Our Team
Dr. Jay Joyce, our Veterinarian
Dr. Jay Joyce has been practicing equine medicine and dentistry locally for more than 8 years. He spent his early boyhood years in rural Arizona, then moved to Southern California. He grew up alongside horses and has always enjoyed being around people who care for horses.
He attended the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis and served 9 years on active duty. His Navy years were spent on two warships in San Diego, and in Washington D.C. at the Office of Naval Intelligence. Although a difficult decision to leave the Navy, Dr. Joyce was born to be a horse vet.
To qualify for admission to vet school, he attended the University of Maryland for 2+ years. He was on the Dean's List for the entire time at UMD. And although he was only 2 classes short of a second Bachelor's degree in Microbiology, he left UMD after being accepted to 11 veterinary schools.
Continuing to excel academically, Dr Joyce graduated with Honors from the School of Veterinary Medicine at the University of California, Davis (the #1 ranked vet school by US News and World Report). While in school, he received numerous awards and scholarships. Besides horses, he personally likes wildlife medicine, and with that, he spent nearly 3 months in South Africa hanging out of a helicopter darting buffalo, lion, elephants, giraffe, zebra, and others for a comprehensive Tuberculosis Study. He also spent a few months hunting and collecting rattlesnakes and surgically implanting tracking devices in them for a habitat study in Southern California. He has spent time in Lexington, KY, at both the world renown Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital as a surgery extern and at Hagyard-Davidson-McGee Associates as an internal medicine extern.
Dr. Joyce moved to Northern Virginia where he interned in both surgery and internal medicine at the Marion duPont Scott Equine Medical Center(EMC) in Leesburg before joining Blue Ridge Veterinary Associates (BRVA) in 2004. He maintains a strong working relationship with the EMC staff as well as other local referral facilities.
While at BRVA, Dr. Joyce developed a special interest in equine dentistry and lameness. And with the support of BRVA, he developed an existing strong equine practice into a leading-edge practice. Over the years, he has sharpened his skills, and made it a point to advance his capabilities. He is dedicated to staying well-educated and well-versed in advancements in equine medicine and techniques.
Underscoring his desire to stay on the cutting-edge, Dr. Jay attended as Presenter at the World Equine Veterinary Association (WEVA) Conference in Sao Paulo, Brazil, in September 2009. It was with great personal pride that Dr. Joyce was chosen to represent the U.S. equine veterinary community internationally.
Besides his international experience lecturing at the WEVA conference, Dr Joyce has strong veterinary and business ties to Barbados, Brazil, France, South Carolina, and California.
In September 2010, Dr. Joyce spun-off the equine practice from BRVA to create Total Equine Veterinary Associates (TEVA). He holds a vision of superior horse care coupled with excellent customer service. TEVA was created for the horse owner who wishes to embrace the concept of "Total" and bring together a team of professionals to attend to the various needs of their horse. TEVA wants to more closely couple the horse's owner, trainer, veterinarian, groom, and farrier into a more cohesive, integrated care team.
Determined to be a forerunner in lameness diagnosis and treatment skills, he has attended International Society of Equine Locomotor Pathology (ISELP) continuing education courses taught by the world's greatest equine lameness instructors and clinicians. Dr. Joyce is directly learning from the people who drive equine veterinary medicine to its limits. He seeks certification in this professional endeavor and hopes to finish the approximately 2-year course in record time.
Coupled with his desire to be educated, Dr. Joyce finds great pleasure in educating clients as well local students. Never hurried and always pleased to explain, Dr. Joyce has taught local high school and college students. He has spent time with students from the Monroe Technology Center, NoVA Vet Tech School, George Mason University, and recently with a new local veterinary technician program as an Adjunct Professor.
Underscoring his desire to inform horse owners, he is frequently published locally in Middleburg Life and the Horse Show Times. And now that he has embraced the TEVA website and Facebook, Dr. Joyce frequently updates these pages with horse health issues and disease outbreak warnings.
Look for Dr. Joyce on the paintball field or riding horses with his wife, Paula. He spends all his free time with Paula and the kids. He is also very proud to be an Assistant Scoutmaster of Troop 998 in Leesburg.
Paula Joyce – Dr. Jay’s wife and business manager
Paula has been involved in the area horse community since 2005, and horses for more years than she will admit. She rides in several barns enjoying the benefits of learning different disciplines such as dressage and jumping. She enjoys trail riding and polo as well. She met Jay while doing a pre-purchase exam on her horse and has been together with Jay ever since.
Paula has a full-time corporate job with Time Warner Cable but works on all aspects of Total Equine with Dr. Jay. As an Economist and getting her MBA, Paula brings business expertise to the table and assists with business development, client relations and day-to-day “office” management. When time permits, she rides along with Dr. Jay on his farm calls. These are her favorite times because she cherishes caring for animals in need and the outdoors; not to mention quality time with her husband and kids. Assisting Jay on the farm calls also provides her with a different perspective of the business which she lends to her business development ideas.
Gail Figgins – Licensed Veterinary Technician
Total Equine Veterinary Associates (TEVA) is very pleased and proud to announce the addition of its latest member, Gail Figgins. Gail is a state-recognized Licensed Veterinary Technician (LVT). She brings to you and I a ton of horse experience and the technical credentials to assist in a way that few equine veterinary practices optimize.
Residing in Virginia since her youth, she lives in Upperville with her husband, Raymond, and their youngest son, Ray. Both Raymond and Ray are employed at a thoroughbred breeding and racing facility. Ray is also attending college. Their oldest son, Sean, is a self-employed illustrator living in San Francisco. Their daughter, Lindsey, is a junior accountant in Washington, D.C. and lives in Alexandria.
Horses have always been a large part of Gail's life. Her involvement with horses started at an early age while spending time with her father as he broke and rode horses. She has competed in horse shows and combined training. Also, she was a 4-H leader and obtained a “B” Pony Club rating. She assisted her husband with the breaking, training and racing of thoroughbreds for 23 years. During that time, Gail worked at a steeplechase farm and rode a few point-to-point races. (She admits that this was a fun part of her career.) While working in the mornings with the race horses, her afternoons and evenings were spent employed at local equine veterinary practices as an assistant for over twenty years. Without a doubt, her equine veterinary technician experiences are of great value to us. There is not much that she has not seen; and she offers perspective to a variety of cases. She worked recently as a nurse in a prominent local 24/7 equine hospital. Undoubtedly, she has vast experience. We approached Gail while she working as a Licensed Veterinary Technician at a small animal referral surgical practice in Leesburg; and we delicately lured her away.
She enjoys quality time with her family, their Jack Russell “Maggie”, and their cat “Scotty. Gail asserts that summer vacations with her family Saratoga, N.Y. "are the best!"
As a licensed tech, we can utilize Gail in many legitimate ways like placing catheters, giving intramuscular and intravenous medications, and performing physical examinations. Part of a tech's training includes a keen sense of alerting the veterinarian to medical facts and findings that need the vet's attention.
Our patients will benefit from Gail's broad horse experience, technical background, and her ability to relate to horse owners in a sensible, professional manner. So please welcome Gail as we visit your farm. We hope that she will be a lasting member of our practice and a valued member of your total horse care team.
Our other super support team includes:
Mom and Dad Joyce, Mom and Dad Silva, Jack and James (our boys), Blue Ridge Veterinary Associates and Dr. Nancy Hall, and You!
