About Grand Strand Equine Veterinary Services

About Dr. Elizabeth Gorrell

Dr. Elizabeth was foaled in Lexington, KY and lived there for most of her life. She had a wonderful horse named Copper and they competed in Eventing. She completed her undergraduate studies at Hanover College in Hanover, Indiana. While in college she worked at Hagyard Equine Medical Institute in Lexington during her summer breaks. Upon completion of her undergraduate degree in Biology, she attended St. George’s University for her veterinary education. She finished her veterinary education at Cornell University for her clinical year. While in school she continued to explore externships in equine medicine. Upon graduation she accepted and completed an internship at Equine Reproductive Concepts in Amissville, Virginia. After that she joined the Grand Strand Equine team and has been here ever since. She purchased the practice in 2024.

She has advanced training in acupuncture and is currently getting chiropractic training. Dr. Elizabeth’s interests include wellness care, complicated medicine cases, surgery, and holistic medicine. She is active in the American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP) as the chair of the Horse Owner Education Committee and a member of the Foundation of the Horse Disaster Relief Committee.

In her free time, Dr. Elizabeth enjoys paddleboarding, gardening, reading, travel, and hanging out with her friends and family. She has three cats; Penellope, Ophelia, and Cleo who keep her entertained at all times.

About Kristen

Kristne doesn’t like to speak about herself but she holds down the office like a master. She has done many things that give her a unique skill set. She has been a nurse, a 4th grade teacher, and has some previous office experience. She is originally from Ohio and moved down here in 2023 because the weather is amazing and the people are friendly. She has a wonderful husband and adorable little girl. She has a bunny, three dogs, and three horses. In her free time she enjoys trail riding, going to the beach, and anything else with her family. She is the least well known staff member as she stays in the office and doesn’t get out much.

About Courtney

Courtney was born and raised on Eastern Long Island in New York. Growing up, Courtney had 2 horses, a standardbred named Socks and an off the track thoroughbred named Ashley, that she loved very much, especially Socks. Her family eventually moved and were able to build a backyard barn and move her horses to their home. Sadly, Socks passed before this but her family added 2 Pasofinos named Chico and Star to their little herd. Courtney was riding horses before she could even walk and continued to ride throughout high school. As she got older, Ashley became her favorite horse to ride. Courtney prefers to ride English and enjoys jumping. Unfortunately when Courtney went to college she stopped riding due to a lack of time and expense but continued to have a passion for horses as well as other large animals both domestic and exotic.

Courtney graduated from the University of Georgia with a Bachelors of Science degree in Wildlife and Fisheries and pursued a career in animal training and zookeeping, a passion that she found after an internship at her hometown aquarium. Courtney worked with a large array of animals from African elephants, warthogs, various species of parrots, various species of primates, seals and sea lions at zoos and aquariums in Georgia, New York and South Carolina for 10 years. Her favorite animals are harbor seals and all birds. After 10 years in the animal training field, Courtney made the decision to pursue a new career that allowed for a more flexible schedule so that she could spend more time with her boyfriend and pets.

Courtney was so excited when she was hired at Grand Strand Equine in August of 2024 as a veterinary assistant, she loves that everyday is different and enjoys the challenge of learning a new set of skills in veterinary medicine and of course getting to love on all of the horses, ponies and donkeys we see. If you see your horse chasing Courtney in the field it’s because she has cookies in her pocket. She is also currently in massage school and can not wait to work on all your horses.

Courtney enjoys fishing, kayaking and exploring South Carolina with her boyfriend. Courtney has two dogs, 3 cockatiels, an African grey and a blue and gold macaw. All of which she enjoys training all sorts of behaviors in her spare time.