Connemara Show
Glenwood Park
Middleburg VA
2011

The house sparrow is a bird of the sparrow family Passeridae, found in most parts of the world. It is a small bird that has a typical length of 16 cm and a mass of 24–39.5 g. Females and young birds are coloured pale brown and grey, and males have brighter black, white, and brown markings.

The tale of Glenwood Park is a love story for the ages.

Mr. Middleburg himself, sportsman, conservationist, foxhunter and civic supporter Daniel Sands loved the open rolling grasslands that fed his beloved Guernsey herd. And he loved both of those just as much as he loved the rocky crags on the hillside overlooking what became the infield on his beloved Glenwood Park racecourse in 1932. (©Tod Marks)

First run in 1955, the Virginia Fall Races were born out of love, too, initially added to the NSA calendar to boost a then-flagging fall circuit. Orange County Hounds president George Ohrstrom Sr. and longtime Piedmont Foxhounds master Theo Randolph conjured the autumn event, linking Glenwood and the National Sporting Library that Ohrstrom Sr. had helped establish in 1954. They tied both to the legacy Sands had created in support of sport and open space, all of which continue through to today.

Ohrstrom Sr. died just a month after that first Virginia Fall meet, but son George Ohrstrom Jr. played it forward until his 2005 death. He passed the baton to his family, still actively involved and ardent supporters of the gifts left by Sands, Ohrstrom and many others.