Leonard A. King Jr., 83, Devon Horse Show leader

Leonard A. King Jr., 83, of Malvern, a horse lover who produced equestrian events and became known as the face of the Devon Horse Show and Country Fair, died Monday, Feb. 2, of complications from diabetes at White Horse Village.

A lover of horses from the time he acquired his first pony at age 12, Mr. King was an accomplished rider. He fox-hunted at Rose Tree Hunt Club and Radnor Hunt Club.

Initially Mr. King served as a participant in the Devon Horse Show of the 1960s. Over 50 years, he served on various committees and worked his way up to president, chairman, and, later, chairman emeritus.

Among show enthusiasts, he was known as "the Face of Devon." In 2012 he received the Caroline Moran Family Award for excellence in the horse industry, and he also was honored with the naming of the Leonard A. King Jr. Committee Stand at Devon.

"He was a true gentleman, a leader in the equestrian world, an accomplished artist and poet, and a friend and mentor who was always ready to share advice, a joke, or one of his famous stories," the show's leaders said in an online statement.

He is credited with bringing recognition to the sport of show-jumping. For the achievement, Mr. King was inducted into the Show Jumping Hall of Fame in 2010.

He was one of the founding members of the American Grandprix Association, which promotes Olympic-level show-jumping in the United States, and went on to serve as its president from 1978 through 1999. In that role, he helped unify the association's events into a series for which he secured major sponsorship.

He was coproducer and comanager of the American Gold Cup, the Philadelphia Horse Show, the Baltimore Jumper Classic, and the Valley Forge Grand Prix.

A Delaware County native, he graduated from the University of Pennsylvania, where he perfected a talent for painting.

His renderings of Chester County barns, landscapes, and animals were exhibited at the National Agricultural Library in Beltsville, Md.; the Carnegie Museum of Art in Pittsburgh; the Palmer Museum of Art at Pennsylvania State University; and at White Horse Village, where he lived after moving from Malvern in 2012.

"He loved every blade of grass in Chester County," said his family, and made a project of transferring its bucolic scenes to his canvas.

He met fellow equestrian Carol A. "Pat" King at the Rose Tree Hunt Club. The two were married for 47 years. She died in 2012.

He is survived by a stepdaughter, Patricia W. Fox, and two grandsons.

At his request, there was no funeral or memorial service. Donations may be made to the Devon Horse Show and Country Fair Foundation, Box 865, Devon, Pa. 19333.