Vera Pauline Reid Eckard, 87

 

 Vera Pauline Reid Eckard's life ended Thursday, Aug. 31, 2017, after a major stroke. Mrs. Eckard was born Jan. 29, 1930, in the Grace Chapel area of Caldwell County to Nora Kirby Reid and James Frank Reid. She was the wife of Landen Pinkney Eckard and lived on the Drowning Creek Farm in Hildebran. Mrs. Eckard was preceded in death by husband, Landen, and grandson, Charles Ray. She is survived by three children, Lana E. Ray, Lewis P. Eckard, and Sheila E. Lail; three grandchildren, Gina and Heather Lail, and George Ray (Moniece). She is also survived by six brothers and sisters, James Reid (Patsy), Jane R. Kirby, Tom Reid (Marie), Dan Reid (Cora), Jerry Reid, Juanita R. Hayse (John), and numerous nieces and nephews.

 Mrs. Eckard was nationally known through her American Saddlebred Horses and Hackney Ponies. She competed throughout the Southeast winning countless awards, but most prominently, the World's Championship for Hackney Ponies Ladies Driving Class in 1983 with her pony, Dunhaven's Crystal King, and again crowned World's Champion Amateur Hackney Pony Driver with pony, Centerfold, in 1996.

 In 1981, Mrs. Eckard served as an ambassador to the American Saddlebred Horse Association traveling to Paris, France, to introduce the breed to Europeans. Mrs. Eckard, along with her husband were inducted into the North Carolina Horsemen's Association Hall of Fame in Raleigh.

 In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial contributions made in Mrs. Eckard's memory to Catawba Regional Hospice, 3975 Robinson Rd., Newton, NC 28658, or to the American Saddlebred Museum, 4083 Iron Works Pkwy, Lexington, KY 40511.

 Condolences may be sent to the Eckard family at www.drumfh-hickory.com.