eclipse award
Douglas Lees to Speak, Exhibit Photographs
Douglas Lees photo The photography of Douglas Lees has long been a benchmark of such excellence that Lees has earned the admiration of even the best of his camera-toting peers. Lees will speak and exhibit his photographs on Sunday, March 2, 2014 at 4:00 pm at Blue Ridge Farm, 1858 Blue Ridge Farm Road, Upperville, Virginia, 20184. This meet-the-photographer event is sponsored by the Mosby Heritage Area Association, a Northern Virginia Piedmont preservation and education organization. Lees will showcase some of his best-known photos and recount the fascinating experiences of photographing foxhunts, steeplechases, fly fishing, and beautiful scenes in nature. Participants will have the opportunity to talk to Douglas following his presentation and to purchase prints of his works that he has personally chosen for this event. His award-winning photos will also be on display. Douglas Lees is a two-time Eclipse Award winner for his racing photography, and his images are widely published. Foxhunting Life regularly features his foxhunting and point-to-point photography in its e-magazine, FHL WEEK; on its website, FoxhuntingLife.com; and in its annual Foxhunting Calendar. Lees was born in Washington, D.C., but has lived all his life in Warrenton, Virginia, where his family has lived for generations. He started taking an interest in photography at age sixteen and published his first photograph at age seventeen on the front page of the Fauquier Times-Democrat. His career is in insurance, dealing with property, casualty, farm and equine. He spends his spare time taking photographs and with his other great passion, fly fishing. He also serves on the board of the Mosby Heritage Area Association as Treasurer. The event has limited space, so reservations are recommended. Tickets are $25 for MHAA members, $30 for non-members. Please call 540-687-6681 or purchase at the Association’s website. The mission of the nonprofit Mosby Heritage Area Association, formed in 1995, is to help preserve the Northern Virginia Piedmont and increase public knowledge about this historic area. MHAA provides classroom history programs for fourth- and eleventh-grade Virginia students, sponsors lectures, programs and field trips, and brings nationally known scholars to the area for its award-winning annual Civil War Conference. Posted February 19, 2014
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Wise Dan in Rarified Company after Second Horse of the Year Title
Not since 1971—the introduction of the modern system of Eclipse Award voting—has a horse won three categories of awards—Horse of the Year, Older Male, and Male Turf Horse—two years in a row. Wise Dan did so by winning six of his seven starts on turf, carrying high weight in five races, and winning four Grade I races in 2013 at tracks across North America. He had a consistent season and was never scratched. In Horse of the Year voting he polled ten times the number of votes as his closest runner-up, Mucho Macho Man. The year before, after his 2012 season, Wise Dan became the first horse to win all three categories since John Henry in 1981. One of only six horses in modern history that have won consecutive Horse of the Year honors, Wise Dan joins Secretariat, Forego, Affirmed, Cigar, and Curlin in that accomplishment. Now seven years old, the chestnut gelding is by Wiseman’s ferry out of Lisa Danielle by Wolf Power. He was bred at home by owner Morton Fink in Kentucky and is trained by Charlie LoPresti near Lexington. His post-season rest over, Wise Dan is now gearing up for the 2014 season at Keeneland, his home base. Click for more details in Claire Novak’s article in Bloodhorse. Posted February 17, 2014
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Trainer, Foxhunter Tom Voss, MFH, Dead at Sixty-Three
Douglas Lees photoTom Voss, MFH of the Elkridge-Harford Hunt died suddenly on January 21, 2014 at his home in Monkton, Maryland. He had served as Joint-Master of the hunt since 1993.
In the larger world of horses, Voss was best-known as a top trainer of racehorses both on the flat and over fences. Starting as an amateur timber rider, Voss began training professionally in 1973. He trained the 2010 Eclipse Award steeplechase champion Slip Away and was a five-time leading trainer on the National Steeplechase circuit, capturing that title in 1997, 2000–2002, and 2011.
