Harry deLeyer and Snowman

Harry deLeyer grew up on a farm in Sint Oedenrode, Netherlands. His family ran a brewery and delivered the beer by horse and cart. Harry began riding at age two and by the age of eight, he was competing in local shows. During World War II, the deLeyer family became members of the underground Dutch Resistance, hiding Jews on their farm, then helping get them out of Holland to safety.

In 1950, Harry moved to the United States, where he had a job on a tobacco farm in Greensborough, North Carolina waiting for him. Although he liked working on a farm, he missed riding so after work, he would ride one of the work horses. He entered a competition that offered $10 to the top rider and won first prize. 

Harry was eventually hired as a riding instructor in 1954 at the Knox School, a private girls’ school on Long Island. In winter 1956, Harry was on his way to a horse auction to see if he could find a gentle school horse. Unfortunately, a flat tire caused him to be delayed. He arrived in time to see the horses who had not been sold as they were being loaded on a truck headed for slaughter. Harry asked if he could have a look at the remaining horses. A skinny gray plow horse caught his eye. He paid $80 for the horse.

Harry let his four-year-old daughter, Harriet, name the horse. When the big gray arrived at their home and was led off the truck, snow was falling and the horse was soon covered in white, fluffy powder. Little Harriet thought he looked like a Snowman, and the name stuck. 

Each summer when the school closed, money was tight for Harry and his family. When a doctor who had a farm six miles away came looking for a quiet trail horse, Harry reluctantly sold Snowman to him for $160. Snowman returned to Harry’s farm numerous times, having jumped out of the doctor’s paddock, no matter how tall the fences were raised. 

In 1958, Snowman was champion at several shows, including at Madison Square Garden. He also was champion at the prestigious Southhampton Horse Show, now known as the Hampton Classic.

Instantly famous in the world of showjumping, Snowman and Harry were featured in a 1959 issue of Life Magazine. Harry officially retired Snowman from competition in 1969. Several books were released detailing Snowman’s life, including a children’s book titled The Story of Snowman: The Cinderella Horse, by Tony Palazzo and a biography, simply titled Snowman, by Rutherford Montgomery. The beloved horse lived with Harry for the rest of his life until he died in 1974.

Snowman was inducted into Show Jumping Hall of Fame in 1992 and released as a Breyer horse in 2005. The story of Harry and Snowman was also told in the 2011 book The Eighty-Dollar Champion: Snowman, the Horse That Inspired a Nation by Elizabeth Letts. In 2016, the documentary film “Harry and Snowman” was released by Docutainment Films.

Source:

Heilbron, Alexandra. “The True Story of Harry Deleyer and Snowman.” Alexandra Heilbron, 15 June 2017, alexandraheilbron.wordpress.com/published-online-articles/the-true-story-of-harry-de-leyer-and-snowman