Not In Kansas Anymore

By Glen Latham

Once reluctant to work at an auction, for the past two decades Steve Hance has been an integral fixture at Magic Millions sales. His sage advice when it comes to interpreting radiographs has put many a buyer on the path to Magic Millions riches, but there is much more to the man than just having developed the ability to make x-rays ‘talk’.

Born in Kansas in America’s Midwest, but having grown up in places as diverse as Chicago and Copenhagen, scrutiny of Steve’s immediate pedigree leaves no clues to his future career, his sire a Church Minister and dam a PhD Psychologist “On my Dad’s side I would have been the fourth generation of clergy had I continued the tradition but my Mother’s father was a rancher/farmer so I decided to follow that line of work He was a huge influence on my life, a legitimate realtime cowboy and horse trader When we were living, in say, Chicago, the first day of Summer break my grandfather would be there across the street wearing his big cowboy hat and the next day we’d be off to Western Oklahoma Out there he ran cattle, grew alfalfa, lucerne, and cotton That was where I got my introduction to agri-business ”

It was also Steve’s grandfather who introduced him to horses “My grandfather had a feedlot and usually way too many horses My memories are of us taking four horses to the sales and coming home with another eight, my grandmother stomping around saying ‘you took those horses to the sale to get rid of some’ and my grandfather saying, ‘yeah but these were such good deals ’ It was fun to spend time with him, particularly on horseback, he was larger than life ”

With solid nurturing from his grandfather, it looked a sure bet Steve’s career path was set “When I eventually went to vet school, I fully expected I would go into stock production, beef cattle, feedlot etc and I had opportunities

to do that, and saw that as taking me back to the west But the right people have a huge influence on our lives and I had a couple of great mentors One was Rick DeBowes, a Professor at Kansas State University and an equine surgeon, and the other was a graduate at Kansas State that became a friend, Larry Bramlage, now one of the leading equine orthopedic surgeons in the world Through them I became very intrigued with the idea of returning horses back to athletic performance I loved surgery so that was the next logical step and by the time I completed my second year of vet school my mindset had totally changed and I was definitely going to pursue equine surgery I then did an internship at Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital in Lexington before going to Ohio State University where I did a surgery residency After that, I went back to Rood & Riddle and progressed from a staff surgeon to becoming a partner there ”

After a few years in Lexington Steve sought a different challenge “I went to California for a few years but I badly missed the professional horsemen that did this all day every day at a level of awareness and knowledge that had them in tune with the horse For them this was much more than a hobby, this was their livelihood, this was their passion ” Steve knew that a return to Kentucky would be more fulfilling so he headed east again but he returned equipped with a change in attitude “One of the reasons I left Rood & Riddle was I didn’t want to do the sales work, I wanted to go to the surgery room and solve things and yet when I rejoined the veterinary community that was the open door I walked back through, and I have to be honest, I’ve never been as passionate about my career as I am right now For something I disliked as an arrogant, young surgeon, I’ve learnt to sit back and enjoy.”

At that point Steve’s career could have meandered along, but he was about to get a phone call that would lead to Australia becoming a second home “When I came back to the veterinary profession, I’ll be honest, I wasn’t sure I was going to remain a veterinarian I was going to Lexington and I was still doing the sales when I got a phone call from Angus Atkins, asking for help He said, ‘this radiographing thing is being forced down our neck a bit, and we think it is quite possible this will require a steep learning curve and we’d like to have someone assist ’ I was at that in-between stage of my career where you just sit there and think what is next, and I said Ok Then Magic Millions asked if I would come out for their next sale “I thought well, this is wonderful, I love the country, I love the adventures and I love meeting new people, but I thought it would be a one-off That was 21 years ago this January! My wife says it is unfortunate that most of my close friends live in the Southern Hemisphere, but I don’t know that that is unfortunate Yes, it makes it difficult to pop over and have a beer with them, but anyway.’

As an arrogant, young surgeon I thought I had so many of the answers. But after being humbled by horses that beat all expectations, I needed to go back and ask what made them exceptional?

The early years of optional radiographs of yearlings was quite cumbersome for the industry until more manageable protocols could be put in place and Steve was there at the coalface at the time “When I was at Rood & Riddle we were coming up with the idea of a repository as there was too much litigation and arbitration We were radiographing horses straight after the sale and on any day we might do 60 horses and then read the radiographs until two, three o’clock in the morning because the horse couldn’t leave the grounds until you had read them We had to physically take the film out of the cassette and I think at one stage we had four darkrooms which meant we had four people in there processing the films Norm Rantanen was a radiologist who would come in and we would take those films and go over to the motel Norm was staying at and go through the radiographs with Norm pointing out anything interesting along the way Gee I learnt a lot from Norm ”

The Thoroughbred industry is renowned for being built on relationships and it is no different in the repository as Steve explains, “I’ve always tried to give honest answers, never rudely, but there are times when I’ve had to say to the veterinarian, ‘you know your client, you know the situation, and remember some of these horses will outrun what they’ve got going on radiographically As the buyer’s veterinarian you know what they might have more difficulty with, i e , knees, respiratory issues or tendons ’ I think it’s wonderful that over the years I’ve been able to build relationships with veterinarians to the point where I can comfortably ask difficult questions and know they will be well received ” But over the past two decades the exchange of knowledge has been a two-way street “I have learnt so much from the vets in Australia but what is nice is that I can become a neutral sounding board in most of these instances It has been a fantastic thing for me on both a professional and personal basis to be associated with the Australian Thoroughbred industry, and I think the industry should be very proud of the veterinarians that it has.”

