George L. Ohrstrom Jr., financier, scion of the Ohrstrom family, philanthropist and great Virginia sportsman, died October 6 at his home in The Plains.

Mr. Ohrstrom was often referred to in the mainstream press as a "private" man, reclusive, not having sought the limelight for any of his deeds, worthy as they were of positive notice. But even if he tried to keep his contributions and actions to himself, here in Middleburg and around the Virginia Piedmont his efforts on behalf of horsemen and sportsmen in general were so great that we knew him, if nothing else, but by that generosity.

Outside of Middleburg, beyond the foxhunting and steeplechase circles that he was so a part of, Mr. Ohrstrom was acknowledged for his successes and interests in the worlds of business and finance. He was the chairman of G.L. Ohrstrom & Co., a New York private equity firm started by his father, George Ohrstrom, known in his successful youth as "the kid." The firm owned and grew many companies including, most famously, Dover Corp., the Carlisle Companies and Roper Industries.

Perhaps less famously, but no less important to the man himself, was ownership of the venerable Chronicle of the Horse, based here in Middleburg. The weekly journal of English equestrian sports (foxhunting, steeplechase, hunters and jumpers, eventing and dressage) is to this day a must-read for the horsy set.

It would seem a strange asset except to those who understood the family's love of horses. Mr. Ohrstrom owned Whitewood Farm in The Plains and from this stable sprang champions. Take for instance Ohrstrom's Mossflower. Mossflower was a graded stakes winner who won her first six races including the 1998 Hempstead Handicap (gr. 1). The filly went on to run turf, doing well for herself at Belmont and Saratoga.

Further back Ohrstrom successfully campaigned Comtesse de Loir in France where she was that nation's champion 3-year old filly in 1974. He brought her to the United States the following year and she ran and placed well (though never winning) in several graded stakes.

According to those close to him though, Ohrstrom's true equine passions were the more pastoral pleasures of foxhunting and the excitement and challenges presented by steeplechase.

His contributions to steeplechase arena were great and yet perhaps also frustrating. Apparently his longest unfulfilled goal, one might guess one of few such unfulfilled ambitions, was to win the Maryland Hunt Cup. Five times his horses came close – with his Appolinax given a few shots – but the prize proved elusive.

Ohrstrom was a long-time president of the Orange County Hunt and then founder of the Bath County Hounds, a private pack based at his farm near Hot Springs, VA. Ohrstrom brought the celebrated huntsman Melvin Poe out of retirement to work with the pack. Hunting with them is now considered the thing to do amongst foxhunters around the world, an honor and a privilege afforded to a lucky few.

What perhaps will be amongst his longest lasting legacies, Ohrstrom is, along with his father, responsible for creating, and growing, and ensuring at least the near future of the National Sporting Library, also based here in Middleburg.

The NSL was started by Ohrstrom's father, but George Sr. passed away in 1955, not quite a year into the project. George Jr., along with his father's original partner in the venture, Alexander Mackay-Smith, took over the project and steadily grew it into the impressive collection it represents today.

What would it take for the young 28-year old to assume such a task and carry it forward with such dedication and vision for so many years ahead? The original Library essentially consisted of a few pieces of historical significance and a notion that there should be a place to one day gather more. Until 1999 the collection grew but remained in the basement of the little red brick building that housed (and still does) the Chronicle of the Horse.

At this point a large private collection was donated to the Library and larger accommodations became a necessity. Mr. Ohrstrom oversaw the purchase of the Vine Hill property, which was to become the site of the elegant and more appropriately-sized home for the newly matured collection. The NSL now boasts over 12,000 volumes on horse and field sports.

The mission of the library as set forth by its founders is "to serve as a dynamic cultural force in preserving field and turf sports, and the open-space culture vital to these pursuits, by fostering interest and stimulating research and learning in the sporting culture."

Which brings us to possibly the final piece of this great sportsman's legacy – land conservation. No honest sportsman, no dedicated horseman, could take part in these pursuits with the passion and degree that Mr. Ohrstrom did without coming to the conclusion that conservation of open space is critical to the enjoyment of all that. Thirty years ago he helped found the Piedmont Environmental Council, an organization that has grown in strength and stature as it has moved forward with its mission to promote and protect the Virginia Piedmont's rural economy, natural resources, history and beauty.