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Show Scene 76 CLASSIFIEDS FEATURES -- PAUL HARVEY WEEKS TV GUIDE -- -- THURSDAY, AUG. 19, 1976 - THE FAVORITES These are the Coomb favorites including a Mexican Spur, a spoon Spade Bit, a Salinas bit, a frog bit, a Spanish Ring bit and an Argentine bit. Bits make quite a collection By CRAIG FELLER For the last twenty or so years Keith Coombs of Fielding, Utah, has been quietly collecting one of the largest bit collections in the state. A lifetime rancher and farmer Coombs has been around horses all of his life. The bit collection just came natural to him. Although he has never displayed his 270 prizes to the general public, neighbors and friends know about him and his unique hobby and never hesitate to donate an old bit found on some ranch. t, I've never purchased any .of them from stores or business" revealed Coombs. Ive always gotten' them from friends who are ranchers and horse traders such as Archie Anderson," he added. The first people to use a bit to control the horses's energy for the benefit of man were the ancient Greeks. Later victorious Roman soldiers brought back the bit to Rome. ' In America before the advent of cheap tractors, agriculture demanded millions of work horses to be quickly broken with the bits that the Romans brought to the British and the British brought to the colonies. KEITH COOMBS HOLDS a prized Spanish bit obtained from a horse trader named Archie Anderson, The bit is well over SO years old. j Eventually the U.S. Cavalry used a modified version on its mounts during their heyday in the 1800's. Coombs has managed to collect some of these rare army bits from friends. His most prized Army bit, however, comes from his grandfather who actually used it. Coombs has bits from all over the world. Spain, Mexico and Argentina, are just a few places that his bits come from. Some of my bits are worth well over a hundred dollars apiece but I've never placed a dollar value on them. The sentimental value is the highest. I may not know all about a certain bit, but I can tell you who gave smiled me each one, Coombs. His hobby doesn't stop at the horses mouth but continues on up around the head and neck. Coombs has also been collecting and making his own headstalls and reins for as many years. I used to work with leather- - huUW .year ..agq.1 started experimenting with . nylon.NowIuseitexclusivly- because it doesn't rot or . . break." Coombs, who still actively ropes in the local rodeos, prefers to think of himself as his daughter's trainer, far-ria- r, and tack maker. We like to play around at the rodeo but don't take it very serious, winked the father of two of the most famous rodeo girls in .the State of Utah. , Susan, age 25, and Cindy, age 19, both acquired national rodeo prominence as the result of their modest father's training and guidance. In fact, Coombs has his own outdoor arena complete with lights for some night practice in his back yard. It's no wonder that his place in Fielding has become popular with the highschool and college age rodeo kids. It's the kind of place that Dean Oliver, eight times world champion in the R.C.A. rodeo, would show up for a chat and to give pointers on roping. KIRK AND KEITH inspect the newest addition, an old English bit purchased in Wyoming while he was judging a rodeo there. KEITH RECALLS experiences with his collection with daughter Susan, showing her some of his finest pieces. Susan, an ardent horsewoman, took third in the nation in calf roping while at Kicks College and won a couple of saddles in high school. his THIS IS Jl'ST part of the Coombs collection. He has more than 270 hits in all. |