For Immediate Release – June 18, 2014 – S. Bryce Wing Award
The Maryland Hunt Cup Association announces the presentation of the S. Bryce Wing trophy for 2014 to two-time Eclipse Award winning photographer Douglas Lees.
Born in Washington, D.C. and growing up in Warrenton, the heart of Virginia’s horse country, Lees has been chronicling steeplechasing throughout the mid-Atlantic for over four decades. His work has appeared in nearly every equestrian magazine and newspaper that covers the sport as well as such books as 100 Runnings of the Maryland Hunt Cup (Worrall), The Virginia Gold Cup (Mysk), and Steeplechasing: A Complete History of the Sport in North America (Winants), to mention only a few.
Given to a person who has contributed in an exceptional manner to Maryland timber racing, Douglas Lees personifies this award that honors the memory of S. Bryce Wing, who was a member of the Maryland Hunt Cup Association from 1939 until his death at age 85 in 1975. He was secretary of the Maryland Hunt Cup from 1956 to 1966 and also president of the National Steeplechase and Hunt Association (now the National Steeplechase Association) from 1948 to 1964. He was also a member of The Jockey Club and a Master of Foxhounds at Elkridge-Harford. Mr. Wing’s devotion to horses, hounds, and racing was lifelong.
Lees’ interest in country life and photography began at an early age, fostered by his parents who were avid fox hunters. At age 17 Lees’ first published photo appeared on the front page of the Fauquier Times Democrat. In the years that followed, Lees won both the photography contest for The Chronicle of the Horse and the American Horse Publications award for his 1989 cover photo on the Maryland Horse, one of six covers he has accomplished for that magazine and the Mid-Atlantic Thoroughbred.
Certainly, however, to win an Eclipse award in any of the media categories is a national recognition of excellence. Sponsored by the National Thoroughbred Racing Association, the Daily Racing Form, and the National Turf Writers Association, Lees won initially in 1978 and again in 2007, one of only four photographers in the country to win more than one such award. Although the judges’ comments are confidential, Jim Gluckson, senior director for the National Thoroughbred Association stated that Lees’ 2007 photograph merited the prize because “it captured a peak moment of action and was technically precise.” Furthermore, Lees has the added distinction of three Eclipse honorable mentions in this extremely tough annual competition. Lees is similarly well-known for his photographs of foxes, hounds, and hunting, plus fly-fishing, his other passion.
The first Bryce Wing award was presented in 1976. In the following 37 years, the trophy has been awarded 28 times.
For additional information, please contact Margaret Worrall mhworrall@gmail.com