To some buyers the smallest speck on a radiograph can undermine their willingness to purchase the fourlegged Ferrari that stands before them Steve respects those buyers who understand not every issue will lead to a train wreck “I’m always in awe of the really good horsemen and veterinarians that can clear away some of the fog and have more of an insight When a horse beats all expectations I like to go back to the radiographs and ask what gave this horse more of an edge I look and see if there was a reason I should have been more forgiving, and say ‘hey, he’s got this problem but he hasn’t got any secondary changes, is this something I haven’t paid enough attention to?’”

Steve isn’t just the bearded guy who reads the x-rays, he’s an avid hiker and traveler and has experienced things most Australians wouldn’t even consider “I started spending a lot of time in Scone and developed a great friendship with Paul Adams who was at Scone Equine Paul was going to Canada and invited me to hike with him in the Canadian Rockies Once we had done that Paul said I really had to do the Western Arthurs traverse in Tasmania, so my son came with me and we did it, having a wonderful time I don’t think I’ve ever been anywhere where I have felt so remote, and the moment you step out of the van you just go wow! Such a positive experience ”

To some buyers the smallest speck on a radiograph can undermine their willingness to purchase the four-legged Ferrari that stands before them.

“One of the best trips was when a vet friend contacted me to say his practice had bought a new fleet of vehicles, but the good news was they had kept the old ones as well I was a little bemused why he was telling me this until he threw me a set of keys and said “I don’t care how far you drive this thing just go and have fun! I drove all over the eastern half of Australia with a one-man tent and a sleeping bag I went to the Flinders Ranges, along the Great Ocean Road, I got lost and I went through the Snowy Mountains That’s how you get to see the real Australia You can go to a little camp site and if you need to boil some water you will meet the kindest, most wonderful people and one of the greatest gifts was to get to see the country, one little town after another.”

On that trip Steve had to do some smooth talking to placate the good folk of Dubbo “When there I went to the sheep sale because I wanted to see the dogs work, but I almost got chased out of town when I pulled out my camera as the locals thought I might have been an animal liberationist I don’t know what happened in the ten minutes I was in the office explaining I wasn’t a threat to them, but by the time I walked back out they were the friendliest people I told them I had grown up with a grandfather who had feedlots and I was very much attached to agri-business and more interested in their dogs than their sheep After that, a lot of people wanted to show me their dogs and their sheep so I hung around all day before driving to Broken Hill that night ” Steve showed that even when going a little stir crazy mid-COVID he could bring a smile to those around him “I was in hotel quarantine preparing for the 2021 Gold Coast Yearling Sale and I had taken along a red T-shirt and had brought a Santa hat, so on Christmas Eve I put them on to feel a bit festive I already had a grey beard and glasses During the day security called the room and told me I was to have a COVID check and instructed me to be ready for when the technician came to the door around 3pm Now remember it has been several days since I’d interacted with real people and you can get a little goofy, so when I stuck my head around the door the lady said, “Holy s—t, it’s Father Christmas!” I said to her “C’mon let’s get on with this I have lots of places to be ” She said “Sir, you’re going nowhere” to which I replied, “you’re going to ruin Christmas ” Then when she stuck the swab up my nose I said, “Don’t you make Santa cry!” all done with great jest

Steve’s rambling boots aren’t restricted to tramping around Australia and he has a love affair with Nepal and its people “I sent some photos in for a contest called Ultimate Outsider run by an outdoor gear store and when I won the prize it was a trip to Nepal I just absolutely loved the people and that led to friendships there and more trips It’s the little things in life that, if you take time for them, can open up to some real insightful opportunities ”

Steve’s love of travel, or more accurately the peoples of countries like Australia and Nepal, gives an insight into what brings him pleasure “Look I’m 61 and as I said before I’m more in love now with the industry than I was twenty, thirty years ago, but if you told me I couldn’t be a veterinarian I guess I’d like to be an anthropologist Culture, people, it’s fascinating to me How people live, adjust and flourish in their environments is amazing There is little that is as rewarding as being ingratiated by a community so that you can experience and learn from their happiness ”

Having not long passed three score in age Steve is at that comfortable point where he can muse over so many of life’s lessons with a quiet smile “As an arrogant, young surgeon I thought I had so many of the answers But after being humbled by horses that beat all expectations, I needed to go back and ask what made them exceptional? I think that fits with the old Indian saying ‘The Great Spirit gives you one mouth but two ears, and two eyes and you should use them in that proportion ’ That is a reflective and simple way to approach life There is a difference between knowledge and wisdom; it is the humbling experiences and the quest to learn that grows wisdom Hopefully, it is a collection of life experiences, relationships and reevaluation that makes all of us more productive ”

He also recognizes that failing to pass on knowledge so the next generation can develop their own level of wisdom is one of life’s most heinous crimes “One of the greatest privileges of being in the repository, say getting towards the end of the January sale when you are into Book 2, the horses aren’t bringing as much and the pressure is off a little, is when one of the practices will bring in a Junior vet and say, ‘sit next to Steve and if you have any questions just lean over and ask ’ It is then that I’m so grateful that I got to sit alongside Norm Rantanen in that motel room in Lexington him showing me the interesting things that he saw that day, or that I was privileged enough to be with Larry Bramlage when he was discussing with someone ‘that this is nonsurgical and isn’t probably going to effect the horse’ To me that means I have earnt the trust of the Australian veterinarians if they want the next generation of vets to learn from my experience If that’s what I’m meant to do then I am so grateful to have that opportunity ”

Given the frequency with which Steve passes through Australian customs and the sterling work he does behind the scenes, one thinks him a prime candidate for honorary citizenship There’d be no shortage of positive character references, and who knows, even the farmers of Dubbo and a certain Brisbane COVID technician might attest to his suitability.