Page 8 - October 2007 The Game

8 The Game, October 2007 Canada’s Thoroughbred Racing Newspaper
Dr. Von Herbing planting roots at Woodbine
Although Dr. Maxina H. Von Herbing was born in Victoria, British Columbia, she did not grow up there. In fact, the world was her playground as she moved from Canada to England, Kenya, Greece, and Italy, and back to England following
the career path of her British born father who worked as a Medical Doctor with the Canadian Foreign Services.
become at veterinarian working with horses.
She had began riding horses at a boarding school in England when she was six and maintained her seat in a saddle no matter where she was in the
was to have her own horse practice however for the first year she worked in a mixed animal practice before embarking on her first equine practice. For the next four years, Maxina tended to the veterinary needs of standardbred and sport horses during the daytime hours and continued to work with small animals at the emergency hospital 2 or 3 nights a week. She had also been the commission veterinarian at Hanover Racetrack for a couple of years before moving to Collingwood in what would ultimately be a turning point in her life.
“Moving to Collingwood was not all that I had hoped it would be and a year later I accepted a contract to work with Dr. Brain VanArem at Woodbine.” explained Maxina, not wanting to expand any further.
Today Dr. Maxina Von Herbing has her own veterinary practice at Woodbine with her own clients and realizes that this is where she was meant to be.
“I have got some really nice clients,” beams Maxina on the backstretch at Woodbine, “I didn’t grow up in Ontario but I really feel like this is where I belong. I’m happy here.”
It wasn’t until recently that Maxina finally found a place to plant roots and grow her business.
Maxina had achieved a degree in Engineering in England before Sky Diving took her interest and began travelling once again to sky dive in Japan, Spain, France and Belgium before becoming an instructor in the United States.
Dr. Maxina H. Von Herbing
world.
“All the time I knew I
wanted to be a vet. Because I moved around so much it just wasn’t falling into place.” Maxina said reflecting on her journey to where she is now, “Then finally I decided to make up my
“I was always
involved in that kind of stuff,” said Maxina about her athletic tendencies, “I liked rock climbing and excelled at sports
in school. Anything that didn’t involve a ball....I throw like a girl.”
Maxina had always known that she had wanted to
mind and I sold my sky diving stuff.” Although she was a Canadian born, Maxina had to establish residency in Ontario before applying to the University of Guelph. She lived with her father in the northern remote town of Pickle Lake where he had settled down with a family medical practice. Her mother, by that time, had returned to her native Hungary. Maxina graduated as a veterinarian in 1998 after six years of study. Her goal
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Acting the Goat....
Billy...the goat...takes a look around from a top the fire hydrant outside the barn of Tony Mattine at Woodbine. Billy is on loan from trainer Scott Fairlie as a companion for one of Tony’s horses, Legal Ties.
According to son John Mattine, this is a daily routine for Billy...the goat...who can actually get completely on top of the hydrant with all four hooves!
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