

Photo by Bill Ray Photography
He was purchased for $80 on his way to a slaughterhouse and became an international show jumping champion.
By Debbie MacRae
He was waiting to be loaded onto a trailer on his way to the slaughterhouse when destiny intervened. Harry de Leyer, an escapee from Nazi Germany had fled the country to the US and was looking for a quiet lesson horse for riding instruction. The big grey was the last of three horses left at the auction – so de Leyer took a leap of faith. The horse was purchased for the sum of $80 and as he was unloaded, the snowflakes glistened on his white coat. It was then that a little child whispered, “He looks like a snowman.” The name stuck.


A couple of years later, Harry sold Snowman to a neighbour who wanted a quiet plow-horse. Somehow Snowman knew he was indebted. He and de Leyer had developed what later became an inseparable bond, and he would jump high fences to return to de Leyer’s stable. The higher the fence, the higher Snowman jumped and soon he was winning prestigious jumping classes. He became a jumping champion, but had the heart and the soul of a family pet. He stood 16 hands high and could jump over six feet. He never spooked and was amazing with children.
In 1958, Snowman won the American Horse Shows Association Horse of the Year, Professional Horseman’s Association Champion and the Champion of Madison Square Garden’s Diamond Jubilee – competing against some of the world’s best. He jumped fences, seating benches, other horses and he jumped his way into people’s hearts.


The US Show Jumping Hall of Fame inducted Snowman in 1992. Together, theirs was a Cinderella story on two levels. They were survivors on separate roads leading to destruction. Snowman was heading for the slaughterhouse, while Harry de Leyer was escaping Nazi Germany. de Leyer had aspired to be on the Dutch Olympic Team, but with the invasion of Holland, he never had a chance – that is until his encounter with Snowman. Theirs was a partnership cemented by the heart.