Trot Magazine took home a stack of honours at the 2012 American Horse Publications Conference in Williamsburg, Virginia on Saturday night.

Trot was an honourable mention for the prestigious General Excellence award in its circulation bracket, which it has won for the last three consecutive years.

"Impressive state of the industry issue,' said the judges of Standardbred Canada's flagship title. "Great idea to personalize each topic with a feature. ATB Just Grazing has lots of quick tidbits."

Trot won top prize in three competitive categories -- Personality Profile (circulation under 20,000), Feature Single Article (circulation 10,000 - 20,000), and Event Coverage Editorial Design.

"Beautifully written and thoroughly reported," said a judge of Carrie Jane Simmons' winning profile 'Changing Lives.' "The writer paints a picture for the reader and hooks them from start to finish."

"When a writer gets a story like this you'd better not botch it, and you didn't," said a judge of Rob Longley's 'Why I Left,' this year's winning feature on driver Steve Condren. "Sympathetic without being melodramatic, this feature makes Condren come alive to a reader. History and accomplishments blend beautifully with the human element. This man is a winner and so is this story."

"Beautiful photo essay," the judges commented on 'The Road To Cup XXVIII,' the winning editorial piece produced by graphic designer Paulina Perzynska. "Every page is carefully thought out with artfully cropped photos, elegant typography, tasteful arrow and dotted line graphics and nicely designed North America Cup emblem. Photos are nicely organized on each page, utilizing a grid, but each page is unique. Great job."

Trot was also a runner-up in Service to Reader (for associate editor Kimberly Fisher's 'The Travelling Horseman's Handbook'), Personality Profile (for regular writer Keith McCalmont's 'Fully Loaded'), and Editorial Design (circulation under 20,000) for Susan Longley's 'On Her Game.'

"I like the use of white space, type choices, and the simplicity of the opening entry," the judges said of Longley's feature design. "Witty and fun," they added of McCalmont's writing. "A cleverly written piece that entertains, amuses, and informs the reader."

"What a fun idea!" they commented on the 'The Travelling Horseman's Handbook.' "Great reader service. An annual tradition this magazine should continue. Keep this up and you're on to something big!"

The American Horse Publications Conference and Awards have been hosted annually for over four decades and celebrate excellence in equine publishing across North America.