By Kristin Bechthold
Having grown up riding and showing horses, Victor Hanson has been in the horse industry his entire life. He began his career colt breaking and working as a rodeo trainer, then made his way into racing in 1987 when he was breaking racehorses. “One thing lead to another,” he said with a laugh. “They talked me into going into racing is what they did.”
Hanson currently trains 45 horses at Canterbury Park and also trains at Remington Park in Oklahoma. He and his wife, Theresa, own and operate a ranch in Purcell, Oklahoma and dedicate themselves to training and breeding both Quarter Horses and Thoroughbreds. Though he and his wife grew up in South Dakota, they’ve now owned their ranch in the south for seven years and consider it home.
If he wasn’t a trainer, Hanson isn’t sure what he would be doing, but he does know that it would something equine-related. “It’s always been horses,” he said. “Horses and cattle. I’ve tried doing a few other things, but they were short lived. Mostly just experiments.” Since he and his wife breed horses on their farm, Victor would perhaps make it a larger focus if he wasn’t training.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93upM8o_9ps&w=560&h=315]
Though he doesn’t have many interests or hobbies outside of horses, Hanson spends most of his free time working on the ranch and being his own “ranch-hand.” However, he does enjoy relaxing, visiting with people, and golfing for fun. He also enjoys playing practical jokes. “A practical joke here and there is not beyond me at all,” he said with a laugh.
If one were to describe Victor Hanson in the briefest way possible, it would be hard-working and fun. He appreciates the meaning of both and even prefers to work hard. “It might be odd, but I’d like to go back to the 1930’s,” he said. “It was tougher for people then. Nowadays, people are used to having things handed to them.” He now prides himself in being able to “work hard and play hard.”
