A native of England, Clayton received her veterinary degree from the University of Glasgow in 1973. She spent time as an associate in a mixed veterinary practice in Kilmarnock, Scotland, before earning a PhD from the University of Glasgow in 1978. She served for a year as a visiting assistant professor in Michigan State University's Department of Anatomy and then later spent 15 years as a professor of veterinary anatomy at the University of Saskatchewan in Canada. In July of 1997, she was appointed as the first incumbent of the Mary Anne McPhail Dressage chair. The endowed chair was established with a donation from Mary Anne and Walter McPhail in order to support scientific investigations that directly benefit the sport of dressage.

Clayton is a charter diplomate and past president of the American College of Veterinary Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation and has competed in a variety of equestrian sports including eventing, show jumping, combined driving and polo. A member of the U.S. Equestrian Federation's Dressage Committee, Clayton was inducted into the Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame in 1998, the Equine Veterinarians Hall of Fame in 2001, and the Midwest Dressage Association Hall of Fame in 2008, and was most recently awarded the Braley Gray Award for extraordinary service to the sport of dressage. She currently shows dressage horses up to the Grand Prix level and has earned the U.S. Dressage Federation's gold, silver, and bronze medals.

Clayton, widely published in peer reviewed journals, has published six books, and writes for various magazines including Dressage Today and the U.S. Dressage Federation.

Clayton says she will continue to author books and give lectures and presentations, as well as pursue new projects. Also in her retirement from academia, Clayton hopes to spend more time in the saddle and in the garden.

April 28, 2014