Trot Magazine took top honours at the 2009 American Horse Publications Conference on Saturday night
winning the General Excellence Award for magazine with a circulation under 15,000.
"This magazine is so refreshing and is a stand-out among the competition," said the judges. "Its look is simply unique, from the bold and contemporary logo and simple cover formula, to the Trot 4 Kids section in the back of the book. The Across the Board front-of-book section is filled with morsels of information all packaged in a playful way. And the tone of the editorial follows suit. The 2008 State of the Industry package is willing to take on tough subjects and more trend stories as well as profiles."
Trot Magazine was the runner-up in the instructional article category for the story Break the Trend: A 10-Step Yearling Clinic with Carl Jamieson (September 2008), written by associate editor Kim Fisher.
"I love an article that starts out telling me what I will learn, and in how many steps. Good job getting the reader engaged early. Good use of quotes. The article is thorough, but concise and doesn’t bog down the reader. Great example of a succinct instructional piece."
In the feature category, Trot was second for Finding the Light (December 2008), written by freelancer Jackie Gill.
"Brilliant lead, great profile of a man who did not let a medical tragedy let him sink into self-pity. The writer is sympathetic without getting maudlin, which is often a tough balance to strike. You get to know and like the subject," commented the judges.
Trot also received an honourable mention in this category for Something’s Gone Awry (May 2008), penned by Kim Fisher.
"Rather than just pontificate on the state of the harness racing industry, this writer goes out and talks to people and illustrates it. This is a bangup job of taking dry statistics and using them to underscore real-life stories."
The General Excellence Award is presented to the publication that does an outstanding job each month at catering to its readership. Hoof Beats Magazine received an honourable mention in this category and also won for editorial photo and cover design (for circulation between 10,000 and 20,000).
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