A Treasure Trove of Little Bits Tack

Some time ago, a quiet, unorganized movement began of appreciating and saving hobby history. Ardith Carlton and Corky Visminas have been leaders in preserving early customs with their Vintage Custom Model Equine Center; Nancy Kelly has written several books on Hagen Renakers as well as hobby history, Gail Fitch has done something similar for Hartlands, and Kristina Lucas Francis has been instrumental in saving Hagen Renaker's items for us all. And that's just the tip of the iceberg. 

My 1970s customs by Sherri Cook McDonald.

Recent losses of some of our more well-known and loved long-time hobby members (Simone Smiljanic and Liz Bouras among others) have prompted even more hobbyists to preserve their own historical pieces or to pass them on to someone who will care for and appreciate them.

Recently I was contacted by an early hobbyist and asked to take her early tack and other items. I agreed, and a few weeks later I received four very large boxes in the mail.

What was inside ran the gamut - mugs, backdrops, books, and other horsey items.

But the real treasure was a large assortment of tack for Little Bit sized horses. 

I looked at that tack and the riders that came with a few of the sets and realized that I had a very valuable piece of hobby history sitting on my dining room table.

And that that hobby history really needed to be saved for the rest of the hobby.

I'd never seen tack and riders made for the Little Bits scale. Stablemate? Yes. Classic and Traditional? Of course.

But not Little Bits. The seven molds were not very popular and not marketed much by Breyer,

so to find tack set after tack set was a surprise.

It was a thrill to sit down and look at them and the workmanship in each piece.

I enjoyed them the short time they were here, but then I passed them on to someone who understood their rarity and value and will take care of them.

What a treat it was to get that glimpse into our hobby's history.