The Vets

Dr Mark Emerson

Mark was born in Argentina but moved to the UK at an early age and grew up in Lincolnshire. He qualified from Edinburgh University with a degree in Animal Science before studying veterinary at the University of Bristol. He qualified in 2004 and took up an intern role at Willesley Equine Clinic in Gloucestershire, before being offered a full time position there.

Mark started the practice in Ascot in 2009 as a sole practitioner to provide a more bespoke and individual service to horse owners in the area. He spends time every year in Argentina performing pre purchase examinations for clients importing horses to the UK. He is an avid polo player having played professionally for the last 20 years and sits on the Hurlingham Polo Association Welfare Committee to ensure high standards of care for polo ponies in this country. 

He is married to Sarah and they have 2 young children that keep Mark busy away from work. He plays polo regularly throughout the summer months and is a keen skier during the winter.

Dr Ricki Watson

Ricki qualified from the University of Bristol in 2004, the same year as Mark. Having grown up eventing and playing polo in Gloucestershire, a career as an equine veterinarian soon became his ambition. After graduation he worked in a mixed practice in Sussex before taking a job at a large equine hospital in Buckinghamshire. He joined Mark to create Emerson & Watson in 2011 due to the expansion of the practice.

Ricki is married to Kathryn, a nutritional therapist and has 2 young children that at this stage are not remotely interested in horses! Out of work, he is a keen photographer and skier.

Dr Lauren Tryggvason

Lauren is originally from Canada, but moved to the UK in 2008. She completed a degree in Neuroscience at the University of Edinburgh before moving on to the Royal Veterinary College in London to study veterinary medicine.

Having ridden from a young age, Lauren has always had an interest in horses and was inspired to pursue a career as an equine veterinarian by her experience working with military horses as a veterinary student.

After qualifying in 2015, she initially worked in mixed practice in Norfolk, followed by small animal and equine work in Berkshire and London. Having gained a good grounding in veterinary work across the different species, she started at Emerson & Watson in March 2018 and is happy to finally be back where she belongs – with horses!

Away from the office, she enjoys riding her horse Pretzel, running with her dog, Rocket, triathlon training and more recently, learning to surf.

Dr Felicity Cobbold

Felicity, also known as Flick joined us in the Spring of 2021 and has quickly become a familiar face for our clients over the summer. 

Flick grew up on the family farm in Suffolk where she spent her younger years working in and playing polo before spending 18 months working at Equibreed UK. While here she become attracted to the idea of being a vet and this was confirmed after spending time in veterinary centres in Australia and Argentina.

Flick qualified in 2019 from University of Surrey before completing an 18 month internship at Three Counties Equine Hospital in Gloucestershire, where they dealt with a large case load of competition horses and racehorses. 

Flick’s main interests are stud and sports horse work medicine and she has recently started her Advanced Veterinary Practice Certificate in Medicine and Lameness.

Flick enjoys running with her dogs and beginning her return to playing polo.

 Dr Bethany Pyzer

Beth joined Emerson & Watson in April 2022, having graduated from the University of Surrey in 2020.

Beth spent her teenage years surrounded by animals in the Cornish countryside, and spent her weekends competing with her local Pony Club in all disciplines, mainly show jumping. A career working with animals was inevitable, but it was clear during her time at university that her passion lay with horses.

Beth moved up from Cornwall to work at Emerson & Watson, after working as an equine only ambulatory vet there post-graduation. She enjoys all aspects of her job, but is especially interested in dentistry and medicine cases.

During her spare time, Beth is enjoying exploring the local area with her little spaniel, Tilly. She also loves paddleboarding, surfing and riding her two ponies when she visits home.

 Dr. Marine Metz

Marine joined us in March 2023. New to the area, she is looking forward to meeting clients and finding her way around the Thames Valley!

Originally from France, she qualified from the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine CEU Cardenal Herrera in Valencia (Spain) in 2019. 

After graduating she moved to the UK to undertake an equine internship at Hambleton Equine Clinic in North Yorkshire before working there as a first opinion Equine ambulatory vet. Her passion for horses, languages and travel took her further afield and in 2021 she joined Baker McVeigh International. During this period, she spent 18 months working with Thoroughbred racehorses and sport horses in Chantilly (France), Bahrain (Middle East) and Cape Town (South Africa). 

She enjoys all aspects of equine clinical work, with a particular interest in medicine and poor performance investigations.

Outside of work, she enjoys catching up with friends and family, travelling with her partner, and spending as much time outdoors hiking or, when back home, horse riding.

 Dr. Karen Chan

Karen joined us in the summer of 2023.

She qualified from the University of Edinburgh in 2019. During her final year, she completed externships at the Liphook Equine Hospital in Hampshire and the the American Fondouk in Morocco respectively. She then spent two years in an ambulatory equine practice in Cornwall.

In 2022 she returned to Liphook and undertook an 18-month internship where she spent majority of her time getting involved in lameness investigation and working alongside a team of specialists. She enjoys all aspects of equine work but has a keen interest in lameness/poor performance investigation and diagnostic imaging.

In her spare time, Karen enjoys playing both indoor and beach volleyball competitively. She also enjoys all things sporty and is often found bouldering and surfing.

Dr Cristina Gomez Martina-Crespo

Cristina joined us in 2022 doing event cover at the Polo Clubs. Originally from Spain, Cristina studied veterinary science at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid, graduating in 2016.

After an externship in Madrid, Cristina moved to the UK to work in an equine practice in Sussex. Following a summer working predominately with sports horses and polo ponies, Cristina took on an externship in Palm Beach, USA. Whilst here she was involved in working with several polo teams in Florida and gaining more experience in diagnostic imaging and lameness.

Cristina also went on to work within the Polo industry as a vet in Argentina. On her return to the UK she began working in the Sussex area again with a high work load of polo ponies and show jumpers. She is also a qualified in acupuncture in horses.

In 2022 Cristina married her husband Antonio who is also an equine vet and they spend their spare time travelling, doing CrossFit and playing padel.