Hyp Hop makes a comeback
Second chances come in many forms and one horse is a perfect example of one of them.
Jaden Brake, 14, is currently showing an 18-year-old horse dubbed Hyp Hop at this year’s Union County Fair. This is the first year she has shown Hyp Hop at competitions.
Hyp Hop, unlike other former racehorses, earned a second chance through the guidance of people like Brake believing he could serve another purpose off the track. So far, life has been good for the pair.
Hyp Hop (left) enjoys an apple snack from Jaden Brake (right) while in his stall at the Union County Fairgrounds this past week.
(Journal-Tribune photo by Aleksei Pavloff)
“I used to show another horse, and we used to place really well with her,” she said about showing her previous horse, Peanut.
Brake has participated in county fair shows for seven years now.
The middle-aged thoroughbred transitioned from a different type of career. Hyp Hop, formerly named Hypnotized on the racetrack, earned above six figures as a racehorse before suffering a broken knee in a race where he secured first place. He was born in Kentucky before finding his way further north.
“He raced for seven years and he made $122,000,” Brake said. “He broke his front left [knee] on the track.”
Hyp Hop continued to race in a few events but it was clear he had seen better days. Despite winning second and fourth, respectively, Hyp Hop was on the brink of being euthanized. However, his former trainer noticed something in him.
“They could just tell he wanted to live,” Brake said. “He’s a very people pleaser and he loves doing his job and he loves to please people.”
“The trainer of Hyp Hop, they went to euthanize him at the track… recovering from a broken knee is I guess — he may have recovered but being able to do everything that he does now is kind of unheard of,” Lindsey Copley, Brake’s mother, said.
Hyp Hop was rescued by Midnight Run Stables, located originally in Richwood but just moved to Mt. Victory.
Despite breaking his knee, Hyp Hop, with the guidance and coaching of Brake, competes show jumping. He currently clears a two-foot jump, but Brake is working with him on getting those numbers higher.
While mostly being a jumper, Hyp Hop has also done shows in the Western and Ranch categories.
“He’s not really a showman horse but he can do it,” Brake said.
“All of this show stuff is new to him being a racehorse,” Copley said. “They did a show a few weeks ago and they got grand champion of their division.”
Posted on Hyp Hop’s stall was an equitation class first-place ribbon for the Union County junior fair horse show. The pair also received a fourth-place ribbon in showmanship and third in pleasure class.
A change in career paths can be a tumultuous situation for anyone who has spent years dedicating their life to a specific craft or field. For a horse like Hyp Hop, those second chances are not common.
Brake shared how being patient played a key role in making sure the 18-year-old steed could transition to an off-the-track life.
“[It was] a lot of patience and respecting his background,” Brake said, adding the thoroughbred also suffered a broken jaw in the midst of his rehab from his leg injury. “There is a lot with him but he’s still respectful still and very forgiving.”
“There are a lot of people who throw away horses because they are not winning or they are broken,” Copley said. “I think it is really cool to know that you don’t always have to buy a brand-new horse. They can be adopted.”
Copley added that Midnight Run Stables is not the only place that saves horses who have confronted injury or accidents for one reason or another.
One thing is for sure; Hyp Hop’s personality is more lively than ever.
“He has a lot of heart,” Copley said. “He would go until she (Brake) says no… for him to go through all of that and still be trusting of humans as he is, and to be so mild tempered as he is, it’s incredible.”
