The talented mare is officially retired and ready for her next chapter at Kountry Lane.<\/p>\n
by Debbie Little<\/p>\n
As the competitors for this weekend\u2019s Breeders Crown eliminations were announced, one obvious absence was top-notch trotting mare Elista Hanover.<\/p>\n
The owners of Elista Hanover \u2014 Lynn and Philomena Curry and her trainer Annie Stoebe \u2014 exclusively informed\u00a0Harness Racing Update\u00a0that the 5-year-old mare has been retired and is ready for the next chapter in her career with Kountry Lane Standardbreds.<\/p>\n
According to Stoebe, it was decided in January or February that this would be Elista Hanover\u2019s final year competing on the track.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo, long story short, we knew that this was going to be her last year, regardless,\u201d Stoebe said. \u201cSo, we took it one race at a time with her, and by the Jug, she told us she was done, and for a horse that has given me the world and owes none of us anything, she made that decision, and we\u2019re so excited for her next career.\u201d<\/p>\n
The last start for the charming chestnut child of International Moni out of the Deweycheatumnhowe mare Evermore was on Sept. 24 in the Grade 3 Miss Versatility final on Little Brown Jug Day in Delaware, OH, where she finished seventh after an unexpected break at the start of the race.<\/p>\n
Hall of Famer David Miller was Elista Hanover\u2019s regular pilot during her 3- and 4-year-old seasons. That partnership was disrupted when Miller moved home to Ohio at the end of 2025, but he was the one in the bike this year on Jug Day.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe doesn\u2019t seem lame to me, she doesn\u2019t seem sore, she doesn\u2019t seem off like that, but she made a break with me, and I told Annie, \u2018This ain\u2019t the same horse I\u2019ve been driving for two years. I don\u2019t think she\u2019s herself anymore,\u2019\u201d Miller said. \u201cAnd they decided to retire her, which I think is a good thing. I think it\u2019s a good move.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is a great horse, but she just didn\u2019t seem like herself anymore. I can\u2019t pinpoint what the problem was with lameness or attitude. I don\u2019t know, but I mean, for her to make a break is not her. It\u2019s not her to do that. So, you know, it\u2019s time to pull the plug, and not cheapen her.\u201d<\/p>\n
Stoebe said she and her partners took Miller\u2019s comments to heart.<\/p>\n
\u201cDavid knows that horse in a race more than anyone, and I trust him,\u201d Stoebe said. \u201cAnd you know what? If she doesn\u2019t feel like doing it anymore, she never has to do it again. This animal did more for us than she should have ever done. So, if she doesn\u2019t want to race anymore. That\u2019s okay with us.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Hanover Shoe Farms-bred Elista Hanover sold for $240,000 at the Standardbred Horse Sales Company 2022 yearling auction in Harrisburg, PA.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo, she was the first yearling I ever bought into,\u201d Stoebe said. \u201cWe didn\u2019t fall in love with her because of her color, we just loved her as an individual and a pedigree, and Lynn was pretty dead set on her and went way over budget. And you know, quite a few people told us we were crazy for spending that much on a red horse, but I think she\u2019s come around to show we weren\u2019t too crazy after all.<\/p>\n
\u201cI mean, obviously she\u2019s the most beautiful standardbred I\u2019ve ever seen, so that came with a lot of pressure because I think everyone has their preconceived notions when it comes to a red standardbred. So, I felt like it was a little bit of an uphill battle.\u201d<\/p>\n
Elista Hanover ended her career with a record of 16-7-7 for 51 starts, banking $1,027,632.<\/p>\n
In her 3-year-old season, Stoebe said \u201cElista\u201d blossomed into the horse they hoped she would be.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe went from the Weiss to the sire stakes, and then to the Grand Circuit level, and she won 10 in a row, and all of those were stakes races,\u201d Stoebe said. \u201cShe just was such an amazing horse to go on that ride with, because not only was she so amazingly talented, she literally was my best friend. To see a horse that you\u2019ve had and you\u2019ve believed in from the word go, go out on a grand stage and perform like she did, she really is like a dream come true.\u201d<\/p>\n
Duane Miller, the farm manager at Kountry Lane, said he couldn\u2019t be happier that Elista Hanover will be joining them shortly.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think she stacks up great with the lineup of mares we have,\u201d Duane said, adding with a laugh, \u201cBut we\u2019re kind of spoiled at Kountry Lane. Mr. Yoder kind of lets us buy what we want to buy, and if we have that option, we\u2019re going to go after those types of mares.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you have Plunge Blue Chip, Shartin N, and Lyons Sentinel, and you know the list goes on, it\u2019s hard to buy something lesser than that\u2026 We all know a no-name mare can be a great producer, but when we have that option, when we go to buy a mare, I kind of look for the name brand mares, and to me, she fits right in with our group.\u201d<\/p>\n
To a breeder, Elista Hanover\u2019s pedigree is very inviting.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is another thing to me that was worth more because she\u2019s an outcross,\u201d Duane said. \u201cA lot of our mares we buy these days that are name brand or good or our type are Chapter Sevens, Muscle Hills, or Walners. Well, where in the heck do you go with them? Some of them you are so limited.\u201d<\/p>\n
Duane said there will be a short list put together of who they\u2019d like to pair up with Elista Hanover, including Walner and Chapter Seven, but they\u2019re not ready to put pen to paper just yet.<\/p>\n
Kountry Lane had the sale topper in Lexington and still has to get through the Midwest Sale in Indiana and Harrisburg before they start thinking about breeding for next year.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll we\u2019ve talked about is what\u2019s great about that mare is we can go to anything we want to go to,\u201d Duane said. \u201cSo, we haven\u2019t even put a short list together for her yet. That\u2019ll probably happen the week after Harrisburg.\u201d<\/p>\n
Duane said that he likes the fact that Stoebe and her boyfriend, Jeremy Morrison, will be driving Elista Hanover from New Jersey out to Kountry Lane in Wakarusa, IN.<\/p>\n
Stoebe said she wouldn\u2019t have it any other way.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey said shipping, and I said, \u2018I\u2019m delivering her,\u2019 and they were like, \u2018Okay,\u2019\u201d Stoebe said with a laugh.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen it\u2019s a horse that\u2019s that special, I\u2019m doing that. Like it\u2019s not even a question to me. Of course, I\u2019m taking her.\u201d<\/p>\n
Stoebe is planning a private Elista Hanover retirement party fit for a queen.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo, the theme of my party is a queen\u2019s farewell,\u201d she said. \u201cHer racing days are over; her legacy is beginning.\u201d<\/p>\n
The party will be bittersweet for those closest to Elista Hanover, as they know her days in New Jersey are dwindling.<\/p>\n
Martha Palafox has been Elista Hanover\u2019s caretaker for most of the mare\u2019s career.<\/p>\n
\u201cMartha started working for me at the end of her 2-year-old year, and she walked in and said, \u2018I\u2019m taking care of that one,\u2019\u201d Stoebe said with a laugh. \u201cAnd her and Elista, they have such an incredible bond. And as hard as this is for me, it\u2019s just as hard, if not harder, for her.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s pretty amazing to have a horse that has made an impact on so many humans\u2019 lives. There are so many people that I could list that are going to miss seeing her at the track.\u201d<\/p>\n
When it comes to Elista Hanover\u2019s triumphs on the track, Stoebe and David Miller are in agreement about which was their favorite.<\/p>\n