Elizabeth Letts. Photograph by Carrie Schechter
Written By Sherwood Kohn
Elizabeth Letts was surfing the Internet.
An image of one horse jumping over another caught her eye. It was, after all, an unusual situation. Horses are usually reluctant to do that kind of thing.
An experienced rider from the age of 7, Letts saw something about the demeanor of both horses that impressed her. Neither looked skittish. But the jumper was especially calm. He looked as if that kind of jump was routine, and so did his rider.
“The horse,” said Letts, “Looked relaxed and happy.”
The horse was Snowman and the rider was Harry de Leyer (pronounced “de-LAY-er”), a farmer and horseman who had emigrated from Holland to Long Island, N.Y. after the Nazis invaded the Netherlands. When Letts met him he was 80, a sturdy gentleman with a lively bearing and a horse farm in Virginia.
A writer with a degree in American history from Yale, a veteran of the Peace Corps (Morocco, 1983-1986) and the author of two novels, Letts felt inspired to write about the man who had bought a plow horse for $80 and made it into a champion.
Three years later, the result was Letts’ third book – this time a work of non-fiction – The Eighty-Dollar Champion, the inspirational story of de Layer and his prize-winning jumper, which brings her to the Random House Book Fair on March 3 at Carroll Community College.
“I always wanted to be a writer,” said Letts. “And then I wanted to be a horse trainer.”
Born in Texas 50 years ago, Letts grew up in southern California where horses and riding trails were easily available. She is now a certified nurse-midwife who works at the University of Maryland’s Risk Management Department, lives in Pikesville with her husband, four children and a golden retriever, writes “when the kids are in school,” and rides when she can find the time.
Her current favorite writers are Laura Hillenbrand, the author of Seabiscuit, An American Legend, and Baltimore’s Anne Tyler, but she is captivated by history, particularly that of the late 19th and early 20th century.
“I enjoy the writing process, but I’m fascinated by history,” she said. “I like to look at the present through the lens of history. I’m a kind of historical dilettante,” and, of course, an avid horse lover.
“I had horses that I liked as much as Harry liked Snowman,” she said. “But Snowman was clearly unusual. He had a lot of heart. I can’t think of another sport that teams animals and people like jumping. The horses seem as if they enjoy being athletes. There is a communication between horse and rider that is unique. They seem to be on the same wavelength.
“There was something between Harry and Snowman that was mystical.” Letts has had the experience. “You don’t know how you are communicating with your horse,” she said. “It’s as if you had thought what you wanted to do and the horse did it.
“Anyone who has had that kind of connection with an animal can relate to the experience. People can connect with The Eighty-Dollar Champion even if they’re not equestrian.”
