Meet the team
Maria Wright, DVM
Education
Duke University 1998
University of California, Davis School of Veterinary Medicine DVM 2003
Mid Atlantic Equine Medical Center, Ringoes, NJ Equine Internship 2004
Special Interests
Infectious Disease Control
Dentistry
Podiatry
Endocrine Disease Management
Dr. Wright is the founder of Alliance Equine Health Care, and was one of the original founding veterinarians of our predecessor practice, Brandywine Equine Veterinary Associates. She grew up in Rapid City, South Dakota. She started riding at a young age and soon was competing with her Quarter Horse in 4-H and regional western, hunter, and dressage shows. By high school she was competing successfully on the national AQHA circuit, and she achieved numerous high placings at the AQHA Youth World Championship Show and the Quarter Horse Congress. Dr. Wright has experience with a diverse range of equine breeds and disciplines which was gained through traveling around the country with her own horses during her years in college and veterinary school. Some of the highlights were training at an AQHA/NRHA Champion breeding and training facility, boarding at Canadian Equestrian Team member Harold Chopping’s farm in North Carolina, a Saddlebred show horse stable in Ohio, a Champion Morgan Horse breeding and training farm, and interning at a Standardbred racetrack in Ohio.
These days Dr. Wright divides her professional time between directly caring for her patients and working to improve our overall practice’s care of our patients and clients. She spends her down time caring for her own horses. Her other passions include gardening, playing the violin, and singing in a local choir. Her husband Robert, a neuroengineering research scientist, sometimes joins her during after hours emergency veterinary calls. Together they also enjoy hiking, camping, skiing, scuba diving, and rooting for the Duke basketball team!
Julia Miller, VMD
Education
Delaware Valley University 2009
University of Pennsylvania, School of Veterinary Medicine VMD 2013
Pilchuk Veterinary Hospital, Snohomish WA, Equine Internship 2014
Special Interests
Preventative/General Medicine
Dentistry
Acupuncture
Emergency Care
Dr. Miller joined Alliance Equine in 2017. She grew up in Media, PA and started riding, showing, and training horses at a young age. She and her sisters (who are both also still involved in our local equine community) began their equine experiences through the Delaware County 4-H, and graduated to horse ownership and local hunter/jumper competition soon after. Dr. Miller stayed close to home through college and veterinary school and continued to be active in the southeastern PA equine community throughout that time, including spending a few years as a part-time veterinary assistant at New Bolton Center before she became enrolled there as a veterinary student. She then moved to Washington State to complete an intensive internship at a large equine hospital there, before settling back down on the East Coast a few years ago.
Dr Miller loves all aspects of equine veterinary medicine, especially preventative health care, emergency medicine, anesthesia, lameness, and dentistry. Dr Miller also recently became certified to perform equine acupuncture! Besides her time helping our patients, she enjoys riding her warmblood mare “Madison,” and spending time with her husband Josh, her family, and her two dogs.
Melissa Murphy
Client Care Team Lead
Melissa has recently returned to southeastern Pennsylvania, and is thrilled to be returning to the Pennsylvania equine community. She is a highly experienced in veterinary medicine, having spent most of her working career in the small animal veterinary field, and is an experienced veterinary practice manager. Melissa grew up riding horses and earned her degree from Delaware Valley University, where she was highly involved in their equine studies program. Horses are her true passion and she is very excited to be able to focus her veterinary skills to help our equine patients and their owners.
Sarah Mills
Patient Care Team Lead
Sarah Mills hails from Virginia, where she grew up with a deep love for horses. She graduated from Bethany College, where she participated in Intercollegiate horse shows, before refocusing on training and pleasure riding. She moved to southeastern Pennsylvania and has since held positions in an equine hippotherapy program, at New Bolton Center, and has volunteered in an OTTB training program. In her free time, she enjoys riding, spending time with her friends, practicing yoga, working on her photography skills, and snuggling with her cats and dog.
Ashley Anderson
Veterinary Assistant
Ashley grew up in McKeen County, PA, and has been involved with horses her whole life. She grew up riding in 4-H before attending Penn State University, where she competed in western horsemanship at Intercollegiate horse shows. She was a summer veterinary assistant intern for Equine Veterinary Care at Fair Hill Training Center and has worked at western performance horse barns. In her free time, she enjoys trips home, riding her horses, reading, and hiking with her dog.
Desiree Stoltzfus
Veterinary Assistant
Desiree grew up in the heart of Chester County horse country, participating with her grandfather in fox hunting with the Cheshire Foxhounds. She worked as an exercise rider in a local steeplechase/fox hunting stable and competed in steeplechases and hunter/jumper events herself during high school. Desiree then set aside her passion for horses for 16 years in order to focus on her family, raising two fantastic kids!
Horses are once again a huge part of Desiree’s life. She and her family currently own two Thoroughbreds and two miniature horses, as well as a menagerie of other animals. She competes in local hunter/jumper competitions with her Thoroughbred, and fun miniature horse shows with her minis. Desiree is also a great humanitarian- her philanthropic activities include volunteering with local aid organizations and frequent mission trips to Guatemala. She joined Alliance Equine in 2013, and her compassionate spirit and love for animals make her a great member of our team!
