Elizabeth Logan has had many loves in her life throughout her 95 years—her husband George W., horses and the Logan Ranch, just to name a few. For more than 50 years, Logan has resided on the 320-acre Logan Ranch in Haskell, Oklahoma.
“We bought the farm in 1970 and built the house,” Logan said. “We raised beef cattle and quarter horses. George W. loved the outdoors and loved the horses.”
Her love for horses didn’t begin until later.
“I was afraid of horses until my husband had open-heart surgery in 1995,” Logan said. “He had a barn full of studs, and I had to take care of them during his recovery. Finally, I just got more comfortable with them.”
As Logan spent more time caring for the horses, she decided to start showing them. “George W. had a yearling filly, Scottish Nurse, that I took a shine to,” she said. “I came in one evening after feeding and told George W. that I was going to show Scottish Nurse. He about fell out of the chair. I told him that I’m going to make her high point filly of Oklahoma the next year, and I did.”
Logan had success showing horses for 20 years until she was 88 years old. However, her journey with horses did not end there. About six years ago, Logan got into the racehorse business after encouragement from her veterinarian, Jay Ross.
She started with Chrome Kisses her first year, then acquired Batter Up and Josey Wales the next. Logan got her first win with Batter Up. When her horses would do well, she would use the prize money to buy more. She currently has nine racehorses.
To say Logan has done well with her racehorses is an understatement. In 2019, at the age of 92, she won the Oklahoma Futurity at Remington Park with EC Revenge. She won it again in 2022 with Tres Crystals. In May, Tres Crystals won the Heritage Place Futurity, which is another first for trainer Dee Keener.
Reminiscing on her life achievements, Logan says she’s not getting any younger. With no children, Logan and her husband planned for the future of their property. In 1999, the couple decided to donate their estate, including their ranch, to the Oklahoma State University Foundation for agricultural research after their passing.
Although she has carried on George W.’s legacy since his death in 2011, Logan recently made the decision to donate the property while she’s still living.
“I’ve been blessed; I really have,” Logan said. “I decided there’s no better time than now.”
The decision to donate their land and property spurred from a trip to Stillwater in 1983. When their champion mare, Bandy, got sick, and after receiving no answers from local veterinarians, the couple loaded up and took their horse to the Oklahoma State University College of Veterinary Medicine. OSU veterinarians identified the problem as hyperkalemic periodic paralysis disease, an inherited muscular genetic disease the equine industry was not familiar with at the time.
“George W. always said we’ve worked for what we’ve got,” Logan said. “Because of what OSU did for us, we decided to try to help someone else or other students who are going to college.”
