George L. Ohrstrom Jr.
George L. Ohrstrom Jr., the Chronicle’s owner since 1955, died after a long illness at his home in The Plains, Va., on Oct. 6. He was 78.

Mr. Ohrstrom was a prominent figure in the racing and foxhunting communities, and a generous supporter of land-conservation efforts, especially those of the Piedmont Environmental Council. He was a member of and a major landowner in the Orange County Hunt, near The Plains, and in 1992 he founded the Bath County Hounds, a private pack headquartered on his large landholding in Bath County, Va.

“He just loved going down to Bath County; he’d really come to life there,” said Peter Winants, the fieldmaster at Bath County for 12 years.

He was also the owner of Whitewood Stables, which bred and raced Thoroughbreds to run in steeplechase races and on the flat in the United States and Europe. He owned Comtesse De Loire, a former 3-year-old filly champion in France, the U.S. grade 1 stakes winner Mossflower and most recently graded stakes winners Understood and In The Gold. Mr. Ohrstrom particularly enjoyed seeing his horses run over timber, in both point-to-point and sanctioned races, and it was always a highlight for him when one of his horses ran in the Maryland Hunt Cup. His goal for 40 years was to win the Hunt Cup, and Appolinax finished third in 1982, as did Bowman’s Crossing in 2003.

“The Hunt Cup was his real sporting goal,” said Winants, who was the Chronicle’s editor and then publisher from 1976 to 1991 and was the National Sporting Library’s director until 1999. “He was a true sportsman, like few I’ve ever met.”

Mr. Ohrstrom was chairman of G.L. Ohrstrom & Co., a private equity firm in New York City founded by his father, George L. Ohrstrom Sr. Mr. Ohrstrom became the firm’s chairman in 1960.

His father bought the Chronicle in 1954 and died just a year later. With the late Alexander Mackay-Smith, Mr. Ohrstrom founded the National Sporting Library, which was housed in the Chronicle’s basement until 1999, when its specially built headquarters was completed next door to the Chronicle.

“It meant an awful lot to him to fulfill his father’s dream” of creating a permanent home for the NSL, said Winants.

Mr. Ohrstrom is survived by his wife, Jacqueline; sister Magalen O. Bryant; children George F. Ohrstrom, Clarke Ohrstrom, Winifred O. Nichols and Wright Ohrstrom; and five grandchildren. Staff

Woodsides Ashby
Woodsides Ashby, the horse Germany’s Bettina Hoy rode at the 2002 World Equestrian Games, died on the cross-country course at the Kreuth CCI*** (Germany) on Sept. 24. The cause was suspected heart failure. He was 13.

The English-bred, Thoroughbred gelding had held a commanding lead after dressage (23.1 penalties). He collapsed while approaching the second water complex. Staff

Furiosa
Furiosa, an Oldenburg State Premium mare sired by Furioso II, was humanely destroyed Sept. 9 after suffering from arthritis. Furiosa was 28.

Owner Pat Crow imported Furiosa from Germany in the mid-’80s. “Whenever she was in the ring, people would say ‘ooooohhhh,’ because they weren’t used to seeing that kind of horse,” said Crow.

Furiosa consistently won championships in USDF Regions 5 and 9 and showed through Intermediaire I before she had
to retire. She placed in all her classes at Devon (Pa.) in 1989, including the musical freestyle.

Although Crow admitted that Furiosa was occasionally a handful to ride, she said, “She loved everyone and everyone loved her.”
Furiosa foaled four horses, all of whom are competing. Staff

Markus Mandli
Markus Mandlli of Switzerland, the former international jumping rider, course designer and trainer, died Sept. 8 because of heart failure. He was 52.

Mr. Mandli was the Swiss junior champion in 1965 and had become one of Switzerland’s elite international riders by the 1970s. Throughout the ’70s and ’80s, he was a regular member of Swiss Nations Cup teams. Later, Mr. Mandlli became a respected trainer, and even after a cerebral hemorrhage that left him disabled in 1999, he continued to attend equestrian events, where riders always sought his advice.

He is survived by his older brother, international rider Beat Mandli. Staff

Bertie Hill
Legendary British eventer and trainer Bertie Hill died in late August after a brief illness. He was 78.

In the 1950s, Mr. Hill road for the British eventing squad that won the European Championships three years in a row (1953-1955). His most notable mount was the Irish-bred Countryman, one of Britain’s first syndicated horses. His gold streak continued in the 1956 Olympics, and he also rode in the 1960 Rome Olympics.

The 1970 Badminton CCI marked Mr. Hill’s final three-day event. He competed aboard Chicago III, who would later earn team gold at the World Championships with Capt. Mark Phillips, the U.S. eventing team’s chef d’equipe.

For more than two decades, Mr. Hill was also the master of the Dulverton West hunt.

Phillips remembered Mr. Hill in his Horse & Hound column as “a remarkable man who single-handedly changed me from a ‘Pony Clubber’ into an international rider. His zest for life, his love and feel for the horse was second to none. He was the ultimate ‘horseman.’ “

In addition to his wife, Mary, Mr. Hill is survived by his son, Tony, and daughter, Sarah.
Staff

Janet S. Schneider-Cate
Dressage rider Janet S. Schneider-Cate died May 6 in Casper, Wyo., after a long illness. She was 78.

Mrs. Schneider-Cate was a member of the U.S. Equestrian Federation, the U.S. Dressage Federation, the Rocky Mountain Dressage Society, and a strong supporter of the U.S. Equestrian Team and the Front Range Equine Rescue.

Mrs. Schneider-Cate rode actively until 1998. Starting in 2002, through the American Equestrian Foundation, she donated funds to support American riders riding abroad. She also owned two horses of international quality, Sir Sherlock JSS and Maximus JSS, competed by Catherine Haddad in Europe in 2003 and 2004.

Mrs. Schneider-Cate is survived by her husband Tony; children Richard, Robert and Susan Schneider; brother Paul Strauss; and two grandsons. Staff

Bottom Line
Bottom Line, better known by his many friends as “Harpoon,” succumbed to old age and was humanely destroyed at age 29 on Sept. 23.

He was owned and competed for most of his eventing career by Nancy Roth, a veterinarian and amateur rider from New Haven, Mo., who generously leased him to several Illinois-based riders as a teacher. The Thoroughbred gelding had a high-class racing pedigree but possessed a thoroughly unflappable disposition.

The highlight of his career was being a member of the gold-medal Area IV two-star team at the 1994 North American Young Riders Championship with Allison Springer. She had leased him for the season and would then ride him in her first advanced event. It was also Harpoon’s only advanced start–at age 18.

He was officially retired from competition at the 1996 Wayne Horse Trials (Ill.), but made two more appearances in the show ring as he became a mount for disabled riders and qualified one rider for the Paralympics.

It was after his retirement that he discovered the fun of foxhunting. “Galloping after hounds! Flying over jumps! Being with his buddies! No dressage! I’m sure he’s doing that in horse heaven!” said Roth. K.B.