For more than seven decades, members of the Voss family have had their names etched into Maryland's equestrian history.
Franklin B. Voss was the top American equine artist of his time, and Edward "Ned" Voss served as master of foxhounds at the Elkridge-Harford Hunt Club for 31 years - longer than any other master in the club's history.
Their legacies are part of Tom Voss' daily life. Edward Voss was his grandfather and Franklin Voss was his great-uncle.
"These people were part of my family," said Tom Voss, 57, of Monkton. "Frank Voss died when I was about three, so I didn't really know him. But their art filled the walls of our house, so I saw it every day."
Although he says he can't draw a straight line, Tom Voss has made a name for himself as a land preservationist and a joint master of foxhounds (a horseman who leads a team of hunters), and is recognized as one of the most successful trainers in thoroughbred racing history.
On April 5, Tom Voss will host the Elkridge-Harford Point-to-Point at Atlanta Hall, a tradition started at the family farm in the 1940s by his grandfather Edward. And on April 10, he will attend the opening of an exhibit, The Voss Family: Artists of American Sporting Life, at the Maryland Historical Society.
Edward Voss moved to Harford County's hunt country in the late 1930s when he purchased Atlanta Hall, a 900-acre horse farm. He became a master of foxhounds for the Elkridge-Harford Hunt Club and later moved the Elkridge-Harford Point-to-Point to the farm.
The Point-to-Point is run by thoroughbred horses over fences, and is recognized as the tune-up for Maryland's three big steeplechase races, Voss said.
Tom Voss was preordained to continue his grandfather's racing tradition after he took over Atlanta Hall more than 25 years ago, he said. "The Point-to-Point just kind of landed in my lap," he said. "It was expected that I would continue to hold it at Atlanta Hall, whether I liked it or not."
Chances are he liked it.
As a young boy, he learned to ride, and then show horses. He gravitated to racing horses, which he did for about a decade. Unable to maintain his weight to ride as a jockey, in 1973 he became the Voss family's first race horse trainer.
During the past three decades, he has trained hundreds of horses, including John's Call, a 9-year-old gelding that won the Turf Classic Invitational in 2000 at Belmont Park.
