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Meg Jewett Leavitt receives USHWA's President's Award

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December 14, 2007

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Meg Jewett Leavitt, owner of the Kentucky-based farm Walnut Hall Ltd. and gift store L.V. Harkness and Company, and known for her tireless and unheralded efforts on behalf of unwanted horses, has been honored with the 2007 U.S. Harness Writers Association�s (USHWA) President�s Award, bestowed by the organization�s president, Judy Davis-Wilson.

L.V. Harkness is renowned for its classic and innovative designs in trophies which are now gracing winner�s circles around the country, including the historic Red Mile. The company is the official supplier of the USHWA trophies, and it has also been designated as the official supplier of trophies, awards and medals to the World Equestrian Games, which will be held at the Kentucky Horse Park in 2010.

Meg was also recently instrumental in the founding of the Kentucky Equine Center, which is open to all breeds of horses. Her most passionate cause is her battle against the slaughter of horses for human consumption. With adoption of unwanted horses as one of its priorities, the Kentucky Equine Center was founded as a model for centers all over the country.

�Meg Leavitt uses a word that is bantered around in many ways in today�s world and that word is �responsibility� and how it pertains to owners of racehorses,� said Davis-Wilson. �Her belief is that responsibility doesn�t end when the horse can no longer race. There are not enough owners who will follow through and make sure the animal lives out its final non-racing days in a happy environment. She works tirelessly and unheralded on behalf of thousands of horses to prevent their end in a Mexican or Canadian slaughterhouse.

�In addition, Meg, by way of L.V. Harkness, has brought to the industry trophy designs that are classic and innovative, making them available for races of any stature from the Kentucky Futurity to regional sire stakes events.�

In 1993, Meg and her husband, Alan Leavitt, started Walnut Hall Ltd., with one of their first stallions being Cambest, the fastest Standardbred of all time, who was soon followed by Hambletonian winner Victory Dream. Then came Garland Lobell, who changed the course of the American trotter forever through his great sons Andover Hall, Angus Hall and Conway Hall, two of whom have already reached the pinnacle of success by siring Hambletonian winners. They have since been joined by leading sires Striking Sahbra, world champion Tom Ridge and Cash Hall, another world champion and the fastest trotter of all time on a half-mile track.

Meg Jewett Leavitt will receive her President�s Award from Judy Wilson at USHWA�s annual Night of Champions awards dinner, scheduled for Sunday night, Jan. 27, at Dover Downs. For ticket information call Mark Short or Scott Warren at (302) 398-7585. To place an ad in the Dinner Journal, contact Randy Manges at (859) 351-4595. For hotel reservations at Dover Downs, call (302) 674-4600 and use the code GUSHWA. (USHWA)

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