by Keith Gisser, project manager, Harness Horse Youth Foundation

Westfield, IN — Ellen Taylor, Executive Director of the Harness Horse Youth Foundation has announced the winners of the organization’s annual scholarships.

The $15,000 Gallo Blue Chip scholarship, sponsored by Martin Scharf, goes to Michael Fahy, the son of William and Moira Fahy, of Washington, Pa., while Lambertville, N.J.’s Emily Grace Murphy, the daughter of Patti and Joseph Murphy, has been named winner of the $2,500 Curt Greene Memorial scholarship.

Michael Fahy

Fahy, whose parents campaign a stable at The Meadows, recently graduated from Trinity High School in Washington. He ranked in the top ten in his class with a 3.98 GPA. He is attending Marietta College in Ohio, where he will double major in International Business and Asian Studies.

At Trinity, he was a percussionist with varied responsibilities within the instrumental music department. He also was President of the National Honor Society and Captain of the Mock Trial team at Trinity. He is the student representative to the Trinity Area School District School Board and belongs to 4H, breeding rabbits.

“This is an incredibly generous way for Martin Scharf to give back to the sport and I am honored and eternally grateful for the opportunity,” said Fahy, who will attend a formal presentation with Scharf later this year.

For Emily Grace Murphy, “Harness racing has always been a major part of my life and I am really thankful to have the opportunity to continue my education with the assistance of the sport.”

Emily Grace Murphy

Murphy plans to attend Canisius College in Buffalo, N.Y., where she plans to study Animal Behavior and Ecology and Conservation. Her GPA was 4.2 and she is a former winner of the Marie Hill Youth Writing Contest and her photography, mostly of Standardbreds, has won numerous awards and competitions and she recently created a documentary on the New Jersey racing industry, which can be viewed at this link.

She has been “surrounded” by the harness racing industry her whole life, as her mother is Farm Manager at Hanover Shoe Farms of New Jersey and her mother is actively involved with horses on the farm as well.

The Harness Horse Youth Foundation is a charitable 501(c)3 organization dedicated to providing young people and their families educational opportunities with harness horses, in order to foster the next generation of participants and fans. The Foundation has been making a difference in young people’s lives since 1976, and its programs include interactive learning experiences with these versatile animals, scholarship programs, and creation and distribution of educational materials. For more information on opportunities through HHYF, or to support its mission, go to www.hhyf.org.