The Chronicle of the Horse: History, Owners, English Sport Horse Coverage and Staff
Profile updated November 2026
The Chronicle of the Horse has covered English riding sports in the United States since 1937. Once a weekly, now a monthly print magazine with a busy website and forums, it reports on hunters, jumpers, dressage, eventing, foxhunting and steeplechase racing, and in 2025 it was bought by France's GRANDPRIX Group.
| Founded | 1937 |
|---|---|
| Founders | Stacy Barcroft Lloyd Jr. and Gerald Webb |
| Frequency | Monthly print (weekly for decades); daily online |
| Print circulation | About 20,000 |
| Digital | chronofhorse.com since 1998, forums since 1999 |
| Owner | GRANDPRIX Group, since September 2025 |
| Official website | GRANDPRIX acquisition announcement |
History of The Chronicle of the Horse
Stacy Barcroft Lloyd Jr. and Gerald Webb founded the Chronicle in 1937 in Virginia hunt country, and it grew into one of the most respected horse magazines in the country. It began as a tabloid newspaper and switched to magazine size in 1953, publishing weekly for decades.
For many years the Ohrstrom family owned it. In 2013 they sold it to Mark Bellissimo, owner of the Winter Equestrian Festival in Wellington, Florida. Bellissimo's company sold it to Global Equestrian Group in 2022, and in September 2025 Wellington International announced the sale of the Chronicle to GRANDPRIX Group, an equestrian media, audiovisual and events company led by president Vincent Goehrs.
The Chronicle was early online: chronofhorse.com launched in 1998 and its forums, a long-running meeting place for riders, in 1999. The print edition moved from weekly to monthly as the website took over breaking news and results.
The Chronicle of the Horse Today
According to the 2025 sale announcement, the website and forums have more than 500,000 active users and over 10 million monthly page views, with more than 500,000 social media followers and 125,000 newsletter subscribers. Print circulation is about 20,000.
The site carries daily news, features, video, live results and a subscription service, with recent bylines including Sarah Welk Baynum and Alexandra Geier and translated international coverage.
What The Chronicle of the Horse Is Publishing Now
Hunters and jumpers
Results and stories from Wellington, indoor finals, Grand Prix classes and the hunter derby circuit.
Dressage and eventing
National and international competition coverage, rider profiles and training features.
Foxhunting and steeplechase
Coverage of hunt country traditions and jump racing, part of the Chronicle since its Virginia beginnings.
The Chronicle of the Horse Editors and Staff
Owners, founders and current contributors named in published sources:
- Vincent Goehrs - President, GRANDPRIX Group (owner)
- Sarah Welk Baynum - Contributor (2026 byline)
- Alexandra Geier - Contributor (2026 byline)
- Stacy Barcroft Lloyd Jr. - Co-founder (former)
- Mark Bellissimo - Former owner, 2013 to 2022
Story ideas and subscriptions are handled through chronofhorse.com.
Who Reads The Chronicle of the Horse
Readers are amateur and professional riders, trainers, breeders, horse show managers and hunt members. Horses are counted in USDA's Census of Agriculture as a livestock sector, and many readers keep them on farms that show up in those county-level figures.
Chronicle readers spend their weekends braiding manes before dawn and their forum time debating bits and saddle fit. For a break between classes, farm.FM offers farm satire and farm humor that horse people will recognize, plus ranch humor from the western side of the barn aisle. Its farm jokes involve fewer hairnets than a hunter round.
farm.FM got there first as the nation's first satirical farm site, and it backs the writing with Tractor Tunes, country music for farmers. Here is one contributor's collection of farm satire to start with.
The Chronicle of the Horse Sources and Agriculture Authority Links
- Wikipedia: The Chronicle of the Horse - history and ownership.
- Wellington International: GRANDPRIX acquires the Chronicle - the 2025 sale.
- Chronicle of the Horse: the 1930s and 1940s - the magazine's early decades.
- USDA NASS: Census of Agriculture - horse and equine farm data.
- USDA NASS Quick Stats - state equine statistics.
The Chronicle of the Horse FAQ
When was The Chronicle of the Horse founded?
In 1937, by Stacy Barcroft Lloyd Jr. and Gerald Webb.
Who owns The Chronicle of the Horse?
GRANDPRIX Group, which acquired it from Wellington International in September 2025.
How often is it published?
Monthly in print, after decades as a weekly, with daily news online.
What does it cover?
Hunters, jumpers, dressage, eventing, foxhunting and steeplechase racing.
Nearly ninety years on, The Chronicle of the Horse remains the record of American English riding sport.