Clive Cohen and Frances Lund has been named winners of the 2015 George Smallsreed Awards for excellence in harness racing photography, while the CBS Evening News with Scott Pelley has been named the recipient of the 2015 John Hervey Award for excellence in broadcasting.
The U.S. Harness Writers Association announced the winners on Friday, and stated that winners in the John Hervey Awards categories for excellence in writing will be announced Monday.
Cohen’s photograph, ‘Racing Into the Fog,’ won the Smallsreed Award in the racing/action category. The photograph was taken on April 9, 2015 at Mohawk Racetrack and appeared on the ‘WEG Photos’ Facebook page.
Lund’s photograph, ‘Downpour,’ won the Smallsreed Award in the feature category. The photograph was taken August 22, 2015 during the post parade for the Gold Cup and Saucer at Red Shores Racetrack & Casino at Charlottetown Driving Park on Prince Edward Island. The race was postponed for a day because of the heavy rain. Lund’s photograph appeared in Atlantic Post Calls on September 11, 2015.
Receiving honourable mention in the racing/action category were Mark Hall and Nadina Ironia. Hall’s photograph of action at the Hancock County Fair in Ohio appeared on the August 2015 cover of ‘Hoof Beats’ magazine. Ironia’s photograph of harness racing on the turf in Musselburgh, Scotland, appeared in the December 2015 issue of Hoof Beats.
Honourable mention in the feature category was awarded to Michael Lisa and Ann MacNeill. Lisa’s photograph, a close-up of a harnessed horse in the rain at the Meadowlands Racetrack, appeared on the Harnesslink website on January 6, 2015. MacNeill’s photograph of a horse jogging on a beach on Prince Edward Island appeared in the October 23, 2015 issue of Harness Racing Weekend Preview.
Judges for the photography categories were racetrack and newspaper photographer Bill Denver, multiple Eclipse Award-winning photographer Barbara Livingston, and former harness racing groom and longtime newspaper/magazine photographer Phil McAuliffe.
The CBS Evening News with Scott Pelley won the Hervey Award for broadcasting with its ‘On the Road with Steve Hartman’ segment ‘Underdog Horse,’ which aired October 23, 2015. The story featured 11-year-old Breana Carsey and her two-year-old Ohio Sire Stakes champion MJB Got Faith.
Working on the segment were Steve Capus, executive producer; Steve Hartman, correspondent; Kim Godwin, senior broadcast producer; Megan Kelty, producer; and Bob Caccamise, camera.
Receiving honourable mention in the broadcasting division was the CBS Sports Network’s Hambletonian Day feature on filly trotter Mission Brief and trainer Ron Burke. The segment aired on August 8 during CBS Sports Network’s coverage of the Hambletonian. Mike Trager was executive producer and Eric M. Talent was producer.
The broadcasting category was judged by Amy J. Zimmerman, the director of broadcasting at Santa Anita Park and a multiple Eclipse and Emmy winning producer.
To watch the CBS Evening News feature, click here.
Award winners will be recognized during the U.S. Harness Writers Association’s Dan Patch Awards banquet at Hyatt Pier 66 in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., on March 6. Information on tickets and accommodations for the event can be found at ushwa.org.
(USHWA)