The Rutgers Equine Science Center has named Peter J. Cofrancesco III as the 2011 recipient of the center’s annual Spirit of the Horse Award. Cofrancesco will receive the award during the New Jersey Department of Agriculture’s 54th annual New Jersey Breeder’s Award ceremony on Sunday, January 30. Sandy Denarski, the 2006 inaugural recipient and chairwoman of the Rutgers University Board for Equine Advancement, and Center Director Karyn Malinowski will present 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.
“Peter Cofrancesco’s life has been changed by his passion for horses,” said Malinowski. “Peter is a city kid from Paterson who, because of his commitment to excellence in support of the equine industry, has had an inconceivable, meteoric rise up the corporate ladder within the largest equine breed organization in the world, the American Quarter Horse Association. It is unfathomable that a person of such a young age and from a non-western state such as New Jersey could be AQHA’s next president! The Rutgers Equine Science Center is honored to present the Spirit of the Horse Award to Mr. Cofrancesco; his accomplishments are astounding.”
Cofrancesco has served within AQHA for almost 20 years. His involvement with AQHA began in the late 1980s when he was elected as an officer of the American Junior Quarter Horse Association (now the American Quarter Horse Youth Association). He was AJQHA president in 1991. Cofrancesco continued his upward climb through the ranks when he was elected to the AQHA Executive Committee in 2008.
“I firmly believe that Peter exemplifies what is truly remarkable about the equine industry,” added Malinowski. “Those who have the pleasure to ride or work with horses have an ingrained desire to serve the animal in any way possible; which is what often leads to life-long careers championing the care, health and well-being of the beloved animal.”
Rutgers Equine Science Center is a unit of the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. The center’s mission is better horse care through research and education to advance the well-being and performance of horses and the equine industry. Its vision is to be recognized throughout New Jersey as well as nationally and internationally for its achievements in identifying issues in the horse industry, finding solutions through science-based inquiry, providing answers to the horse industry and to horse owners, and influencing public policy to ensure the viability of the horse industry. For more information about the Equine Science Center, call (732) 932-9419.
