09/23/2026
๐๐ ๐๐ญ๐จ๐ซ๐ข๐๐ฌ ๐๐จ๐ซ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ซ๐ฌ | ๐๐๐ข๐ฅ ๐๐๐จ๐ญ๐ญ, ๐
๐จ๐ซ๐ฆ๐๐ซ ๐๐จ๐ฅ๐ฎ๐ง๐ญ๐๐๐ซ
In 1986, my insurance brokerage boss, Rob LaBowโthen also a Little Bit board memberโcame rushing into the office one day, excitedly waving a videotape. โYou have to see this,โ he insisted.
I was deeply moved by what I saw: the riders, the horses. There was something truly special there. That very weekend, I went out to Little Bit and signed up to volunteerโand over the years, it became so much more than that.
Over the years, I never saw a 10-week session where a miracle didnโt happen. One memory never fails to bring tears to my eyes. A longtime friend volunteered with me back at the old Little Bit barn. She worked as a sidewalker with a rider named Jimmy, a 39-year-old man who was vision-impaired and non-speaking. No one had ever heard him say a word.
Each week, as they circled the arena, Norm, Jimmyโs horse leader, would softly sing a little song under his breath. One week, when snow blocked the mountain pass, a substitute leader stepped in. After class, Debby came rushing into my horseโs stall, tears streaming down her face. โHe sang,โ she said. โJimmy sang Normโs song tonight.โ
Little Bit also brought something extraordinary into my own lifeโit brought my daughters. Jenni, then a young girl in foster care, came into my life as a volunteer. Our initial interaction eventually led to her moving out of foster care and becoming my first daughter.
Over time, Brooke, Melissa, and Molly joined usโcompleting what I always describe as โa butterfly with all its wings.โ Our family has continued to grow over the past 30+ years and now includes 15 grandchildren.
When I think of Little Bit, one word comes to mind: miracles. In every sense of the word.
And I know this: if Little Bit were not part of my life, there would be an empty space in my heart that nothing else could ever fill. ๐
To read Gailโs remarkable memories in their entirety, along with other 50th anniversary stories, visit littlebit.org/50anniversarystories.
