Alta Equine Team
Natalie Zdimal, DVM, Owner
A Northern California native, Dr. Natalie's love for equine medicine and competitive performance began in Sonoma County. After graduating from Santa Rosa High School, Dr. Natalie moved to England, where she spent two invaluable years training and competing in three-day eventing and dressage.
Dr. Natalie received BS and DVM degrees from the University of California, Davis. Following graduation, Dr. Natalie completed a year-long internship at Alamo Pintado Equine Medical Center and undertook a research project comparing nuclear scintigraphy and magnetic resonance imaging in horses with suspensory disease. She then returned to the Bay Area, where her focus has been lameness, preventative medicine, fitness, and rehabilitation of the Sporthorse.
Dr. Natalie believes in a multi-modal approach using integrative and holistic medicine. She has completed advanced training programs in both Animal Chiropractic and Veterinary Medical Acupuncture and is also an FEI Permitted Treating Veterinarian.
Dr. Natalie lives in Sonoma with her husband Joel and their two beautiful daughters Cézanne and Esmé. Joel is a winemaker and consultant. His wine label Las Jaras Wines is in the vanguard of the "New California" wine movement.
Leeann Berry, Administrative Assistant
Leeann was born and raised in rural Canada, where she spent her childhood showing and competing on the American Quarter Horse Circuit with her gelding, Major Moon Deck. After leaving Canada, she completed an Artist in Residency at the renowned Penland School of Crafts in North Carolina. She then moved to San Francisco, where she opened her own jewelry business and spent the last 10 years riding the beautiful trails in Pacifica, CA, with her OTTB gelding, Tommy.
Leeann comes to Alta Equine with over 15 years of animal care experience, over 10 of which was spent working in small animal medicine. She has built her life around the health and care of animals and is excited for this opportunity to join her passions for veterinary medicine and horses.
Leeann and her husband recently moved to Santa Rosa, where she has a small thriving metalsmithing business. Outside work, she enjoys making art in her studio, hiking with her dogs, reading, and gardening.
Tristan Bunderson, Veterinary Assistant
Tristan was born and raised in the Santa Ynez Valley. During high school, she began working for a dressage trainer, sparking her passion for horses and horseback riding. She relocated to San Luis Obispo for college and graduated from Cal Poly with a Bachelor of Science in Animal Science in June 2023. While attending college, Tristan worked at Varian Arabians, where she broadened her equine knowledge by working with foals, assisting with reproductive services, practicing general equine husbandry with various breeds.
In her free time, she enjoys hanging out with her dog, Dakota, and yearling, Caliber, as well as playing tennis and going on hikes.
Tom Smith, Veterinary Assistant
Tom was born in England and grew up in Cambridge for most of his life. He has always wanted to work in the equine industry and decided to pursue a career in thoroughbred breeding in 2013 by attending the National Stud apprenticeship course, where he won the ‘Student of the Year’ award. He completed his NVQ levels 2 and 3 in racehorse care (breeding option) at Blue Diamond Stud, a thoroughbred stud farm renowned for breeding and owning many group-level horses. He stayed there for 7 years, starting as an apprentice and finishing as Assistant Stud Farm Manager. His responsibilities included foalings, assisting with reproductive services, helping with breaking yearlings, and managing racehorses back at the farm for rehab.
After meeting his wife in 2019, a logistics officer in the Air Force, he relocated to the U.S. He has lived in Texas, South Carolina, and California. Since moving to California, he continued working in the racing industry at Golden Gate Fields as a Racing Official and a Placing/Patrol Judge until its permanent closure in June 2024.
In his free time, Tom is a big sports guy and supports Ipswich Town, an English football team. He enjoys playing pickleball and caring for his ex-racing greyhounds, Suri and Marc. He also enjoys trying new restaurants, tasting new craft beer and cider, and exploring new places.