to the gym several times a week. Jazzmin is a happy and busy person, who can usually be spotted zooming around the practice or heard singing loudly and out of tune as she goes about her day.

Dr Ana Rodrigues MRCVS

Veterinary Surgeon at the Woodbridge Surgery and Emergency OOH team

Ana graduated in Porto (Portugal) in 2015 and within a few months she emigrated to the UK and started working for us. Her initial plan was to stay in England for 3-5 years and then head off to pastures new, but she enjoyed living in Suffolk so much that 8 years later she’s still here! Our dry British humour, cream teas and Sunday roasts have certainly won her over. She was initially working day shifts at our Felixstowe branch, but 2 years ago she started working as a hybrid vet at Woodbridge, which means she alternates between working day and night shifts. You likely won’t be able to spot her outside of work in her free time, as she’s either at home sleeping to recover from the out of hours shifts, or she’s driving/flying to a neighbouring city or country for a cheeky hiking or city break – we may have convinced her to stay in the UK, but she still suffers from “itchy feet” and so she tries to travel as much as she can! Her absolute favourite thing to do is to go on multi-day long distance hikes, and she will try to convince you that’s the best type of holiday there is (she has never managed to convince anyone, but nonetheless, she tries). She also enjoys open water swimming, paddleboarding, running, cycling, bouldering and snowboarding – she’s not particularly good at any of these sports, but she still does it for the fun of it. She’s a well known crazy cat lady and used to live with her cat Oscar – he has very sadly passed away recently in a road traffic accident. Due to her current lifestyle she has made the difficult decision of not adopting another animal for now, but once she settles down a bit more she’ll start looking at adopting another furry companion. It really is true what they say: a home without a cat is just a house!

Dr Sam Fowler MA VetMB MCRVS

Veterinary Surgeon at the Woodbridge Surgery

After graduating from the University of Cambridge, Sam moved home to Felixstowe and joined our Woodbridge team in August 2019.

He particularly enjoys the challenges of internal medicine and neurology, as well as inpatient care.

Outside of work Sam enjoys playing tennis, swimming and playing the viola in a local string orchestra. He currently cares for a crazy, but cute, Brussels Griffon called, Bug.

Dr Kathryn Jones BVetMed BSc MRCVS

Veterinary Surgeon at the Woodbridge Surgery

Kathryn qualified from the Royal Veterinary College in London in 2004. She worked in mixed practice in Lincolnshire for a year before moving to Suffolk. She worked as a small animal vet for 13 years before joining the Ryder-Davies team. Outside of work Kathryn has a Jack Russell called Henry and a cat called Peas. She loves yoga and the great outdoors.

Dr Heather Frenkiel BVM&S MRCVS

Veterinary Surgeon at the Woodbridge Surgery

Heather qualified from the University of Edinburgh in 2019, and joined the Ryder-Davies team in December 2021 following 2 years of working in mixed animal practice. She enjoys all aspects of first opinion practice, and continues to work with both equines and companion animals.

Outside of work, Heather enjoys riding, developing her dressmaking skills, and exploring the Suffolk countryside.

Dr Nicola Fosker BVSc MRCVS

Veterinary Surgeon at the Woodbridge Surgery

Nicola grew up in Suffolk and moved back after graduating from Bristol Vet School (during the pandemic!) to join the practice, after spending a lot of time here as a student.

Outside of work Nicola enjoys running and CrossFit.

Dr Lucy Dobree BVM BVS MRCVS

Veterinary Surgeon at the Woodbridge and Rendlesham Surgery

Lucy graduated from University of Nottingham in 2014. She worked in a small animal practice in Oxfordshire for 5 years before moving back to Woodbridge and starting work as a night vet at Ryder Davies and then moving on to days at our Woodbridge and Rendlesham surgeries.

Lucy’s clinical interests include canine reproduction and diagnostic imaging, but she enjoys all aspects of first opinion veterinary work.

In her free time, Lucy enjoys walking her two black Labradors, seeing her friends and writing.

Dr Sanaa Cockar BA VetMB MRCVS

Veterinary Surgeon at the Woodbridge Surgery

Sanaa qualified from the University of Cambridge in 2023 and moved from London to Suffolk shortly after, to join the team at Ryder-Davies. She has particular interest in exotics and wildlife and really enjoys all aspects of veterinary medicine. In her spare time she loves to go hiking and exploring, play netball, exercise and is currently learning Arabic!

Dr Emma Hewitt BVetMed MRCVS

Veterinary Surgeon at the Woodbridge Surgery

After qualifying from the Royal Veterinary College in 2012, Emma returned home to Suffolk, initially working in mixed animal practice then tutoring at the College of Animal Welfare.
She joined Ryder-Davies and Partners in July 2021 as a consulting vet for small animals.
In addition to her veterinary work, Emma also teaches secondary science in a Montessori school.
Emma shares her home with a menagerie of pampered pets including a dog, a cat, a horse, a pony, two sheep and three chickens.
Outside of work, she enjoys spending time with her family and friends, horse riding and open water swimming.

Dr Kelly Rouse BVSc MRCVS

Veterinary Surgeon at the Felixstowe Surgery

Kelly joined us in October 2013 after graduating from Bristol University and works mainly at our Felixstowe surgery. She has a naughty (but loveable!) Jack Russell Terrier called Poppy and a Labrador called Fynn, who she enjoys taking on walks in her spare time.

Dr Katie Roberts BA VetMB MRCVS

Veterinary Surgeon at the Felixstowe Surgery

After graduating from Cambridge University in 2021, Katie returned home to Suffolk where she has been working since. She joined the team at Ryder-Davies & Partners in autumn 2023. Outside of work, Katie enjoys reading, yoga & looking after her very spoilt rescue cat, Thomas.

Dr Luis Sainz-Pardo MRCVS

Veterinary Surgeon at the Ipswich and Felixstowe Surgeries

Dr Vittoria Howard BVMSci MRCVS

Veterinary Surgeon at the Ipswich Surgery

Dr Rebecca Johnson BVM&S MRCVS

Veterinary Surgeon at the Ipswich Surgery