A Tribute to Marion Randles - A Personal Note
The hobby lost a very dear friend to many of us on 26th December 2023 to Motor Neurone Disease. Marion had been a stalwart of our hobby for many decades and we shall miss her wisdom and participation greatly.
I first met Marion when I was around the age of 12. I had just got into model horses and was desperately trying to get to as many live shows as I possibly could. Back then live shows were few and far between so they were a real treat to attend! I always remember Marion as being so helpful in those early days and to be honest I don’t remember a show without her. Life happened and I was out of the hobby until a chance find in a charity shop of a Breyer bay running mare rekindled my interest and I got back into models in 2013. I started Hot to Trot Model Horses and started selling Breyers. Marion purchased many from me including portrait model Big Chex to Cash which I now proudly have in my collection along with several others once owned by her. Through breeding American Quarter Horses Marion came to own a half brother of Big Chex to Cash hence the connection to the Breyer model.
One tale I have as a happy memory is of a model I had bid on on Ebay but missed out on in the final minuets. It was a lovely stablemate custom painted with a war theme of a city scape in silhouette with fighter planes in black set onto a backdrop of a fiery, bob laden sky. It was really beautiful so I was sad to miss out on it. At my next show I was surprised to see Marion placing it down in the show ring!! We laughed about how we had both wanted it and she told me she had aptly called it ‘Blitz’ after a relative who was a Fire Warden during the war. I’m very proud to now own this model.
Breyer 'New Chex to Cash' and Breyer Custom Stablemate 'Blitz'
Besides horses Marion also had an affection for Minions whom she always said she could empathise with!! Anything ‘minion’ related it the raffle she won and affectionately earnt her nickname as ‘Raffles Randles’ for having extraordinary luck in every raffle she entered.
Before she passed she left many legacies and we as a hobby have put in place many different ways of honouring her going forward. She will live on through her models and I will never be able to look at a Minion without smiling. Thank you Marion for all you gave us.