Two Up-and-Coming Equine Media Professionals Win AHP’s Inaugural Equine Media NextGen Award
Catie Staszak and Tori Repole are the two young women who rose to the top in a field of nine nominations that represent the amazing talent in the equine media industry today.
Tori Repole was born in Kingston, Jamaica, and immigrated to Florida at age 7. She developed a passion for journalism through writing and photographing horses and broke into equestrian media with her first published piece in 2017.
While Repole, 26, did not attend college, she strengthened her experience and contacts before landing a full-time position with The Chronicle of the Horse in 2018.
A formerly undocumented immigrant, Repole is now a nationally published writer and dedicates her free time to extracurricular projects, including photographing several assignments for the United Nations Development Program in 2019. In 2020, she co-founded the Equestrian Cooperative non-profit organization to engage equestrians in social activism and foster diversity and inclusivity within the horse community.
Catie Staszak is a multimedia sports journalist, the CEO of Catie Staszak Media, Inc., and the color commentator and journalist for the Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ North American League for the past three seasons.
Staszak has announced at showjumping events across the globe, moderated at the FEI Sports Forum in Lausanne, Switzerland, and is set to be a Chief Liaison Officer for Olympic Broadcasting Services at the Tokyo Olympic Games.
A competitive equestrian of more than 25 years, Staszak combined her two greatest passions into a career after graduating at the top of her class from the University of Miami with a degree in broadcast journalism in 2014, the same year she received AHP’s Student Award.
She continues to grow her Catie Staszak Media, Inc., a boutique media agency with a focus on storytelling and impactful content, and always works to educate and increase the exposure of equestrian sports.
American Horse Publications created the AHP Equine Media NextGen Award to recognize up-and-coming working equine media professionals who have made a significant impact in advancing equine media while upholding journalistic excellence, integrity, and trust in a competitive communications world.
This distinguished award is a unique opportunity to publicly recognize young equine media professionals whose commitment, dedication, and service have made their careers shine above the rest.
AHP Equine Media NextGen Award recipients were selected by a committee of media professional experts who reviewed and evaluated the nominations. While nominees are not required to be AHP members, the lead nominator of the individual must be an AHP member or employee of an AHP member. Nominees must be between the ages of 25 and 35 years old and reside in the U.S. or Canada.
The nine 2021 nominees included these rising stars in equine media:
- Alexandra Beckstett nominated by Stephanie Church, The Horse: Your Guide to Equine Health Care
- Katie Clinebell nominated by Patrick Trowbridge, Equine Network LLC
- Rachel Griffin nominated by Jessica Hein, American Paint Horse Association
- Britney Grover nominated by Jan Westmark, Sidelines Magazine
- Kelsey Pecsek Hruska nominated by Kate Bradley Byars, Morris Equine Group
- Natalie Voss Nevills nominated by Ray Paulick, Paulick Report
- Allison Armstrong Rehnborg nominated by Jessica Hein, American Paint Horse Association
- Tori Repole nominated by Beth Rasin, The Chronicle of the Horse
- Catie Staszak nominated by L.A. Sokolowski, Media Professional
Repole and Staszak will receive complimentary registrations to the AHP “Back in the Saddle” Conference on September 16-18, 2021 in Irving, Texas, where they will be recognized as the 2021 AHP Equine Media NextGen Award Winners.
The AHP Equine Media NextGen Award is presented annually. Nomination information for the 2022 award will be available in the Fall.
Contact: Judy Lincoln
AHP Equine Media NextGen Award Coordinator
ahorsepubs2@aol.com
Images available on request