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  • Published: 24 May 2022
  • ISBN: 9780593173855
  • Imprint: RHUS Children's Books
  • Format: Hardback
  • Pages: 40
  • RRP: $39.99

My Blue-Ribbon Horse

The True Story of the Eighty-Dollar Champion




In this picture book inspired by the #1 New York Times bestseller, the incredible true story of a family's beloved horse, Snowman, comes to life! Experience Snowman's journey to overcoming the greatest odds and becoming a world-renowned champion.

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

November 1958: the National Horse Show at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Into the rarefied atmosphere of wealth and tradition comes the most unlikely of horses—a drab white former plow horse named Snowman—and his rider, Harry de Leyer. They were the longest of all longshots—and their win was the stuff of legend.
 
Harry de Leyer first saw the horse he would name Snowman on a bleak winter afternoon between the slats of a rickety truck bound for the slaughterhouse. He recognized the spark in the eye of the beaten-up horse and bought him for eighty dollars. On Harry’s modest farm on Long Island, the horse thrived. But the recent Dutch immigrant and his growing family needed money, and Harry was always on the lookout for the perfect thoroughbred to train for the show-jumping circuit—so he reluctantly sold Snowman to a farm a few miles down the road.
 
But Snowman had other ideas about what Harry needed. When he turned up back at Harry’s barn, dragging an old tire and a broken fence board, Harry knew that he had misjudged the horse. And so he set about teaching this shaggy, easygoing horse how to fly. One show at a time, against extraordinary odds and some of the most expensive thoroughbreds alive, the pair climbed to the very top of the sport of show jumping.
 
Here is the dramatic and inspiring rise to stardom of an unlikely duo, based on the insight and recollections of “the Flying Dutchman” himself. Their story captured the heart of Cold War–era America—a story of unstoppable hope, inconceivable dreams, and the chance to have it all. Elizabeth Letts’s message is simple: Never give up, even when the obstacles seem sky-high. There is something extraordinary in all of us.

  • Published: 24 May 2022
  • ISBN: 9780593173855
  • Imprint: RHUS Children's Books
  • Format: Hardback
  • Pages: 40
  • RRP: $39.99

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Praise for My Blue-Ribbon Horse

Praise for the Adult Edition of The Eighty-Dollar Champion:
"[A] classic American dream story, with a down-on-its-luck horse galloping in for good measure." --USA Today
"A heartwarming story begging for the Disney treatment." --Kirkus
"A fascinating, extremely well-told story." --Booklist
"If you loved the story of Seabiscuit, the surprise champion racehorse, make a date to check out the true story of Snowman."-San Jose Mercury News
"Joyous, heartfelt, and an eloquent reminder that hope can be found in the unlikeliest of places....You'll love this book!"--Gwen Cooper, author of Homer's Odyssey

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