The Equine Science Center (ESC) at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, has named leading New Jersey attorney Liz Durkin as the 2012 recipient of the Center’s "Spirit of the Horse" award. Durkin received the award during the Equine Science Center Update on Dec. 8. Sandy Denarski, chair of the Rutgers University Board for Equine Advancement, and ESC Director Karyn Malinowski, PhD presented the award.

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 the horse industry.

"Liz Durkin’s passion for horses is palpable, as is her commitment to philanthropy," said Malinowski. "With her profound love of horses, Ms. Durkin wholeheartedly embraces the Equine Science Center’s mission of better horse care through research and education."

The lifelong animal lover was already a graduate of Seton Hall Law School when she took her first riding lesson in 1987. By 1994, she had been victorious at the National Horse Show, just one highlight of more than 20 years competing as a rider and as an owner on the A-circuit