Obituary

1. 82 The Chronicle of the Horse
Jane Furr
The Chronicle of the Horse’s
former production manager Jane
Elizabeth Furr died at her home
in Middleburg, Va., on June 19.
She was 70.
Ms. Furr was born on Nov.
27, 1945, to Thomas and
Maudie Furr and was
a lifelong resident
of Middleburg. She
began working for
The Chronicle of the
Horse in March of
1965. She started
as a member of the
composition staff, using
electronic type setting
and paste-ups to produce the
magazine.
She became former managing
editor Nancy Lee Comer’s
assistant before ultimately taking
on the production manager title.
She organized layouts as well
as coordinated the editorial and
advertising departments, helping
ensure the magazine made it to
the printer on time every week.
“You could always rely on her
to do a job and do it well,” said
Comer. “When I gave her a job,
I knew that it was going to be
done and was going to be done
right. And she worked well with
everybody else. We enjoyed our
days at the Chronicle and working
together.”
She remained on the staff for
47 years.
She was very dedicated to
her community and close to
her family, raising one of her
nephews, Ray Arthur, as her own
son after the death of her sister.
“Everybody loved her in town,”
said Arthur. “She made a big
influence, or a big impression, on
a lot of people.”
Ms. Furr was a devoted
member of the Middleburg
Baptist Church congregation and
served on several committees
such as the Joy Club Committee
and the Ordinance Committee.
She was also active in the
Backpack Buddies Program, a
charity dedicated to providing
meals for underprivileged
children in Loudoun County.
“She was always calling
or sending little cards to
people that were sick
or, you know, maybe
lost a loved one or
something,” said her
friend and Chronicle
colleague Mildred
Ann Sudduth.
“She was just always
in contact with her
community.”
Ms. Furr is survived by
her brother-in-law Charles
Bradshaw; her nephews, Ray
Arthur, Steven Bradshaw,
Michael Bradshaw and David
Bradshaw; and two great nieces.
In lieu of flowers, memorial
donations should be made to the
Middleburg Baptist Church, 209
E Federal Street, Middleburg, VA
20117 or to the American Cancer
Society, cancer.org.
Lennox
International Grand Prix
dressage horse Lennox died on
June 17 due to colic. He was 27.
Lennox (Lowenstein—Aglaia,
Adlerfels) was born on May
3, 1989, in Germany. Under
Robert Dover’s guidance, Kenn
Acebal purchased the 3-year-old
Westphalian gelding from the
breeder, who was primarily a pig
farmer.
“Back then you could get a
really lovely 3-year-old for not
that much money,” recalled
Dover. “He was a terrific find.”
Over the next several years,
Dover rode and trained Lennox
for Acebal. The pair rode on the
fourth-placed team at the 1998
FEI World Equestrian Games in
Rome and represented the United
States at the 1999 FEI World Cup
Dressage Final in Dortmund,
Germany, finishing eighth.
“He was certainly there for me
when I needed him,” said Dover.
“He was great [in Rome]. We won
some classes while in Europe
during the selection process for
that WEG. He was just a very
nice horse to compete because he
wasn’t emotional—he was steady.
He was the kind of horse that if
he was round and through he
would do a nice job. He was very
competitive at the time. He was
just a really nice show horse.”
In 1999 Acebal took over the
ride on Lennox and trained with
Olympic gold medalist Anky van
Grunsven and Sjef Janssen in
the Netherlands. They returned
to the United States and won
the ABIC/USDF Region 3 Open
Grand Prix Championship in
2000.
Acebal compared him to a Golden
Retriever at the time. “He wants
to do the right thing,” he said. “He
always tries. Of course, sometimes
he’s convinced that what he wants
is the right thing, and he’s definitely
smarter than me.”
Acebal rode Lennox at the
Grand Prix level through 2002,
contesting national and CDI
classes with the gelding.
From 2006-2009, Susan
Harris showed Lennox in the
small and large tour. She fondly
remembered his big personality:
“One Lennox thing that he did
when we were showing at the
Kentucky Horse Park is he broke
through his stall-guard and took
off,” she said. “He trotted all
over the horse park and wouldn’t
let anyone catch him. He was a
real character, and he was a real
people horse.”
After the gelding’s show career
ended, Acebal gave Lennox to
a veterinarian in Georgia to be
retired.
OBIT
UARIES
GONEAWAY