Irene C. Acker, an avid horseman, lost her battle to Alzheimer’s on August 10, 2013 in Wilmington, N.C. while living near her son, David. Irene was born in New York City in 1920. She lived there and on Long Island until the early 1970s when she moved to the Tryon area for access to more hunting country.

She dedicated most of her life to the service of the equestrian community. In New York, she was an active huntsman with the Smithtown Hunt Club, secretary to the North Shore Horse Show in Old Field and record keeper for the Madison Square Garden Horse Show. Irene was also a National Steward for the better part of 40 years until 2006 when she officially retired from stewarding.

While in the Tryon area Irene was very active in the Tryon Hounds and became their first Hilltop Field Master, a position she held for about 20 years. For those of you who may remember, back in the 1970s she was also the official “hairnet hander-outer” for the Tryon Hounds. Another show of her dedication to the horse world was establishing the Tryon Hounds Horse Show and Country Fair, which ran at Harmon Field and FENCE for 11 successful years.

Aside from her life with horses, Irene was also an ardent reader, gardener and animal lover. As we all knew, her pool was one of her favorite places to be, reading and soaking up the sun.

Irene was predeceased by her son, Jeffrey. She is survived by her other children, David (Holly) of Wilmington, N.C.; Bruce (Anna) of Shoreham, N.Y.; and Cynthia (Thomas) of Miller Place, N.Y. She also left behind nine granddaughters, six great-grandchildren and her cousin, James (Lolly) of Camden, Maine.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in the memory of Irene C. Acker to the Tryon Hounds, P.O. Box 112, Tryon, NC 28782; the Long Island Museum, 1200 Rte. 25A, Stony Brook, NY 11790; and the Alzheimer’s Disease Resource Center, 45 Park Avenue, Bay Shore, NY 11706.
The family will be holding a private memorial in New York.