Despite Mia Hanners’ aversion to cold weather, her passion for harness racing burns hot
by Chris Lomon
Although horse racing runs deep in her family’s DNA, Mia Hanners never felt any pressure to follow in those footsteps.
Her father, the late Brad Hanners, won nearly 4,900 races as a driver and close to 360 more as a trainer. Her mother, Alicia, has posted over 130 training wins, achieving numerous personal bests in 2025. And then there are her brothers, Austin and Luke, who together have recorded just shy of 1,900 driving victories.
With a last name so synonymous with success in the sport, many assumed Mia would naturally take up the reins. But that was never the expectation.
“My earliest memory was going to the racetrack when I was little and watching one of my mom’s horses race,” Mia said. “I remember the outdoor paddocks and sitting out there watching him race for my mom. My dad was in racing, my mom trains and both my brothers drive – basically, the whole family has been part of it. There was no pressure for me to do it. If I wanted to, I could, but I never was made to think I should do it.”
It wasn’t until about a year ago that Mia realized the sport — and its equine stars — were a perfect fit for her.
“I just kind of realized that I did want to be in racing,” Mia said. “I would say at the end of last year, earlier this year, when I really started getting into it and doing more stuff in my mom’s barn.”
When it comes to titles, Mia doesn’t have a single job description. Her days are filled with a bit of everything.
“I don’t take care of too many horses in the barn right now,” she said. “I’m jogging horses and training them. I get to the barn early and then do a lot of different things, whether it’s cleaning up or getting the horses ready. From there, I will start jogging or training them, whatever needs to be done.”
One thing she’s certain about: a dislike of winter weather.
“I love jogging horses — except when it’s cold,” she said with a laugh. “When it gets cold, I’d rather be in the barn.”
It is there where Mia finds her warmest connections, especially with a few standout horses.
A few in particular come to mind, including a 3-year-old pacing daughter of Downbytheseaside out of the Well Said mare Take That Hanover.
“If I had to pick a favorite horse I jog right now, it would be a mare of my mom’s called Trunk Bay Hanover,” Mia said. “You don’t have to do too much with her when you jog her. She pretty much does it herself.”
But not quite everything.
“She doesn’t go too fast and she usually goes the same pace, but when you turn her, she gets a little hot,” Mia said.
Checks Onthe Beach, a 5-year-old son of Check Six out of the Rockin Image mare Rockin Kimage, has been a seemingly endless source of education for Mia.
“He is the first horse I really did a lot of stuff with and the first horse I picked up off a claim,” she said. “I had to go get him and I was terrified. I had never done it before. It’s never easy when you claim a horse and someone loses them. But he is a wonderful horse, and I really clicked with him. He was the first horse I ever trained and the first horse I worked in a set of three. He is definitely one of my favorites.”
And then there is Camden, a 2-year-old daughter of Downbytheseaside out of the Rocknroll Hanover mare Holly Rocker.
The bay filly, who has eight top three finishes from 11 starts in her rookie campaign, can be a handful in the barn.
“I am really only one of a few people who can work with her,” Mia said. “She’s a little mean, but she is one of my favorites. I love her. I like the mares; I really get along with them.”
Mia also enjoys the moments when she can cheer them on.
“I always like seeing them do well, but I get nervous,” she said. “When I’m paddocking the ones I am taking care of, that’s the time I usually get nervous.”
Seeing them succeed tops her list when asked what the best part of her job is.
“When one of the horses I have trained or sat behind does well or wins, that’s a great thing, for sure,” Mia said.
The most challenging aspect of her role is a familiar refrain.
“I would say the toughest challenge is when it gets cold,” Mia said with a laugh. “I don’t like winter at all.”
Despite her aversion to chilly weather, her passion for the sport continues to grow stronger.
In fact, the racing world has never felt more like a perfect fit for her.
“Every day you learn something new and you always learn something new from every person you talk to,” Mia said. “I have learned so much from so many people. Each day, I get to do something different. And I really appreciate having that.”
Just as she does with another horse-related part of her life.
Although she doesn’t barrel race as much as she once did, Mia jumps at any opportunity to get on horseback.
“I have my own riding horses,” she said. “It’s fun to do barrel racing because it’s completely different from what I do with harness racing. It’s weird compared to harness racing because it is such a different feeling being on top of a horse rather than behind them. I do enjoy it a lot. I have started to get out of barrel racing a little more and focusing more on harness racing. But it is still fun.”
Mia will look to add another entry to her horse racing resume in 2026.
One of her shorter-term goals is to sit in the sulky for a race on the Ohio fair circuit.
“I would definitely like to drive at one of the fairs next year,” she said. “I think that would be a lot of fun to do.”
And she knows she’ll have plenty of backing along the way.
“My family would support me in whatever I do,” she said. “If I had decided to do something completely outside of this, they would be 100 per cent there for me. But I’m here and I’m happy.”
