~By BCHA Board President, Clare Tone Authors Note: At the Annual Fun Show on Oct 22nd, 2023, the Recognition Award was presented to Dr. Fitch’s daughter, Lindsay Fitch. Before he was Dr. Fitch, Mark grew up on a cattle ranch outside of Gillette, WY where his passion for horses budded through participation in 4-H and rodeo throughout his childhood. While attending the University of Wyoming, Mark continued to rodeo, while earning a degree in veterinary sciences. He went on to graduate in 1976 from Colorado State University College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences and completed an internship at Littleton Large Animal Hospital in 1977. Dr. Fitch established his practice, Quality Equine Services in Boulder County that same year and practiced equine veterinary medicine for 46 years in the Boulder County region. The practice he established 46 years ago continues to thrive to this day. Sadly, our community lost an equine friend and hero on Nov 9th 2022. In addition to dentistry and expertise in lameness, Dr. Fitch’s standout skill and passion was in behavioral counseling. He was passionate about presenting–to fellow equine professionals and horse owners alike–on horse behavior and handling. He filled his spare time with training horses, team roping and, especially, spending time with his daughter, Lyndsay. So here’s a little known fact which speaks volumes about his character: in 1969 Dr. Fitch was featured in Sports Illustrated magazine, ‘faces in the crowd’ column. He was starting as a freshman at the University of Wyoming, coming off of an impressive high school athletic
