Eyeworld

160 | EYEWORLD | APRIL 2019 O UTSIDE THE OR by Name Title weekends, but almost never during the week—just whenever I had time," she said. Following medical school, Dr. Rubinate chose to do a mil- itary residency program, which she completed in San Antonio. She got her own horse again when she was stationed at William Beaumont Army Hospital at Fort Bliss in El Paso. With the exception of 2 years in El Paso, Dr. Rubinate has been in San Antonio for the last 11 years but will soon be start- ing with a new practice in Palm Beach County, Florida. When she chose to specialize in ophthalmology, Dr. Rubinate said she knew she wanted to do something surgical. She liked the surgery aspect of ophthalmology, but she also liked that there is a lot of chair time with the patients and in the clinic. She does cataract surgery and refractive procedures, and she noted that working in the military, she did a lot of PRK and LASIK. After settling into ophthalmology, Dr. Rubinate began to participate again in horse jumping competitions. She keeps her horse a short drive from her house, so she's able to practice easi- ly and said she tries to go out a couple days during the week and on weekends. It's definitely a year-round commitment, she said, but summer is harder because it gets so hot, which often necessi- tates riding early in the morning prior to clinic. Dr. Rubinate averages about one competition a month and said she does around 10–12 a year, sometimes clustered together. In the summer, she has competed in Colorado and Santa Fe, New Mexico. Other competitions are more local in Texas. In Dr. Rubinate's show jumping competitions, the goal is to clear all the jumps, without knocking any down or stopping, in the fastest time. With her current horse (who she has had for the past 2.5 years), Dr. Rubinate was ranked as the top in her state and second in her zone, which includes Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Kansas, Ar- kansas, and Missouri, for 2018. Though Dr. Rubinate said she doesn't find many similarities between ophthalmology and equestrian competitions, she noted the attention to detail required for both. She said that she finds horseback riding and the competitions to be fun and a stress release. Top: Dr. Rubinate competes in Katy, Texas. Source: Andrew Ryback Middle and bottom: Dr. Rubinate competes in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Source: Jerry Mohme continued from page 158

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