(Nancy Kelly asked long-time hobbyists to take a survey. My responses are below.)
Hobby History Survey - Lynn Isenbarger
November, 2016
- When and how did you first start your model horse collection (year/age). What manufacturer?
My first piece was a Japan china horse with a saddle and chain reins (Little Bit sized) that Santa Claus brought me in 1963. (I was six.) My mother said I loved horses from my earliest years, and as a toddler, I would stand in the car and get all excited about the horses we saw as we drove. (This was before car seats and before seat belts were mandatory!) I loved that “glass” horse, and still have it in my china cabinet with my HRs and other fine china despite its broken-up, yellow glued legs. That piece started a collection of other Japan chinas (no HRs - too expensive in comparison) and I had twenty or so before I got my first Breyer, a woodgrain Running Foal that my father bought me the day I got my braces. He suggested I name him “Needles” after the race horse and as a pun about the needles dentists use! Since the chinas were so fragile and always breaking, Breyers (and Breyer knock-offs and Hartlands) became my new collecting focus.
2. When did you realize that there were other model horse people out there? JAH?
My friends, Bobbie Vance and Carol Holmes, also collected. We used to put our horses and homemade tack and props into large brown grocery bags, sling the bags over the handle bars of our bikes (yikes!!), and go to each other’s homes to play. We held a lot of horse shows with them, and made paper ribbons (in scale to the Breyers) as awards that we would tape to their bridles. We even had gaming classes and would hand-gallop our models around the barrels, actually timing them. We also had dolls (the smaller Marx dolls, not Jane West but her smaller counterparts. Josie West, I think) and Barbie’s sister, Skipper, Liddle Kiddles, anything that worked and was reasonably in scale. We set up ranches in our bedrooms with bunkhouses, barns, riding rings, etc. Talk about carpet herds at their finest!
Then, in 1970, Horse and Rider magazine published the article where Ray Rich (editor) judged IMPHSA’s championship show. I had never seen a Hagen Renaker before, but I recognized the Breyers. (And the Beswick Appaloosa in the article became my most wanted piece for years!) I wrote Ellen Hitchins and joined the club - that opened a whole new world for me! There were not a lot of us, but the competition was tough and so much fun!
As for JAH, I did not subscribe at the beginning. I do not remember why. But, definitely the emerging hobby led Breyer and not the other way around. I think Peter Stone and others at the company saw what collectors were doing and followed suit. JAH began well after the first hobby clubs started. Breyer did support us (see copy of the letter I sent you with a list of clubs on it that Breyer compiled and would send you if you inquired.)
3. What model horse publications do you remember? Who produced them? I'm hoping to get at least a cover shot of each of them.
I have told you about IMPHSA and IMFPSA as well as my club, ABMHSA. As the hobby was gaining ground, the variety of clubs expanded quickly. Many were breed-based. (For example, in the copy of the ABMHSA newsletter I sent you, Sue Seese’s club for Thoroughbreds is listed and you can see its information there.) Marney Walerius did not run a formal club (as I remember) but she came after Ellen Hitchins (please note that her name is spelled correctly this way; some folks replace the second “i” for an “e” but that is wrong) and Simi Smiljanic and quickly became the hobby guru - someone who was very active in the hobby, who loved to correspond with other hobbyists, and who held some of the very first formal live shows. Live shows in “backyard” form had been going on for years - like the ones Bobbie, Carol, and I had, other hobbyists did the same before the hobby began formalizing. In my opinion, live shows have been going on much longer than most people credit because they do not count the get togethers people like me had. I think Laurie Jo Jensen had backyard-type shows before we became more organized, too, but I could me wrong on that. Someone did - I just can’t document it outside of saying that I know it happened.
I subscribed to Linda Walters’ journal for years and years and we corresponded quite a bit. (I still have her address memorized except for the zip code!) She was like Marney in that she welcomed letters and responded quickly. For perspective, since we had no internet and long distance phone calls were very expensive, the hobby was run mostly through the post office. Model horse “breeding” was beginning (for a fee of a nickel or so, you could use someone’s models as a sire or dam for yours.) Lots of ads for breeding, model shows, and sales lists were in the journals. It was a very big deal to get a new hobby mag in the mail or to hear back from Marney, Linda, or another hobbyist!
4. Did you participate in photo showing? Any memories of that?
All the time! I held photo shows as well as sent “pix” to many, many shows. Ribbons would be awarded, and most were homemade. (I have a bunch if you’d like to see samples.) Rarely were they commercial ribbons, although sometimes those were offered and that was a very big deal. It also made the cost of entering the show go up. After the show was held, you had to wait for the show holder to type the results before your photos were returned. Depending on the show holder, this could take a while, so most of us had multiple copies of our show photos so we could “attend” other shows without waiting.
It was through holding photo shows that I began seeing the earliest customs. They were fabulous! (Although not even competitive nowadays compared to what current artists do!) Linda Leach (Hardy) and Kathy Masestas were well-known customizers as was Sherri Cook. (I still have three that she did.) They began to be eclipsed by others - Julie Froelich comes to mind. I could never afford her work!
5. When/where/what was the first live model horse show you attended? Do you remember your initial reaction? What were the early shows like?
