Trot Magazine took top honours at the 2011 American Horse Publications Conference in San Diego, California on Saturday night, winning Best Overall Publication. The 2011 AHP Awards received 839 entries from 118 horse publications, with Trot taking the highest honour
beating out last year's winner The Cowboy Way, in addition to Quarter Horse News and The Canadian Sportsman, all of whom won General Excellence in their respective categories.
"This magazine meets its mission with style and class," said the judges of Standardbred Canada's flagship title. "Trot serves a wide readership but manages to meet the needs of readers ranging from owners to grooms. Gorgeous photography and excellent writing about the harness racing industry invite the reader into this unique community. This magazine is informative, easy to navigate, and chock full of well-written articles. A must have publication for any harness racing enthusiast."
Trot also won in three other categories -- Feature Story (circulation 10,000 - 20,000), Editorial Design (circulation 10,000 - 20,000), and General Excellence for association magazines with a circulation under 15,000 (for the third straight year).
"Very descriptive and entertaining writing," said a judge of Associate Editor Kim Fisher's winning feature 'Prairie Compass.' "Such writing carried me to the end and made me interested in the topic."
"The double page spread that opens up this editorial design is a gem. I can't look at it without smiling," the judges commented on 'Meet Big Jim,' the winning editorial design piece produced by production coordinator Susan Longley. "This design is a success through and through."
The judges were clearly impressed by the overall look and feel of the publication, which took home the General Excellence award in its circulation bracket for the third consecutive year. "Clean, open design makes the well-mixed stories easy to access."
Trot was also a runner-up in Service to Reader (for Lindsay Day's 'Going Green'), Publication Staff Advertisement (for graphic designer Paulina Perzynska's 'SC Horses For Sale Board'), and in addition to winning the feature and editorial design categories, had a runner up in each (Ronnie Shuker's 'Just Desserts,' and Paulina Perzynska's design of the same).
"The editorial design starts out with a full page that is very endearing, complimented by an adjacent page of white with a delicate typographic design that is a breath of fresh air," the judges said of Perzynska's feature design. "What a great story!" they added of Shuker's writing. "It has drama, great detail, and rags to riches flavour."
The General Excellence Award, and the title of overall best publication, is presented to the publication that does an outstanding job each month at catering to its readership. Held since 1974, the AHP Annual Awards Contest received a record breaking number of entrants this year.