The 2017 Irish National Stud Student Awards Ceremony were held Wednesday evening with many industry leaders gathered to celebrate the achievements of the 25 graduates along with their families.
Recently appointed CEO Cathal Beale (graduate of 2007 course) welcomed the guests and Matt Dempsey, Chairman of the Board of Directors, gave the opening address. Matt spoke of the tremendous success the Stud has achieved and he credited this to the leadership of John Osborne.
The first presentation of the evening was The Irish Field “Blue Hen” Award, won by William McNeile from the United Kingdom, who was presented with a cheque for €250 and trophy for his article on Ebaziya which will be published in The Irish Field in the coming weeks.
The “John Durkan Opportunity,” sponsored by the classmates of the late John Durkan, was introduced by Henry Beeby. Robert Kehoe from Wexford was this year's recipient and Margaret Durkan presented the Award.
The Irish National Stud Internship was awarded to Emma Hannon. Emma is a graduate of Maynooth University Equine Business Course and she gained experience at Derrinstown Stud and Yarraman Park Stud in Australia.
All 25 Graduates were presented with the INS Diploma and individual awards were presented to the winners of the following categories:
First Place Veterinary Exam: Thomas Kehoe (Ireland)
First Place Written Exam: Michael Balaz (Canada)
First Place Portfolio of Assignments: William McNeile (United Kingdom)
First Place Continuous Assessment: Thomas Leffray (France)
The Silver Medal Second Place overall was awarded to Emma Hannon from Ireland.
The Gold Medal was awarded to Samantha Cripps from U.S.A. Samantha is a graduate of Michigan State University with an honors degree in Horse Management. She also completed the Undergraduate Ambulatory Veterinary Assistant Internship at Hagyard Equine Medical Institute, sessions at Margaux Farm, Lanes End Farm and Arrowfield Stud in Australia.
The Student Speakers Sophie Devin (the fifth family member to graduate from the course) and Ian Wilson from Saratoga also gave the guests an insight into the experiences and highlights of the course.
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