Owner-breeder Ann Mudge Backer passes
Owned Virginia’s Smitten Farm
The Biz
August 25, 2026
Ann Mudge Backer, a longtime Thoroughbred breeder and owner whose Smitten Farm became a respected operation in Virginia’s horse country, died Aug. 15 at her home in The Plains, Va. She was 93.
Backer, born Sept. 22, 1932, in Pittsburgh, spent her childhood between Pennsylvania and Florida before attending Bryn Mawr College, living in Italy and eventually settling in New York. There, she became part of the city’s literary and social scenes while also embracing the anti-war and civil rights movements
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She earned a law degree from New York Law School and became a public defender with Legal Aid in Manhattan. In 1973, she married defense attorney Elliot Taikeff, with whom she worked on the defense of Native American activists at the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. They divorced in 1980.
Three years later, Backer married advertising executive William M. Backer, the co-founder of the advertising firm Backer Spielvogel and perhaps personally best known for creating Coca-Cola’s “I’d Like to Teach the World to Sing” commercial. Their shared love of horses, dogs and the Virginia Piedmont led them to establish Smitten Farm in The Plains.
In the racing world, the couple raced under Bill’s name until his death in 2016. They campaigned stalwarts like the Grade 3 winner Blind Date and $379,000 earner Art Fan. Backer bred both of those, and another horse he bred, Rose Brier, by Mizzen Mast, is the track record-holder for one mile on turf at Laurel Park, having covered the distance in 1:33.11 in the 2016 Henry S. Clark Stakes.
Following William Backer’s death in 2016, Ann Backer remained at Smitten Farm and reshaped its Thoroughbred operation, focusing on a small, specialized broodmare program. She was twice named Virginia Breeder of the Year. Among the farm’s notable graduates was Gigante, a six-year-old son of Not This Time who has earned more than $1.5 million.
In May of this year, Backer’s beloved Smitten Farm received a royal visit from Queen Camilla.
The Backers became prominent advocates for preservation of the region’s open countryside. They supported the Piedmont Environmental Council and, in the early 1990s, helped organize opposition to the proposed $650 million Disney’s America theme park near Manassas National Battlefield. The project was defeated in 1994. They later helped launch the Coalition for Smarter Growth.
Backer also remained active in causes involving environmental protection, civil liberties, Native American rights, social justice and women’s reproductive health. In 2024, Citizens for Fauquier County honored her with the Kitty P. Smith Award for her lifetime contributions to preserving Fauquier County’s rural landscape, historic resources and agricultural economy.
“Ann Mudge Backer was a remarkable woman who continued to evolve with intelligence, curiosity, generosity, and grace,” her family wrote in her obituary.
She is survived by her brother, L. Taylor Mudge of Camden, Maine, and a niece and five nephews. Her sisters Betsy Mudge Wilson and Polly Seeley Mudge Welliver predeceased her.
A celebration of life is planned for later this fall.
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