The Eighty-Dollar Champion - Elizabeth Letts [141]
This book is dedicated to Harry and his family
and to the memory of the gallant horse Snowman
Acknowledgments
To retell the story of The Eighty-Dollar Champion, I depended on the time, insights, and generosity of a great many people. First and foremost, this book could never have been written without the kindness and support of Harry and Joan de Leyer. They welcomed me and my family to their beautiful Nederland Farms in Virginia and shared their memories, photographs, and hospitality on countless occasions. Getting to know them was the greatest gift I can imagine.
I owe great thanks to my incomparable editor, Susanna Porter, who was passionate, insightful, and unflagging in her dedication, and to her assistant, Priyanka Krishnan, who helped me through the complicated task of putting a book together with patience and good grace. I am also deeply grateful to the entire incredible team at Ballantine: Libby McGuire and Kim Hovey in the publisher’s office, Benjamin Dreyer, Steve Messina, and Mark Maguire in managing editorial and production; cover designers Paolo Pepe and Victoria Allen; book designer Virginia Norey; Quinne Rogers and Kristin Fassler in marketing; and Cindy Murray and Susan Corcoran in publicity. Many thanks for the terrific work of the entire sales team in Westminster, Maryland, especially Cheryl Kelly, whose deep affection for this story was evident. I could not have asked for a more enthusiastic, hardworking, or talented group of people to have on my side.
I am extremely indebted to Jeff Kleinman at Folio Literary Management, whose absolute dedication, creativity, and belief in Snowman’s story were instrumental every step of the way. I also want to thank Edith “Pete” Verloop and Corinne Kleinman for their love of horses and excellent hospitality, and for sharing their family history of life in wartime Holland.
Thanks to the National Sporting Library in Middleburg, Virginia, which awarded me a John H. Daniels Fellowship to support the writing of this book and gave me access to the library’s superb equestrian collection. I’d especially like to thank Liz Tobey and Lisa Campbell for their help. Thanks also to Kathy Ball of the Smithtown Library for sharing the rich resources of its local history room, and George Allison of the Knox School for giving me access to the school and grounds, as well as delighting me with his wealth of knowledge about the institution and its history. I also appreciated Lucinda Dyer’s incredible hard work and passionate love for big gray horses.
I relied on many people to share their insights with me, especially Bonnie Cornelius Spitzmiller, Phebe Phillips Byrne, Wendy Thomas, Harriet de Leyer, Bernie Traurig, Frank Guadagno, David Elliottt, Marie Debany, Chris Hickey, Sarah Hochsteder, Kathy Kusner, and Kathleen Fallon. Thanks to Noelle King and Diane de Franceaux Grod for their terrific work in bringing the horse community together online. Thanks to William Zinsser for sharing his description of writing for the New York Herald Tribune.
Thanks Tasha Alexander, Jon Clinch, Melanie Benjamin, and Betsy Wilmerding for unflagging help and support.
Thanks to Ginger Letts for getting up at five a.m., hitching up the trailer, reminding me to remember my boots and britches, and driving me to horse shows, and also for telling me countless stories about life in an all-girls boarding school in the 1950s. I am indebted to Nora Alalou for her artistic acumen and cheerful unpaid tech support.
Great gratitude to Joey, Nora, Hannah, Willis, and Ali for being the most supportive, enthusiastic, fun, creative, and funny family a writer could ever have.
Last, I’d like to thank my own two-legged teachers, Donna Naylor, Pam Nelson, Hilda Gurney, Rob Gage, and Judy Martin, and my four-legged teachers, Foxy, Jack, Kim, Fuzzy, Princess,