Besides the backyard ones, not until the very early 1990s (possibly late 1980s.) As a teen, I was also showing live horses and my parents could only take me to one or the other, and I chose live horse showing over attending model horse live shows so I did not attend the earliest live shows of the formal hobby. Then, I got married to Craig in 1976 (we celebrate our 40th anniversary next month!) and had six kids - traveling to live shows was too expensive and not possible logistically until they were older. Three of my kids, Jessica, Lisa, and Cole, participated in live showing with me for a while, and Jessica appeared in JAH when they published an article on live shows around the country. (I’d have to look up the date for that.) My first live shows were IndyCon and others held by a very active group in Indianapolis. (Perhaps Simi’s legacy?) I found them so much fun as well as eye opening - the customs were so improved, resins were beginning, the tack and creativity! Competition was at a much higher level than the photo shows that I still was participating in, but best of all was the opportunity to actually meet fellow hobbyists and discuss model horse collecting.
6. Did you belong to any model horse clubs, associations, or groups?
Lots - IMPHSA, IMFPSA, ABMHSA are the ones I remember and was most active in.
7. Any favorite memories of other model horse collectors?
Beth Dickinson, who is still a very active hobbyist from Pennsylvania, and I were pen pals in 1971. I told her about IMPHSA, she joined, and she got started in the hobby then like me. I am sure she would talk to you and she might give you a different perspective from me as she likes customs and had some of the earliest. Let me know if you’d like her contact information. We have been friends for longer than I have known my husband!
Sue Seese is also an early hobbyist although she no longer collects. She went on to real horses and showed QHs at the world level. She is no longer a horse owner but we are still friends and in contact. She could probably give you information about the hobby at its earliest, too. Let me know if you want that contact information.
Nancy Falzone is the queen of HRs (in my opinion; Jo Ellen Arnold is also there.) I first met Nancy when I was at an auction in Illinois, looking for HSOs. I noticed a petite woman and another lady who were watching me and wondered what was going on. Finally, they came over and Nancy said boldly, “I think you are one of us. Are you a horse collector?” What an introduction to a great lady! Michelle Oviatt was the other woman, and the three of us hung out together at the auction the rest of the day, chatting and sharing. I don’t remember buying anything there, but Michelle later helped me find some pieces I was looking for elsewhere, and Nancy and I began corresponding via mail and then email. I bought several pieces from her and always enjoy seeing her in person!
8. What do you remember about Marney Walerius?
She was a nice gal who happily mentored everyone. I only saved one of her letters (wish I had them all!) but she would take time for anyone who was interested in the hobby. Personally, I think of Ellen and Simi as the founders of the formal hobby as Marney came a few years after them, but Marney was different in that she had a “broader base” so to speak of those with whom she connected. We did meet several times at BreyerFest, and I was saddened by her early passing.
9. What do you remember about Linda Walter?
Lovely lady! Kind, willing to mentor, and like Marney, someone who really furthered our hobby and helped it grow from grassroots to where it is today. We corresponded all the time, but I cannot find any of our letters at the moment. It makes me smile to know that I still have her mailing address memorized! We met at BreyerFest a few years ago, and she was shyer in person than I anticipated. We spent about a half hour together just talking, and she soon warmed up, especially when she remembered me from our past years’ correspondence.
10. What do you remember about Ellen Hitchens?
For me, Ellen is where it all began. (She is better known than Simi, but Simi was every bit a part of the early hobby that Ellen was.) I really looked up to Ellen and credit her for helping me get my feet wet, helping me to discover that there were others like me (and Bobbie and Carol) with whom I could connect. She, too, would readily answer questions from those of us who were joining her club. And, I credit her with bringing the hobby its first national notice through that article in Horse and Rider magazine. Laurie Jo Jensen told me that Ellen passed away some time ago, and had left the hobby for real horses prior to her death. Simi is still living and in Cincinnati. After her marriage, she got into following auto racing with her husband. She now has a brain injury and has some difficulty in communicating clearly, but if you want to talk to her, I will see if she is okay if I give out her contact information.
11. How has your collection morphed over the years?
With the discovery of IMPHSA and the magazine article, I discovered Hagen Renakers. Depending on my life stages as a collector (child/teen, early marriage/motherhood, later marriage/motherhood, empty nester/employed teacher) I have had times when I could afford them and times when I could not. I learned to keep my eyes open at antique shops and flea markets, garage sales and estate sales. I m pleased to say that I have a modestly nice collection of vintage DW pieces. I also collect Breyers, although my focus is on vintage. (That Vintage Collectors Club is perfect for me!!) I’ve a fairly good collection of Hartlands, too, and those beloved Japans, but my real loves are the HRs and Breyers. I have 1,000+ pieces in my collection and I live show once or twice a year, and have only occasionally gone to BreyerFest in recent years due to health issues. But, I’ve had both knees and a hip replaced, and a spinal fusion just a few months ago, so I may be up to traipsing around BreyerFest in the future! (Fingers crossed!)
12. Are there any other model-horse related activities that you participate(d) in? Please go into as much detail as you'd like on this one.
I dabbled in tack making and customizing enough to know that I do not have the skills for that! I would like to try doll-making, and I sew well, so I think I could do that so that’s a “retirement possibility.” (I am a teacher and still in the classroom.) For three years I held a live show, Lincoln Land Live, in Illinois. I would love to hold a collectibility show for Breyers and Hagen Renakers - again, “retirement possibility.” I love to write and have a private hobby blog where I keep track of my collection, purchases, releases, and hobby-related things. As I get older, (pushing 60!) I am finding it harder to accurately remember dates and things, so my hobby blog serves that purpose for me.
There is a tree at JoAnns Fabrics I'd like to buy - it's more realistic and it comes with working, in-scale miniature lights! This one is an old show prop from the 1990s. Its decorations are beads and earring charms that I put on hangers.
