Karyn Malinowski poses with Dr. Joe Pagan, CEO of Kentucky Equine Research, Inc. and sponsor of the 2023 Distinguished Service Award. Malinowski received the award for her lifelong commitment to students, the equine community, and the horse. Photo: Kyle Hartmann.
Karyn Malinowski, founding director of the Equine Science Center at Rutgers University, received the 2023 Distinguished Service Award at the 2023 Equine Science Society Symposium in Grapevine, Texas, on Friday, June 9. Presented to her during the Equine Science Society Symposium’s 2023 Awards Banquet, the award is the most prestigious honor that the Equine Science Society can bestow upon one of its members.
The Distinguished Service Award in Equine Science recognizes outstanding contributions in the field of equine science. Award recipients must also have a record of significant accomplishments in teaching, research and extension or service as it relates to the advancement of the equine sciences and horse industry.
“Dr. Malinowski’s passion and dedication to the field of Equine Science, her passion for improving the care of the equine athlete, and her dedication to ensuring the viability of the New Jersey horse industry exemplifies the qualities of those receiving this award,” said Kenneth McKeever, associate Director of Research at the Rutgers Equine Science Center. “Her career is a model of excellence in all three parts of the land-grant mission: research, teaching, and outreach/service.”
Malinowski has served as a faculty member at Rutgers since 1978 in various roles, including Extension Specialist in Equine Sciences, Animal Sciences Professor, Founding Director of the Equine Science Center, and the Director of Rutgers Cooperative Extension.
Her research and extension programs concentrate on improving the equine athlete’s well-being and quality of life while ensuring the equine industry’s vitality and viability, both statewide and nationally.
After having the opportunity to drive the famous Niatross, American champion standardbred race horse that many believe was the greatest harness horse of all time, Malinowski was bitten by the bug and spent several summers learning how to drive harness horses. In 2001, she acquired her first Standardbred racehorse, Could Be Magic, who carried her to victory in her amateur debut in 2003 at Freehold Raceway.
“I am deeply honored and humbled to receive this prestigious award from the Equine Science Society,” said Malinowski. “It has been my extreme pleasure to have worked for over four decades with top-notch young people and horses!”
