from the Harness Horse Youth Foundation

Westfield, IN — The Harness Horse Youth Foundation is pleased to announce that Jessica Hallett has been named recipient of the Curt Greene Scholarship and Travis Ceppaluni has won the Sweet Karen Scholarship for 2017.

Hallett, of Margate, Fla., is a freshman at Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale where she plans to study for a dual-track pre-law/pre-med degree. Hallett, a softball pitcher, was named her high school’s outstanding athlete in 2016. She has a wide range of community involvement including hundreds of hours in the Broward County Sheriff’s Explorer program and also in the companion Fire Cadet program. She is the daughter of trainers John and Michelle Hallett.

The $2,500 Curt Greene Scholarship is awarded to an individual who has demonstrated a passion for harness racing and has financial need. It honors the late Hall of Fame journalist and racing official.

Hallett was thrilled, saying, “It is an honor to be selected as a recipient of this scholarship.”

Travis Ceppaluni, the recipient of this year’s $750 Sweet Karen Scholarship for HHYF program alumni, has a broad range of experience in harness racing. He currently holds a Fair/Qualifying driver’s license and recently joined the racing office staff at Freehold Raceway. While he hopes to pursue harness racing full-time, he understands the importance of a college degree. A graduate (and salutatorian) of Ocean County Academy of Law and Public Safety, Travis plans to attend Ocean County College in Toms River, N.J., where he will study business. He plans to eventually attend Rutgers University to continue his business studies and to study equine science. He is the son of Shannon and Chris Hubert of Jackson, N.J.

Ceppaluni was thoughtful as he discussed his experience.

“HHYF has been a big part of my life for years. The continued support I receive from everyone at HHYF means so much to me. With Sweet Karen by my side I attended camps, worked as a summer intern, trained on several well-known racetracks and taught others about harness racing since I was 12. I am honored to receive the Sweet Karen scholarship award and feel it is a privilege to be a part of such a great organization which has given me the support I need to follow my dreams.”

For more information on HHYF Scholarships, go to https://hhyf.org/hhyf-scholarships. The organization also maintains a harness racing scholarship database at https://hhyf.org/industry-scholarships.

Now in its fifth decade of service to harness racing, 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.