In 2008, Jessica Johnson was the reserve Featherlite All-Around Amateur. That taste of competition was enough to whet her appetite. This year, she and Royality In Blue came prepared to take the title under the guidance of AQHA Professional Horseman Lainie DeBoer and with the assistance of Cracky the Squirrel Mascot.
Jessica’s plan started November 5, when she arrived in Oklahoma City from her home in Pickerington, Ohio. She spent the next day adjusting to the time change and warming up her horse. On November 7, she had her first prelims in hunt seat equitation.
On November 8, she juggled the prelims in pleasure driving with the finals in hunt seat equitation – her first gold trophy of the week.
“After equitation, I had a good feeling,” Jessica said. “It all depended on today, (when) most of my events (took place).”
But first she took time November 9 to finish seventh in pleasure driving, a relatively new event for Jessica and “Bentley.”
Jessica had a couple of days off, but she started back again November 12 with the preliminaries for her over-fences classes.
November 13 was her lucky day. She had hunter hack, working hunter and her favorite class, eq over fences.
“It’s the challenge of it,” she said. “You never know what kind of course you’re going to have.”
Jessica, who has been a determined competitor since her youth days, faced Friday the 13th with her usual aplomb.
“You need to take it one class at a time; don’t overthink any of the classes,” she said. “You have to do the best that you can with each class and not think “I messed up,” in one and then mess up the rest of your classes. You have to keep a positive outlook.”
That advice took her to reserve in hunter hack, sixth in working hunter and another gold trophy in equitation over fences.
Jessica cited a long list of friends and family who have helped her, including her parents, Barbara and Jim Johnson, Lainie, and Bentley, of course, the 1998 black gelding who has been her partner for several years now.
“I definitely always will have horses,” she said, even as she contemplates a return to college and perhaps a shorter amount of time to spend with Bentley every day. “They’re part of my everyday life.”
- Reserve: Elizabeth Borders and Finely Principled
- Third: Meghan O’Malley and A Chanceof Blueskies
- Fourth: Sharnai Thompson and Sleepin In The Rain
- Fifth: Stefanie Pullin and Suddenly A Good Time
Click here for more about the Featherlite All-Around Amateur.
