Veterinarian passionate about playing polo

You may know her as a veterinary anesthesiologist and lecturer, but Bryce Dooley, DVM, MS, DACVAA, also is an avid polo player. In this dvm360^® interview, Dooley describes how she got involved in the sport in her local community, the challenges and rewards of working together with a horse and team members, and the life lessons it's taught her. For those intersted in playing polo, she also offered some encouragement on why you should learn the game!

Be sure to see Dooley and other renowned veterinary professionals speak at our upcoming Fetch Coastal conference in Atlantic City, NJ, taking place from October 9 to 11, 2023. Register here today to attend.

The following is a partial transcript of the video.

Bryce Dooley, DVM, MS DACVAA: The hardest part [of polo] is working in unison with my body and hitting the ball, and giving clear directives to the horse. So we can do this safely, and do this well. But I think the most challenging part is just being okay with being bad at something. And recognizing that, hopefully, I'll get better with time.

My favorite part is absolutely the teamwork with the horse, the teamwork with the team members, and strategy. And honestly, just the amazing people that I have met both from this area, and people that I have met traveling to do this, it has just been a wonderful, wonderful experience.

And sort of tying in with the whole thing of, it's hard to try something new and be bad at it and be okay with that. The biggest life lesson I have learned is that one, don't be afraid to try something new just because it's new. Go out and do it, you may have a great time, just like I am. And the second thing I've learned is that you are going to miss the ball (and that's both, literally and metaphorically). Starting out, I missed the ball all the time. And you're like, 'Ugh, I missed the ball.' But these very good players remind me that you are going to miss the ball. No matter how good these players get, they occasionally miss the ball. And it's not a big deal. You turn around, you rejoin your team, and you keep moving forward.