Richard Allen “Rick” Elbaor of Mission, Texas and formerly of Amery, Wisconsin passed away peacefully on August 19, 2026 at the Mission Valley Nursing Home in Mission, Texas.

Rick was born October 3rd, 1954 to Richard and Teresa Elbaor at the US Naval Hospital in Great Lakes, Illinois. Rick, along with his family, spent most of his childhood years in San Diego, California, Great Lakes, Illinois, Norfolk, Virginia and Amery, Wisconsin as his father was transferred a lot while serving in the Unites States Navy. The family settled in Amery, Wisconsin around 1966. Richard graduated from Amery High School in 1972.

Rick enjoyed raising livestock as a teenager and worked for many farms throughout the neighborhood. After graduation, he started his life adventure working with race horses. He would spend the next 30+ years traveling and working at several race tracks as an Outrider at Canterbury Park, Retama Park, Commodore Downs, Pocono Downs, Remington Park, Thistledown, Waterford and Louisiana Downs.

You may ask…what is a Race Track Outrider? They are stationed at every race track you will visit. Anytime racing or training is going on, the horsemen called Outriders are employed to supervise events and help where needed. You will see them anytime there is training or races going on. Their most visible duty is similar to a First Responder to pick up a jockey who has been thrown or helping to capture a racehorse that has gotten loose, many times after dumping his rider. His well-trained horse was always his vital partner.

After a severe car accident in 2005, Rick retired and spent the next years living between Wisconsin and Texas before retiring in Texas in 2015. He lost his battle with ongoing health issues on August 19th, 2026.

Rick will always be remembered as a devoted, loving father and brother. He had a kind soul and was always ready to help anyone in need. He will be missed by all those he shared his home cooked meals with and those he helped through his church and food pantry.

Rick is survived by his daughter, Jessica Moon (husband Robert) of Smithville, Texas; twin brother, Rodney (wife Martie), of Mission, Texas; and his sisters Rita Bailey (husband Ed) and Rene Tendrup (husband Gary), both of Amery, Wisconsin.

There will be a visitation at the Williamson-White Funeral Home in Amery, Wisconsin on Friday, September 25th, 2026 from 4:00pm to 6:30pm, with a short service at 6:30pm. Rick will be buried at East Lincoln Cemetery.