The Equine Science Society (ESS) is internationally recognized as one of the preeminent equine scientific organizations. The ESS 2021 Virtual Symposium was attended by almost 400 individuals from 18 countries. The virtual platform represents a unique opportunity for individuals to view almost 160 scientific presentations, two keynote presentations, a workshop and live Q&A sessions at their leisure. Interested individuals can register for the Symposium until Aug. 2, and recordings are available for viewing until Sept. 3. To view the Symposium Program and registration information, visit https://www.equinescience.org/Meetings/2021-Meeting.

At its 2021 Virtual Symposium, ESS elected the following to its executive committee: president Pat Harris, PhD, VetMB DipECVCN MRCVS, EBVS® European specialist in veterinary and comparative nutrition and member of European College of Veterinary and Comparative Nutrition, from Waltham Petcare Science Institute; vice president Shannon Pratt-Phillips, PhD, North Carolina State University; Secretary Krishona Martinson, PhD, extension program leader, University of Minnesota; and Treasurer Rhonda Hoffman, PhD, director of horse science, Middle Tennessee State University. Additional members of the executive committee include Past-President Burt Staniar, PhD, associate professor of equine science, Penn State University, and executive secretary Bob Coleman, PhD, extension horse specialist, University of Kentucky.

Award Winners at the 2021 ESS Virtual Symposium from the Graduate Student Competition were:

• Ashlee Hauss, a student with Kristine Urschel, PhD, associate professor in UK’s Department of Animal and Food Sciences, was third in the Nutrition Section.
• Staci McGill, a student with Morgan Hayes, PhD, assistant extension professor in the Department of Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering, was third in the Production and Management section.

In addition, the following UK Faculty were recognized for Society Awards at the 2021 Virtual Symposium:

Distinguished Service Award - Craig Wood, PhD, Assistant Director of Agriculture and Natural Resources.

The award recognizes outstanding contributions to the field of equine science and is the most prestigious honor that ESS can bestow upon one of its members.

Wood has been with UK and Cooperative Extension since 1985, when he started work as extension horse specialist. In that role, he was in charge of all adult and youth equine programming within the state, taught undergraduate equine courses and managed the teaching/research facility. He developed and offered an online undergraduate course, ASC 320 Equine Management, and taught several online students from around the country in the late 1990s. Craig has been instrumental in developing and delivering award winning educational web-based material for K-12 students as well as post-secondary students. Wood is well known for his technology leadership. Wood was associate director of the eXtension Initiative. Housed at UK, eXtension provided a one-stop, virtual connection to Cooperative Extension Service specialists across the nation. In 1989, Craig received the Outstanding Young Extension Specialist award and the M.D. Whitaker Excellence in Extension award in 1993. In 1995, he was awarded the Young Animal Scientist Award – Education, by the Southern Section of the American Society of Animal Science. His course The Art and Science of Equine Production was awarded the Best Distance Learning Program in Higher Education in 1993 by Telecon Magazine and the United States Distance Learning Association. In 2004, Craig and the Southern Region Equine Extension Professionals were awarded the Bill Murphy Barrier Buster award and an ACE bronze award for innovative and effective use of technology and the Internet for HorseQuest.info. Craig raises and rides horses, served as President of the American Paint Horse Association and the Equine Science Society. He is also an APHA judge, and an active member of Extension Horses, Inc. Originally from Texas, Craig received his BS from Texas Tech University, and MS and PhD from New Mexico State University.

2020 ESS-ASAS Award – Bob Coleman, PhD, extension horse specialist, Department of Animal and Food Sciences.

This award recognizes outstanding achievement in the areas of extension, research, teaching or agribusiness in the equine industry. This award is formally presented at the annual American Society of Animal Science (ASAS) meetings.

Coleman completed his BSc (Animal Science; 1975) and MS (Animal Science; 1978) degrees at the University of Manitoba and his PhD (Equine Nutrition; 1998) at the University of Alberta. He was the extension horse specialist for Alberta Agriculture from 1980 to 1998. In 1998, Coleman moved to UK as the equine extension specialist, where he oversees all adult equine extension activities. In addition to his extension duties, Coleman teaches and advises in the Equine Science and Management program and is the advisor for the UK Equestrian Team. Coleman serves on the AQHA Research committee, is a board member of the Midwest ARPAS, the executive director of the Equine Science Society and the president-elect for the Certified Horsemanship Association. He was awarded the 2019 ASAS Distinguished Teacher Award.

2021 ESS-ASAS Award – Kristine Urschel, PhD, associate professor, Department of Animal and Food Sciences.

This award recognizes outstanding achievement in the areas of extension, research, teaching or agribusiness in the equine industry. This award is formally presented at the annual American Society of Animal Science (ASAS) meetings.

Urschel completed both her BSc (Animal Science; 2002) and PhD (Nutrition and Metabolism; 2007) at the University of Alberta, Canada. Her research program focuses on protein and amino acid nutrition and metabolism in horses, and she employs isotopic and molecular biology techniques in her research. She is one of only a few researchers in the world using stable isotope techniques to study whole-body protein metabolism and amino acid requirements in horses. She has been very successful in securing extramural funding for her program, with sources of funding that include the USDA AFRI competitive grants program, the Morris Animal Foundation, the Waltham-Buckeye Equine Grant and the equine feed industry. She has 30 peer-reviewed publications, is the author of one book chapter and has given invited talks to both national and international audiences.

Source: ESS news.