Jana Kramer wanted her horse to have a stable home after her breakup.
The One Tree Hill alum revealed the most unexpected gift she lost in a breakup, explaining how a partner in the early 2010s once gave her a horse—for a brief time.
“I had a horse way back in the day,” Kramer said on the July 26 episode of her Whine Down podcast. “It was gifted to me back in the day. It was taken away once I left the relationship.”
Although she didn’t name the ex who had given her the horse—who she named Hank—the 42-year-old was with actor Johnathon Schaech from 2008 until their 2011 divorce. (She also dated country singer Brantley Gilbert from June 2012 until August 2013.)
Once her romance with the equine enthusiast ended, Kramer emphasized she wanted to focus on the horse’s needs.
“When the relationship ended, it was what was best for the horse,” she continued, “and it was best for the horse to stay at this beautiful equine therapy place.”
Plus, as the Friday Night Lights actress put it, she was touring at that time, joking she wasn’t going to “keep him in East Nashville and tote him in my Camaro.”
Now, Kramer is reflecting on her memories with Hank as she considers saddling up to support her and ex-husband Mike Caussin’s daughter Jolie, 10, in her horseback riding future.
“I did not realize how intense and how expensive horseback riding is,” she explained. “But [Jolie] keeps asking, asking, asking, So finally I was like, ‘After your horse camp, daddy and I will look at things.’ So Mike and I have been going back and forth.”
In the end, after watching Jolie perform at a horseback riding event, Kramer—also mom to son Jace, 7, with Caussin, as well as son Roman, 2, with husband Allan Russell—is happy to watch her daughter take the reins.
“I've never seen my daughter so confident,” she said. “I've never seen my daughter smile so much. I've never seen her love something so much. And she was nailing it.”
Read on for a look back at Kramer’s cutest family photos through the years.
Jana was all smiles appearing with Allan Russell, their baby boy Roman, and her older kids Jolie and Jace at Stirling Castle in Scotland ahead of the couple's wedding in July 2024.
Jana Kramer and Allan Russell snuggled up with their son Roman during Easter celebrations in 2024.
Jana and Allan posed for a family portait her kids Jolie and Jace—who she shares with ex Mike Caussin—in August 2023, writing, "Family fun in Michigan."
"That’s a wrap on another 4th of July family trip," Jana wrote in 2023. "Core memories made."
The family celebrated the holiday in The Great Lakes State.
"You’ve got a friend in us," the star wrote while channeling Toy Story for Halloween 2022. "Love, little Bo Peep, buzz, Jessie and Woody."
Jolie started second grade in 2023, sharing that she wants to be an actress and singer like her mom.
"Someone is excited for their first day of school and someone is not," Jana joked. "2nd grade and the last year of preschool here they come!"
"Celebrated Christmas morning with the kiddos today," she wrote on Dec. 26, 2022. "It was still the same joy even on a different day…and it even snowed just like a true Christmas Day. Pure magic. Thanks to the mommas who told me about this idea." But not all was festive, as she noted, "And a big Shoutout to the grinch for leaving me the flu in my stocking and an ear infection for Jace."
Jana was feeling "blessed" on New Year's Eve 2022. "Happy New Years from me and my babies!" she wrote.
Jana and Jolie had a mother-daughter boating trip in July 2023.
The actress captioned the shot, "Best mommy daughter time."
The "I Got the Boy" singer gave a glimpse into "life lately" in June 2023, featuring Jolie enjoying a sweet summer treat.
Her son Jace was all smiles after removing his Spider-Man face paint while bearing a "Brotherhood" T-shirt.