ohrstrom
How Disney Inspired the MFHA Conservation Award
It was the Disney Company that inspired the creation of the Chronicle of the Horse/MFHA Conservation Award, but for the wrong reasons!
And it’s most fitting that George Ohrstrom III was presented with the Conservation Award at the 2014 annual meeting of the MFHA, for he is connected through his family to the genesis of the award. Ohrstrom currently serves as co-chairman of the Piedmont Environmental Council (PEC), the respected and influential Virginia-based conservation organization that the Ohrstrom family was instrumental in forming in the 1970s.
The PEC gained national attention when they demonstrated how local grassroots efforts—combined with a clever strategy of enlisting the support of the nation’s most prominent historians—defeated the Disney Company’s efforts to build a theme park in Virginia’s historic countryside in the fall of 1994. At the time the PEC went to war, Disney had already quietly amassed political support in the Virginia legislature, had seduced the local Chambers of Commerce and real estate boards, and had secured the rights and promises of approval to the land they wanted, on the eastern border of some of Virginia’s prime foxhunting country.
The Chronicle of the Horse Is Sold
The Chronicle of the Horse in Middleburg, Virginia and Mark Bellissimo of Wellington, Florida jointly announced today the sale of the magazine to Bellissimo. The purchase also includes The Chronicle‘s enormous vintage black and white photo library that has recorded most major equestrian sporting events since the late 1930s, as well as the digital publication, The Chronicle Connection. Bellissimo’s Wellington Equestrian Partners LLC owns and operates the Winter Equestrian Festival and the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center in Florida. Founded 76 years ago as The Middleburg Chronicle by the late Stacy Lloyd, The Chronicle of the Horse has long been one of the most respected magazines in the industry. For many years foxhunting was a major subject and remained so under the editorships of the late Alexander Mackay-Smith and the late Peter Winants. In 1952 The Chronicle was bought by the Ohrstrom Family who has owned the publication to this day. “I’m so proud to be part of the long tradition of The Chronicle,” said Bellissimo. “I am committed to keeping the organization’s core mission of being the most trusted resource for equestrian sport by offering independent journalism and the highest editorial integrity.” Plans are to introduce new products and services that will strengthen the information flow within the industry, including an enhanced website and state-of-the-art mobile applications, and for the current staff to remain in Virginia. Click for more details. Posted July 12, 2013
Read More
