Hernando Plata-Madrid

Hernando Plata-Madrid, 63, of Versailles, Kentucky, passed away on the morning of August 18, 2024.

Hernando was born on July 14, 1961, in Bogota, Colombia, where as soon as he was able, he got busy with his favorite past time: work.

After getting his Doctorate in Veterinary Medicine from De La Salle University in Colombia and completing his internship, masters degree and theriogenology residency at the University of Missouri, Hernando would spend a year in Virginia Beach where he would meet one Lisa Martin before moving to the Bluegrass.

The pair would get married on January 28, 1998, and would go on to have three children in daughters Gabrielle and Mackenzie, and son Griffin.

Following decades spent as a pivotal part of the equine industry as a theriogenologist, Hernando and Lisa would open his own practice in Plata LLC in 2014, with Hernando spending the next 10 years devoting endless hours to his clients that he cared for deeply.

After years of excellency in the world of equine fertility, Hernando and Lisa would open Silver Meadows Farm where Hernando would import purebred draft Brabants breeding stock and produce foals of his own. He later exported the first Brabants colt to Australia to continue his mission of the preservation of the breed.

While his work ethic was unlike any other, Hernando’s value to the people that loved him stretched far beyond his craft with his infectious laugh, words of wisdom, and complete inability to stop talking at times.

Anyone who had the privilege of meeting and knowing Hernando knew there was a direct correlation between how much time you spent with him and how much you smiled.

Hernando is survived by wife Lisa, along with his children: Gabrielle (Johanna Carvajal Cortez), Mackenzie, and Griffin, parents Jaime Plata and Stella De Plata, sister Adriana Plata (Mauricio Andrade), aunt Maria Plata (Galo Vizcaiao), uncles Bernardo Plata and Mauricio Plata, cousins Alexandra and Emilio Gotchelin and Maria Mejia-Opaciuch (John Opaciuch), brother-in-law Michael Martin (Tana), sister-in-law Marlene Brown (Henry), mother-in-law Harriett Martin, and numerous nieces and nephews.

A celebration of life for Hernando will be held on September 22 at Praying Field Ministry at 6605 McCowan's Ferry Rd in Versailles from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that all donations on Hernando’s behalf be directed to autismspeaks.org.