Press Release

EQUINE SCIENCE CENTER TAPS PATTY HOGAN

AS WINNER OF 2008 ‘SPIRIT OF THE HORSE’ AWARD

NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ (January 27, 2008) – The Equine Science Center at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, has named Patricia Hogan, DVM, ACVS, as the 2008 winner of the Center’s “Spirit of the Horse” award.

The presentation was made at the New Jersey Department of Agriculture’s Breeders Awards Dinner by Sandy Denarski of Johnson and Johnson, chair of the Rutgers University Board for Equine Advancement, the Center’s advisory board. Ms. Denarski was winner of the award in 2006.

The “Spirit of the Horse” award recognizes individuals whose lives have been profoundly changed because of their involvement with horses and who have acknowledged the impact by giving back to horses or the horse industry.

Dr. Hogan, a native of New Jersey, is well known and highly respected in the horse industry for her skill as a veterinary surgeon and her dedication to the advancement of horses’ well being and the horse industry.

Widely publicized as the veterinarian responsible for saving Kentucky Derby winner Smarty Jones, Dr. Hogan heads her own veterinary surgery clinic, Hogan Equine, LLC, at Fair Winds Farm in Cream Ridge, NJ.

At the presentation, Ms. Denarski recalled the Smarty Jones event: “The very promising colt smashed his skull in a starting gate accident. The prognosis was very bad – worst case, euthanization and best case, loss of an eye. Smarty’s owners sent him to Patty Hogan, who upon examination, saw indications that the eye could be saved and the eye socket repaired. She saved Smarty’s eye – and possibly his life – and the horse went on to win the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness and several other major stakes races.”

Patty Hogan has given back to the equine community in many ways, Ms. Denarski said. “She takes time out of her very busy schedule to host groups of high school students, encouraging them to pursue animal health and veterinary studies. And she is active in racehorse rescue and rehabilitation activities.

“She also is a popular speaker and has given generously of her time to lecture at Dr. Sarah Ralston’s horse management classes. When she was the keynote speaker at the Equine Science Center’s Horses 2007 conference this past March, she held a packed room of 500 spellbound. During her presentation, you could have heard a pin drop. Her work, dedication, and commitment to ‘giving back’ embody the Spirit of the Horse,” Ms. Denarski concluded.

Dr. Hogan graduated from the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine, and completed an internship at Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital in Lexington, KY, followed by a surgical residency at Texas A&M University’s College of Veterinary Medicine. She is board-certified with the American College of Veterinary Surgeons.