THERE is somewhat of a rags to riches story about Ireland’s five CDI5* Grand Prix Special winner, Snowdon Faberge.

The almost 18hh gelding arrived in Ireland as a two-year-old and was purchased by his rider Kate Dwyer’s mother, Maureen, for €2,000 aged four, when his owner needed a fast sale. The plan was to make a quick profit on the horse who had “hair on his legs about two inches long and feet like dinner plates,” according to Dwyer.