Samantha "Sammie” Johnson is a 2014 Bridgeport High School graduate who has been riding and showing horses since she first entered elementary school. In August of 2014, she became the very first BHS alumnae to attend college on an equestrian scholarship. She became an equestrian team member of the University of Georgia, where she entered as a pharmacy major. Though she had just the year before purchased a young gelding named Tye, she had little time for training. She didn’t expect to earn a spot in this year’s All American Quarter Horse Association championships – let alone place.
In November, Johnson and Tye competed in the AQHA horse show in Oklahoma City, winning the national high point award in Trail and Performance Halter Geldings along with being second nationally in Horsemanship and third in the youth all-around.
“It is actually quite an accomplishment since she has a new horse and has been at college since August and unable to show her horse in AQHA to obtain more points,” said her mother Patrice “TC” Johnson.
The 18-year-old Johnson gives the glory to her partner.
“Tye is a seven-year-old gelding with the biggest heart. He gives me 110 percent every time we go into the show arena,” she said. “He started out only doing two events and brought me to places in the industry that I never thought I would be able to reach. I'm extremely blessed to own a horse like him and I can't wait to see where else we can go!”
It was November of 2013 when the Johnson family bought Tye.
“He was only five and had only shown with a trainer in Texas. He showed in the performance halter geldings and trail,” Sammie Johnson said.
Johnson and her family affectionately call the horse Tye, but his registered name is Flashy Invite. Even with her busy academic and team competition schedule, Johnson found time to work in a couple shows.
“The only shows I have been able to do outside of the team is the All American Quarter Horse Congress which is in Columbus, Ohio in October and a show in Indiana over Christmas break,” Johnson said. “The coaches are super supportive of us when we have outside competitions that we want to attend because they know we are getting a lot of ride time and working hard with our own trainers and our own horses.”
The Congress is the biggest single breed horse show in the world, Johnson said.
“So it is very hard to get noticed and win something while you're there,” she said. “This year Tye and I got sixth in the performance halter geldings, 13th in the horsemanship and 14th in the trail.”
The world show is definitely Johnson’s favorite – and the most rewarding - because only those invited can compete and that invitation is based upon points earned through other shows.
“This year was the first time in three years that I placed,” she said. “Tye and I were 16th in the world in the performance halter gelding and 15th in the world in the showmanship.”
The events in which Johnson won national titles are trail and performance halter geldings.
“Trail is one of my favorite events. It's so challenging because you have to be extremely in sync with your horse,” she said. “As the rider you have to understand and read how big or how small your horses step is going to be to make it over the poles. The pattern given is basically an obstacle course with elevated poles and bridges. The judges give you pluses and minuses with each maneuver and that's how they determine the winner.”
The “performance geldings” class is a show, rather than riding class.
“You lead your horse into the arena at a walk and then trot past the judges so they can make sure your horse is sound, which means there's no limping or irregular movement on the horse,” Johnson said. “And then you set your horse up and present it to the judges. The judges then check your horse’s confirmation and build and then they determine a winner. It may not seem like much but it's hard to get the horses set up and keep their necks lifted and get their ears up.”
Johnson said she certainly did not expect to do so well at the world championships.
“This is a title that you really have to commit to and basically show every weekend to be in the top three,” she said. “You have to earn enough points each weekend to stay ahead. And the girls (youth ages 14-18) that I was competing against had been showing every weekend from the beginning of the year.”
Johnson said she was able to bond and develop a relationship with Tye very quickly.
“He was really receptive to learning and we ended up making a great team,” she said.
As for the University of Georgia Equestrian Team, that’s all going well, also.
“Our team is big - 68 girls to be exact – so with only six spots, it's challenging to get a spot,” she said.
During her first semester – while carrying a 17-hour academic schedule – Johnson did travel to Texas A&M to participate and had “a very good ride.” This Thursday, she will be traveling to Tennessee Martin to compete against that school and Kansas State University.
“We have a much busier schedule this semester so hopefully I'll continue to compete,” Johnson said. “Our program is extremely busy, but enjoyable.”
On a regular basis, she undergoes weekly cardio and lifting, as well as two riding practices.
“That requires being at the barn an hour before and after practice, not including the time we are actually riding,” she said. “Additionally, when we travel, the lineup has practice just about every day before we leave for the meets or have one at home.”
Members are also assigned a horse to take care of and make sure they're bathed, brushed and groomed.
“We're also required to clean a stall one a week in the barn,” she said. “It's a busy schedule but very rewarding.”
Equestrian is quite different from other university sports, Johnson said.
“It's a head to head competition so I would ride the same horse as a girl from Texas A&M and whoever receives the higher score gets that point for their team,” she said. “We are very privileged though. People don't really know that much about equestrian, but we are treated extremely well by the school. We get free tutoring, athletic trainers, nutritionists and pretty much anything else you can think of.”
Update posted Feb. 2: Johnson did get to take part in UGA's last meet and earned her point, leading to a team victory. She will be starting in two upcoming tri-meets against the University of South Carolina and Delaware State.
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