I just returned home from the American Horse Publications annual conference, which was held this year in Lexington, Kentucky. It was a memorable week that started with a private photoshoot with this year’s Kentucky Derby winner Rich Strike (I’ll blog about that later this week).

The conference culminates with the Equine Media Awards banquet on the final evening. At the ceremony, I won two first-place awards – a first for me!

The first winning category was “Editorial Action Photograph.” This image was created while visiting the Erickson Ranch in Colorado and features Mazie Erickson turning around a barrel on her adorable horse Ribbons. It was featured in an article in TheHorse.com magazine about joint health.

The judge’s comments about this image were: “The photograph is spectacular. It captures just the right moment from just the right angle. The color is spot on.”

The second category was “Editorial Human-Animal Bond Photograph.” It’s an image I took in 2021 of my friend Mary Knack and her horse Finn in a frosty winter landscape. This image was featured in the Winter 2021 issue of US Equestrian in an article about keeping horses clean in the winter.

The judge’s comments about this image were: “This image encompasses everything editorial – it is creative, has continuity, and the colors in the photo are beautiful. Not only is emotion conveyed through the horse and the young lady, but the iciness and coldness of the photograph and its colors make the reader/ viewer imagine themselves in the scene. This photograph positively displays the beautiful exploitation of color “

Congratulations to all the finalists and winners. I feel so proud to be part of an organization that takes the time to recognize excellence in Equine Media. 🏆