The Born Identity: 'Break Them To Be Horses Not Racehorses'

Rider Emily Ellingwood straightened Night Beacon (Spun to Run) for her stretch run, then banked the young filly for the gallop out. All the while she allowed her mount–who moved like a western pleasure horse–to feel the ground beneath her during what was becoming a regular workout late in 2023.

But it wasn't a nicely-groomed all-weather surface the pair were traveling over. No, the terrain was undulating and severe. Among the flora was fauna which included snakes and coyotes. There's no renovation break amid the rock and earth here. True, the harrowed dirt of Arcadia was not far off as the crow flies, but it seemed a world away.

Night Beacon's training track at Whittier Narrows near Los Angeles, California, with its ravines and embankments, was therefore something different.

Having a yearling start a career in this fashion is all part of trainer Ryan Hanson's plan–a forward-thinking memo regarding a horse's born identity.

“The idea is simple,” Hanson said. “What we need to be doing is break them to be horses, not racehorses.”

Conventional wisdom in the 21st century tells the postmodern trainer that they should begin to put a saddle on a yearling in the early fall and then proceed to teach them about the rigors of daily life around the oval and in the stable.

Sure, turning them out into a field, watching their every move while they're in their stalls and seeing to their needs becomes part and parcel of the rhythms of everyday life. Clocking times and the coming of the 2-year-old sales become like sand through an hourglass as the calendar flips.

Under these old methods, plans for life events like becoming an off-track Thoroughbred (OTTB) can be procrastinated and are an impediment to progress. And so it goes, why think about the distant future when the target is the track and then ultimately the breeding shed?

Channeling the film Jerry Maguire–fewer clients, more personal attention–Hanson's own training memo tries to look beyond a Thoroughbred's current condition in the here and now. He and his team are about building blocks, which if constructed properly, have a major influence on the life of a horse after their racing career is over.

“We used to go with a plan, but what we learned is that they are around the track all the time,” he said. “Going to a place like Whittier Narrows allows them to grow and mature at their pace, instead of ours.”

Ryan Hanson line driving with his assistant | Michelle Yu

Hanson's approach to breaking a horse, how to 'condition' them and finally get them to the track could have a reverberative effect on the sport. His unique take could also be the key to building soundness and longevity.

First though, you should know that Hanson operates a stable of roughly 40 head and competes primarily at Santa Anita, Los Alamitos and Del Mar. You probably have heard of his wife, Michelle Yu, who is prominent on several networks providing handicapping analysis and interviews. She's an accomplished horseman in her own right and, just like Ellingwood, integral to the operation.

“Michelle is really the boss of this outfit,” said Hanson. “We do everything ourselves and it is a sun-up to sundown effort, which never stops. Christmas Day, holidays, we are just in constant motion, but there just is nothing like a nice day and being with these horses.”

Hanson, who is a fourth-generation horseman originally from Idaho, has spent his whole life around equine athletes. His story is distinctive because he might be the only Thoroughbred trainer in North America to first be a champion chariot racer. You aren't going to find this ambitious and hard-working fellow in a three-piece suit gabbing with the clients. His uniform, as he describes it, is dirty blue jeans paired with a ball cap. He can steer a Thoroughbred as well as anybody and his parents instilled in him a work ethic that shows.

“My parents taught hard work, and that is what Michelle and I are all about,” he said.

Hanson's program places a strong emphasis on the horse getting to be just that, a horse. When yearlings are sent to him, they don't go to the track immediately, rather, he specifically keeps them away in order to foster some important qualities. It is a deposit on their future.

The breaking of Night Beacon is a case in point. Yu suggested to the owner of WSS Racing, Bill Simon, that he find a son or daughter by Gainesway freshman sire Spun to Run (by Hard Spun). Out of Stormandaprayer, Night Beacon was selected by Jared Hughes for Simon and taken home for $45,000 at the 2023 Keeneland January Sale. The short yearling filly was then turned out in Kentucky through the summer before she headed to Hanson in California that September. Her breaking in a corral went smoothly.

“She was a pleasure to break and we started her from the ground, line drove her,” said the trainer. “By mid-November she was being ridden every day with a western saddle and Emily [Ellingwood] helped guide her over logs and sometimes we would go two at a time, while sometimes it's just a single.”

Built like a competitive trail event for an OTTB, Hanson's module is more like a Montessori school where each pupil is an individual. Paths of varying degrees of difficulty allow horses to build different strengths in their legs. Hanson, Yu and Ellingwood rotate mounts, especially if one in the string needs some special attention.

When she was ready, Night Beacon took to the river bottoms, went knee deep into water and learned to pick up her feet on the trails at Whittier. The course which is about a mile and a half includes deep sand at different junctures and is coupled with steeper points, which provide a nice set of challenges.

“She's [Night Beacon] just one of those fillies who never missed a beat, never needed to slow down and was always training forward,” Hanson said.

The trainee became comfortable in her own skin, so when it was time to transition to the track at Santa Anita, the process was a smooth one in late February. Ellingwood took Night Beacon for her first registered workout going a furlong Mar. 9. Regular drills followed and the juvenile broke her maiden on debut by 2 3/4 lengths going 4 1/2 furlongs with her regular rider aboard in Arcadia May 10, which handed her first-crop sire his first winner of his career.

“Night Beacon has always been a pack leader,” said Ellingwood. “I always enjoy breaking babies and working with them before they head to the track. Taking them on the Whittier trails allows them to develop a natural confidence as they experience different surfaces. I think that it definitely helps with their development. I even own one who was trained like this and they had such a great foundation for their next job in life.”

Night Beacon breaks her maiden | Benoit

Since her graduation, Night Beacon has set her sights on the GIII Sorrento Stakes at Del Mar Aug. 10. Her works have continued to be steady and to form. No matter what the filly accomplishes on the track, Hanson has instilled in the daughter of Spun to Run skills that will last the rest of her life.

“You have to have a ton of patience to do this kind of training, but it's our responsibility to let them be horses first,” Hanson said.

There is nothing easy when it comes to breaking yearlings and preparing them to race or for the auction ring. With aftercare and an OTTB's future in mind though, Ryan Hanson and his team are committed to letting a horse be a horse.

When it does come time for them to retire from the track, the foundation is ready for them as they begin to adjust to their next career. That is why breaking them to be horses and training them on the trails allows their born identity to flourish.