LONG-TIME vet Paddy Heslop will get a send off today fitting for someone who has been a fixture in the Bermuda equestrian community for decades.

Dr. Heslop, 83, died on Monday after a very short illness and today at St. Mary's Church in Warwick where he will be buried (3.30 p.m.) members of the Bermuda Hunt Club will be out in force with their mounts and there will also be a horse-drawn hearse.

"It is going to be strange not having Paddy around anymore, he was always here and did everything you could ask for," said one veteran rider this week.

Dr. Heslop came to Bermuda in 1950 and over the course of more than five decades was one of the island's main vets ¿ especially for horses. In fact Dr. Heslop was the Bermuda Olympic equestrian team's vet during the 1988 Games in Seoul, South Korea where Peter Gray and Carol Blackman competed. A year before he was the vet for Bermuda's Pan American Games team in Indianapolis. Gray, an eventer, also competed in those Games and won a bronze medal.

Dr. Heslop was a very accomplished rider in his own right and started the Bermuda Hunt Club not long after arriving in Bermuda. He also was instrumental in getting polo started on the Island.

Mike Cherry, head of the Bermuda Equestrian Federation said of the passing of Dr. Heslop: "It is with great sadness that we have learned of the death of veteran veterinarian Dr G.P. (Paddy) Heslop.

"Paddy has been a part of the Bermuda equestrian scene for longer that many of us care to remember, being a founder member of the Bermuda Horse and Pony Association and serving on various committees right up to being re-elected only last Tuesday. He was one of the stalwarts of the equestrian scene in Bermuda for many years. He was our FEI official vet and represented us in a number of official capacities. He was always there when he was needed."

His former wife Patsy Phillips said this week: "He had a great love of animals ¿ especially horses. He was one of the last vets who would do house calls at any time of the day or night. Paddy was a great rider ¿ he had been riding all his life ¿ he did point to point races and also the steeple chase."

Dr. Heslop came from an equestrian family, said Phillips. "His father was with the last calvary of the British Army out in India. His father was a real tough fellow and in fact he taught me to ride. After returning from India they started a horse farm."

Phillips went to England as a young woman and met Dr. Heslop through her friend and fellow rider Joan Taplin who also travelled with Bermuda's equestrian team to the 1988 Olympics and 1987 Pan Am Games as the Chef d'Equipe.

Taplin, who knew Dr. Heslop nearly all of her life, said this week: "As a vet Paddy did everything but he had a horse background. His parents raced point to point horses and also schooled them and sold them. I have known him since I was eight years old. My parents took me over to England and we stayed with his parents. I learned a lot (about horses and riding) from Paddy ¿ basically all I knew. He would come out day or night if you needed him as a vet and I don't think anybody would do that these days. He loved all his animals.

"His main worry when he went into hospital was that nobody would look after his old pony. It is now at Leebow Stables and is doing fine."

Phillips said: "Paddy loved life and I couldn't imagine him being forced to stay in bed. He said all along that he didn't want any life saving equipment. He would have hated it if he hadn't been able to get around and do his work. He was a tough person and loved to be involved. He lived a full life. In fact he was working with animals up until the last week of his life."

Phillips said that Dr. Heslop became sick on Sunday, November 26 and his daughter Tiffany soon took him to hospital where she met up with them. "He took my arm and squeezed ¿ he was so strong even then. He was a tough guy ¿ he was lifting horse jumps around when he was in his 80s! He really was extraordinary."

Dr. Heslop passed away on Monday of this week.

Remembering when she returned with Dr. Hesop to Bermuda, Phillips said: "We came on the boat ¿ with two horses, dogs, a cat and even a tortoise."

Before coming to Bermuda Dr. Heslop worked a lot with racing and competition horses.

"His forte was racing horses and he was outstanding with treating lameness."

The Bermuda Hunt Club also special to Dr. Heslop. "He started that up not long after we came back to Bermuda. Back then there was hardly any traffic and a lot of open spaces. It was great to ride then," said Phillips.