Weekend Horse Sense

Tomorrow, June 7^th, is the 140^th running of the Belmont Stakes, the last race in the Triple Crown.  As we wait to see if Big Brown can become the first Triple Crown winner in 30 years, please enjoy the story of Harry de Leyer, Snow Man, and finding untapped potential.

The Legacy of Harry de Leyer

Harry de Leyer was late to the auction on that snowy day in 1956, and all of the good horses had already been sold. The few that remained were old and spent and had been bought by a company that would salvage them. Harry, the riding master at a girls' school in New York, was about to leave when one of these horses-an uncared-for, gray gelding with ugly-looking wounds on its legs-caught his eye.

The animal still bore the marks caused by a heavy work harness, evidence to the hard life he had led. But something about him captured Harry's attention, so he offered $80 for him. It was snowing when Harry's children saw the horse for the first time, and because of the coat of snow on the horse's back, the children named him "Snow Man".

Harry took good care of the horse, which turned out to be a gentle and reliable friend-a horse the girls liked to ride because he was steady and didn't startle like some of the others. In fact, Snow Man made such rapid improvement that a neighbor purchased him for twice what Harry had originally paid.

As days passed, Harry began to regret his sale.  And apparently, so did Snow Man.  That was when the gray gelding's hidden talent showed up.  The neighbor's fences were high.  VERY high.  But somehow, Snow Man escaped.  Again and again - jumping the neighbor's fence to be reunited with the man who had rescued him from the glue factory and the school girls he loved.

For years, Harry's great dream had been to produce a champion jumping horse. He'd had moderate success in the past, but in order to compete at the highest levels, he knew he would have to buy a pedigreed horse that had been specifically bred to jump. And that kind of pedigree would cost far more than he could afford.

Snow Man?  Nah - he was already too old.  Snow Man was eight when Harry had purchased him - WAY too old to begin his training. But, what the hay?  After all, Snow Man wanted to jump, so Harry decided to see what the horse could do.  So in 1958, after a few months of practice, Harry entered Snow Man in his first competition.

Snow Man stood among the beautifully bred, champion horses, looking very much out of place. Other horse breeders called Snow Man a "flea-bitten gray".  But a wonderful, unbelievable thing happened that day.  Snow Man won! 

Harry continued to enter Snow Man in other competitions, and Snow Man continued to win.  Audiences cheered every time Snow Man won an event. He became a symbol of how extraordinary an ordinary horse could be. He appeared on television. Stories and books were written about him.

As Snow Man continued to win, one buyer offered $100,000 for the old plow horse, but Harry, this time, would not sell. In 1958 and 1959, Snow Man was named "Horse of the Year", was later inducted into the show jumping Hall of Fame, and for many, he has become a lesson in never giving up and finding your untapped potential.  

What's Your Legacy?

"Not all horses were born equal.
A few were born to win."

- Mark Twain (1835 - 1910)