To tell Valor’s story, please allow me to begin by sharing mine.

I first started riding horses when I was nine years old. My family and I used to live in beautiful Vancouver, Canada. Every weekend, I’d take a 45-minute ride out to a stable owned by a Korean-Canadian. Thanks to Mr. Kim, I learned all of the fundamentals about horses that I know today.

I started by learning to balance on the back of a horse. Seems simple, but learning to ride a living, thinking, and feeling creature, and especially such a sensitive animal, takes a lot of hard work, including learning to empathize and understand them. In my time in Vancouver I also learned about the different coats of horses, breeds, and learned not only to ride but also learned deeply about horse psychology, temperament, and more.

 I occasionally entered competitions held at the stable, which is how I began developing an interest in professional racehorses. I never missed a single riding session, often enjoying long, leisurely treks in the woods with my favorite horse. 

When I moved back to Korea with my family, I was determined to continue riding and working with horses. But my first experience in Jeju was quite different from what I’d experienced in Canada. First off, the stables were not as clean as the ones in Canada and often, the places were usually for tourists only. There were not many professional coaches on the island, nor horsemen and women like Mr. Kim from whom I could continue to learn and share my passion for horses. One day, I met Mr. Daeheon Hwang, an Olympian who has represented Korea in international competitions and currently teaches at a university as well as work with police departments in Jeju. He too rode horses since he was young and was also troubled about the abusive treatment of horses in Korea. From my experiences with Mr. Hwang, my interest in helping retired racehorses solidified into a focus and a long-term goal for me. We talked about taking action in order to help racehorses. While brainstorming ideas and researching international initiatives, we discovered programs in England and Japan that retrained retired racehorses to give them a second life away from the track. In May of 2022, after months of searching, we finally connected to people and resources here in Korea. We got in touch with a ranch popular for its horse breeding and training programs; after much back and forth, we were introduced to a racehorse in their stables who needed a new home. She seemed like the perfect candidate for our first ever H&J Foundation rehabilitation project. 

We were on our way. 

After we found Valor, it wasn’t so easy bringing her home with us. Her owners were understandably concerned about our motivations. Many people pose as having kinder motivations but after purchasing a horse, often misuse them or even sell them off as feed to butchers. So, although the process was long and arduous, we finally were given the all-clear to bring home Miss Valor, a former racehorse, now a retired horse looking for a forever home. 

But even though all the human players ready for Valor’s new adventure, she was different. Valor needed time at every step of her journey. Her first time coming out of her stable, Valor wouldn’t cross the threshold. Although it was the good kind, change was coming to Valor’s life. She likely sensed this and hesitated with all her might. Once we’d gotten her over to our stables, Valor was very sensitive and cantered everywhere at a very fast pace. She was out of the racetrack but we couldn’t take the racetrack out of Miss Valor!

I spent at least four hours with her every day, just getting used to her and asking her to get used to me. We worked closely with Coach Hwang while I also helped with general work at his ranch. The more I learned about horses, the more I grew to become interested in the wellbeing of horses. The two were inseparable in my mind. 

After just a few short weeks, Valor looked and acted more comfortable with us. Her training and rehab work was also surprisingly fast, for Valor was a quick learner. It seemed to me she was also eager for her next adventure. Now that Valor was feeling back to normal, it was our responsibility to find her a good and reputable home in Korea where she could live out the rest of her days in comfort and good health. After a long search that took over my fall semester of junior year, we finally found a wonderful place in Sangju-si. We decided to donate Miss Valor and for our efforts, I was awarded by the mayor of Sangju for helping to raise awareness about retired racehorses and for supporting the efforts of the Youth Racing Education Center of Sangju. Valor is home now, and we hope she has many happy days ahead.

Valor is our first success case. We at H&J hope to launch a program in which we help many more racehorses retire safely and find new homes at reputable stables. Good work can benefit all, including our precious horses.