Irish Equine Student's Bid To Win Prestigous Award

A Wexford man is hoping to become the winner of a prestigious equine science prize after selection to the final round of the Eqvalan thesis of the year award. The final judging phase of which will be held at this year's British Equine Event, 2/3 November, at Stoneleigh Park, Warwickshire in the United Kingdom.

Jack Murphy, 42, a student of the University of Limerick submitted his final year degree thesis entitled 'Gender differences in equine learning skills and visuo-spatial ability' to the Eqvalan thesis of the year award judges in July. Following his selection to the last round, the mature student from Enniscorthy, County Wexford will present his findings with four other UK students at the final held at the British Equine Event in England during the first weekend of November.

The five finalists will give a fifteen minute presentation to a panel of three judges from the British Equine Trade Association (BETA), ARTLUS Ltd and Bell Equine Veterinary clinic, and undergo an in-depth question and answer session to defend their research. This year's Eqvalan thesis winner will be presented with £500GBP and a commemorative silver dish at a private ceremony during the weekend. The runner up will receive £200GBP.

Success at the British Equine Event would round off an outstanding academic year for Jack. He has already won two major prizes in the course of his studies, the Ford Prize for excellence in equine science and the Coolmore Gold Medal for final year project presentations. He has also won a scholarship to support his PhD studies after being awarded first class honours for his Bachelor of Science degree.

Professor Sean Arkins, Professor of Equine Science at the University of Limerick said, "The Eqvalan thesis of the year competition represents a benchmark of international excellence in Equine Science. The University of Limerick has submitted a thesis for each of the four years that the competition has run and is particularly proud that our entrants have made it to the final in each of the four years. We look forward to continued involvement in this excellent competition."

www.equineevent.org.uk.

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