Horse Illustrated Magazine Recognized for Excellence in Equine Media at 2023 AHP Equine Media Awards 

Horse Illustrated magazine has much to be proud of after receiving multiple American Horse Publications (AHP) Equine Media Awards during the 2023 AHP Meet at the Mesa Conference on Saturday, June 24, 2023, in Mesa, Ariz. Awards included a first place in both the Personal Column and Editorial Human/Animal Photograph categories. 

“Horse Illustrated is honored to be recognized at the 2023 American Horse Publications Equine Media Awards,” said Horse Illustrated’s Editor in Chief, Holly Caccamise. “It’s wonderful to get together with our peers every year and celebrate the hard work that goes into making magazines, websites, podcasts, and more. We couldn’t do it without our fabulous stable of freelance writers who step up year after year with the great ideas and beautiful photography that help keep our content fresh and enjoyable for readers.”

The judges shared the following comments about Horse Illustrated’s first-place award for the article “Prolonging a Procedure” by Courtney S. Diehl, DVM, an edition of Horse Illustrated’s recurring “Vet Adventures” column: “A colorful and engaging read. The author makes us feel for Skip and anyone who tries to give him veterinary care. Just a fun read and a bit of a nail-biter from start to finish. Excellent.” 

In addition to this winning submission from Horse Illustrated, Shelley Paulson submitted “Angels on Earth” from the June 2022 issue of Horse Illustrated alongside an article about the horses of Angel Reins Stable bringing hope and healing to victims of human trafficking.

The judges left the following commentary about Paulson’s photo, which took home a first-place award in the Editorial Human/Animal Photograph category: “A beautiful, touching photo that gains more weight considering the subject at hand. It more than illustrates the comfort that the therapy horses provide and the comfort derived from them. The second horse in the background supplies extra emotion, whether by plan or choice. At first look, before reading the text, I assumed it was a staged shot, but knowing the story shattered that impression. It hits hard.” 

Awards from Horse Illustrated‘s Entries

Horse Illustrated captured the following awards out of entries that were submitted by the publication: 

• 1st place in Personal Column for “Prolonging a Procedure” by Courtney S. Diehl, DVM in the July 2022 issue of Horse Illustrated magazine (out of 12 entries) 
• 3rd place in Instructional Single Article for “Tackle Winter Woolies” by Daniel Johnson in the January/February 2022 issue of Horse Illustrated magazine (out of 15 entries) 

Awards from Freelance Contributors’ Entries

Freelance contributors received the following honors for their work published in Horse Illustrated: 

• 1st place in Editorial Human-Animal Photograph for “Angels on Earth” by Shelley Paulson in the June 2022 issue of Horse Illustrated magazine (out of 5 entries) 
• 3rd place in Freelance Writer Single Feature Article for “Easing the Perils of the Wild Horse” by Megan Arszman in the May 2022 issue of Horse Illustrated magazine (out of 13 entries) 
• 3rd place in Self-Supported Equine Media Service to the Consumer Single Article for “Pain in the Gas Tank” by Kristin Pitzer in the June 2022 issue of Horse Illustrated magazine (out of 16 entries) 
• 3rd place in Service to the Horse Industry Single Article for “Help for Hard Times” by Elizabeth Moyer in the November/December 2022 issue of Horse Illustrated magazine (out of 15 entries) 
• Honorable Mention in Self-Supported Equine Media Feature Single Article for “Easing the Perils of the Wild Horse” by Megan Arszman in the May 2022 issue of Horse Illustrated magazine (out of 16 entries) 
• Honorable Mention in Self-Supported Equine Media Feature Single Article for “The Standardbred” by Anna Sochocky in the November/December 2022 issue of Horse Illustrated magazine (out of 16 entries) 
• Honorable Mention in Freelance Writer Equine Journalism Article for “Easing the Perils of the Wild Horse” by Megan Arszman in the May 2022 issue of Horse Illustrated magazine (out of 19 entries) 

It is worth noting that Megan Arszman entered her piece “Easing the Perils of the Wild Horse” in three different categories and was awarded in each one. 

About the AHP Equine Media Awards

Since 1976, AHP members have aimed to earn awards for excellence in equine media. In 2022, 36 Publishing Media members, 17 Media Professional members, and 14 Business members advanced to the top five in one or more of the 52 classes. Submissions for the 2022 Equine Media Awards for material published in 2021 totaled 583 entries from 102 AHP members. The program containing all awards results is available in PDF format here.

In addition to these 2023 Equine Media Awards won by Horse Illustrated, check out a complete list of awards won by Horse Illustrated and Young Rider over the years.