The board of the Gerry Dilger Equine Scholarship Foundation is delighted to announce the 2026 recipients of its Kentucky Thoroughbred Farm Experience scholarships. These particular annual awards are granted to recent graduates of equine programs from Irish educational institutions, providing young people with the opportunity to travel to the United States and gain placement at a leading Kentucky farm.
Conan Murray is a Kildare native who will be based in Lexington at Springhouse Farm, a full service breeding operation. Conan graduated from Kildalton College, Piltown, County Kilkenny and has worked at Baroda Stud and Ballylinch Stud in Ireland and had a stint with Yulong Investments in Australia. He has stallion, breeding stock and sales experience to bring stateside and commented "I'm extremely thrilled to have been accepted for the Gerry Dilger scholarship and am really looking forward to getting started".
Mark Moloney from County Waterford will be joining Hunter Valley farm in Versailles, also a full service breeding operation. Mark graduated from the renowned Irish National Stud course in 2024 and has worked at several well known farms in Ireland including Clare Castle Stud, Glidawn Stud, The Beeches and Ballyhimikin Stud. In addition, during his spare time he has ridden out for Dungarvan trainer Paul Stephen Kiely.
Mark states he "is deeply interested in the art and business of pinhooking and is committed to building a strong reputation in this area".
The foundation has been delighted with and suitably impressed with the calibre of the many recipients of its scholarships over the last few years and look forward to Conan and Mark experiencing all that Springhouse and Hunter Valley Farms offer along with life in one of the most vibrant and interesting equine centers in the world.
For scholarship details please visit www.gerrydilgerequine.com.
