Gerry Dilger

If you want to know what endures, you need to know what has changed. To know what really counts, then, you must talk with the guys who have been around longest. "I remember when the first ultrasound scanner came to town," Padraig Campion says. "A guy called Dr. Norman Rantanen brought the machine in, to show us, and the first mare he scanned was Gold Digger. And sure enough, there's twins there. We didn't know. Down the road we realised it was pretty normal, that a lot of them just...

He has been here longer than just about any of them, albeit he arrived in 1978 presuming himself to be only breaking a longer journey. One breeding season in Kentucky, and then it would be off to Australia. Having instead become a pioneer of a remarkable Irish diaspora, Robbie Lyons is a perfect template for the many compatriots who have meanwhile flourished in the Bluegrass: an innate flair for trading, a fierce work ethic, and the willingness to take a gamble. He wasn't particularly raised to the horse game--his father...

Among the dogs noisily bounding to inquire after your business at Dundrum Farm, one is really something special. Gordon, a big black schnauzer, lost his sight to blastomycosis a couple of years ago, but you would never know it: he scampers confidently along corridors, through doorways, even joins the reception committee outside. "Until he gets on the grass," Lesley Campion explains. "Then he knows that he only has one stride, and has to stop. But no, he's a genius, that dog." Certainly he couldn't exhibit a more certain sense of...

Applications are now open for the Kentucky Thoroughbred Farm Experience Scholarship 2025. Applicants must be recent graduates of the University College Dublin, University of Limerick, The Irish National Stud, CAFRE Enniskillen, or Kildalton Agriculture College. The application period runs until July 15. Scholarships cover airfare, visa expenses, a year-long placement at a Kentucky farm, and wages and housing. The scholarships are made possible by the Gerry Dilger Equine Scholarship Foundation, the Irish National Stud, Springhouse Farm, and Hunter Valley Farm. For more information, or to apply, please visit the Gerry...

Sean Berns, Sarah Pepper and Larry Mulvany are the recipients of the Gerry Dilger Equine Foundation Kentucky Experience scholarship, which places the winners on Kentucky farms for a period of one year beginning in January 2024. Like the late and beloved Dilger, Berns graduated from the prestigious Irish National Stud and will be placed in Kentucky at Springhouse Farm. Though not originally from a horse background, Berns has studied equine business at Maynooth College and has worked at Derrinstown Stud and Coolmore in Ireland and at Newgate Stud in Australia....

The Gerry Dilger Equine Scholarship Foundation would like to express its gratitude and appreciation to all its supporters that have contributed to the charity that assists young people starting off in the bloodstock business. Based in Lexington, Kentucky, the foundation commenced its activities just three years ago in memory of County Clare native Gerry Dilger whose Dromoland Farm specialized in successful sales pinhooks and an elite breeding operation with great partners that produced consecutive Kentucky Derby winners Nyquist (Uncle Mo) and Always Dreaming (Bodemeister). However, Gerry was equally renowned as...

The Gerry Dilger Foundation invites applications by July 1 for those interested in attending the Irish National Stud in Kildare, Ireland. The scholarship is aimed at individuals currently working on a Kentucky horse farm with multiple years of experience, those enrolled as a 2023 KEMI spring intern or participants who have completed last year's fall program. Application Requirements: Resident of the US Bachelor's degree in equine science preferred, but not required Application and information due July 1, 2023   Scholarship Provides: Round trip airfare for travel. Ticket must be economy/coach...

Jayne Redmond and Darcie Murray are the latest scholarship recipients from the Gerry Dilger Equine Scholarship Foundation, which benefits young people globally who are eager to learn and experience the bloodstock business by granting them the opportunity to travel, work and learn in the United States and Ireland. Redmond, from County Clare, is currently an equine science student at the University of Limerick. She is in Kentucky working at Lane's End Farm through August of this year and is particularly interested in learning about mare and foal management. "I hope...

The Gerry Dilger Equine Scholarship Foundation announced Elle Sorensen was named one of the 2023 Scholarship winners.  The County Limerick resident will be placed at Hunter Valley Farm in Lexington for the upcoming breeding season. Hunter Valley will provide the scholarship winner the opportunity to learn and develop with a leading thoroughbred boarding and sales consignment operation at the center of Kentucky's bloodstock region. Hunter Valley Farm co-owner Adrian Regan remarked, "Fergus Galvin and I are really looking forward to welcoming Elle to Kentucky. Hopefully, we can do half as...

The inaugural golf tournament fundraiser for the Gerry Dilger Equine Scholarship Foundation was held Oct. 10 at Houston Oaks Golf Course and was a tremendous success. On behalf of our board, and the Dilger Family, we would like to extend a warm thank you to everyone who helped to make this first fundraiser happen. It was great to see so many people come out. We had wonderful support from the equine community. A very special thank you to Ashford Stud, Eddie Woods, Fasig Tipton, Garrett O'Rourke, Hagyards Equine Medical Institute,...

The Gerry Dilger Equine Scholarship Foundation will hold its inaugural golf tournament and auction Oct. 10 at Houston Oaks Golf Course in Paris, Kentucky. In a short period of time the foundation has awarded scholarships to eight young people from North America and Europe. This was made possible by the support and collaboration of KEMI, Irish National Stud, Springhouse Farm, Lane's End, University of Limerick, University College Dublin and the College of Agriculture, Food and Rural Enterprise in Enniskillen, Northern Ireland. This inaugural golf tournament has sponsorship and donation opportunities...

Edited Release The Gerry Dilger Equine Scholarship Foundation was set up two years ago by family and close friends in memory of Gerry Dilger. Gerry was a very successful breeder and pinhooker of many top horses, including consecutive GI Kentucky Derby winners Nyquist (Uncle Mo) and Always Dreaming (Bodemeister). More than his equine triumphs, Gerry was a mentor to so many young people through his Dromoland Farm, where he nurtured and assisted them as they commenced their careers in the bloodstock business. In recognition of this, the Foundation was established...