ANSON W.H. TAYLOR JR.
Anson W.H. Taylor Jr., co-founder and former president of the Equestrian Land Conservation Resource and former president of the U.S. Pony Clubs, died suddenly of a stroke on March 31. He had collapsed immediately after riding at his home in Malvern, Pa., the day before. He was 76.

Mr. Taylor was an attorney by vocation, and he spent seven years as the USPC’s trusted volunteer legal counsel before he became president in 1986. He served at that post for a year, guiding the organization as it adopted and implemented its first strategic plan.

Mr. Taylor always held a passion for the outdoors, especially riding across country and hunting. And for more than 30 years he followed the Radnor Hunt and preserved its future by serving on numerous committees and as club president and through dedicated conservation work with the area’s organizations. His final hunt with Radnor came just four days before his death.

He donated two conservation easements to the Brandywine Conservancy, and in the mid-’70s he bought 17 acres of threatened land used by the Radnor Hunt Pony Club until club sponsors could raise the funds to buy it from him to become the club’s permanent home.

In 1995, Mr. Taylor helped form the Willistown Conservation Trust and served as a board member until his death, helping guide the organization from its modest beginning through its growth to a vibrant conservation organization with a staff of eight.

It was also that year that, while serving on the USPC Task Force for the 21st Century, Mr. Taylor–along with Melanie Heacock, Georgiana McCabe and Rick Jorgensen–founded the ELCR as an organization to help horsepeople protect the land on which they ride and keep their horses. Mr. Taylor served as ELCR president for eight years, retiring in 2005.

To honor his contributions, the leaders of these organizations held a reception at the Radnor Hunt Club last Oct. 4 and presented him with a calligraphy scroll and an original cartoon depicting him as a mounted knight saving the countryside.

The scroll thanked Mr. Taylor for “providing inspiring leadership, wise financial guidance and great courage and commitment” while being “a passionate teacher and mentor, working tirelessly to preserve all country pursuits that we hold dear, helping others to understand the urgent need for equestrian land protection and sharing his knowledge of land protection strategies with young and old. He shall be seen as a model for all who benefit from his legacy.”

Mr. Taylor is survived by his wife of 50 years, Marilyn; daughter Laura Gorham; sons Anson III (Lance) and Stuart A; siblings Nancy Hicks, Audrey MacLean, Isabel McHenry Clay and Barney McHenry; two grandchildren; and numerous nieces and nephews.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Anson Taylor Fund for the Countryside, with checks payable to the Willistown Conservation Trust, 925 Providence Rd., Newtown Square, PA 19073. Please note on your check that it’s for the Anson Taylor Fund. Staff

OLIVE KENDRICK BRITT
Pioneering veterinarian Olive Kendrick Britt died at her home in Goochland, Va., on March 13. She was 88.

Born in 1918 in London, where her father was stationed during World War I, Dr. Britt blazed a trail for women in what was once an overwhelmingly male-dominated profession.

“When she started out, she was a real rarity. She was breaking into a man’s world,” said veterinary partner and friend Dr. Tom Newton of Crozier, Va.

Mrs. Britt was one of only two women to graduate from the University of Georgia’s College of Veterinary Medicine in 1959, and she was the first female intern in the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Veterinary Medicine large-animal clinic.

In 1961, Dr. Britt opened a practice in Richmond, becoming Virginia’s first female veterinarian to specialize in equine medicine. Three years later, she was the first woman appointed to the Virginia Board of Veterinary Medicine. With Dr. Milton Kingsbury, she established the Woodside Equine Clinic in Ashland, Va., in 1969.

As the resident veterinarian for Meadow Farm in Doswell, Va., Dr. Britt cared for the legendary Secretariat from his birth in 1970.

She joined the Virginia Equine Clinic in Manakin-Sabot in 1986, where she and Dr. Newton worked together.

“She cared for million-dollar race horses and backyard ponies with equal care and compassion,” he recalled.

A member of the American Veterinary Medical Association, the American Association of Equine Practitioners, the Virginia Association of Equine Practitioners, and the advisory board of the Virginia Museum of the Horse, Dr. Britt was named Virginia Veterinarian of the Year in 1993.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Theodore Cleveland Britt, and a sister, Patricia Alberta Kendrick.

Memorial donations may be sent to the Dr. Olive K. Britt Equine Scholarship, Virginia Tech Foundation, Inc., 201 Pack Building, Blacksburg, VA 24061. Staff