1967-Voice Of The Tennessee Walking Horse 1967 October Voice RS | Page 14

PROFESSIONALS
- on PARADE '
By Gloria L. Spencer
THE JOHNSON FAMILY—Pictured in a family portrait are daughter Amy, Mrs. Mary
Johnson, daughter Teresa and son Randy. Their elder son Eddie was unable to sit for
this picture due to recent Marine Corps duty.
Occasionally we meet a man in the Walking Horse
world that we consider something special - a fellow
that has made a fine contribution to this business
and also one who is a credit to the breed and every­
thing we are trying to do. We recently had the oppor­
tunity to get to know just such a man. His name?
Jack Johnson, of North Wilkesboro, North Carolina.
Jack is one of the most pleasant and uncomplicated
professional trainers we have ever met. If he gets
rattled by the pressures of this business, he has never
shown it to us. We have seen him at home, at the
Celebration and at shows in North Carolina, and he
is always the same easy-going Jack, with time to
stop and talk to just about everyone.
Jack Johnson is a relative newcomer to the profes­
sional ranks of the Tennessee Walking Horse world.
Now thirty-eight years old, he only got started on a
full-time basis four years ago. Jack has always had
an interest in horses. Raised on a farm, he had ample
opportunity to work with both horses and mules. As
he puts it, he "sorta stumbled into the training busi­
ness.”
Jack attended school in North Wilkesboro and, after
failing to get in the Navy because he was too young,
he went to work trying to make a living at various
jobs. In 1947 he and the former Mary Love, also of
North Wilkesboro, were married and he purchased
an automobile service station and went to work on
his own. Horses were in his blood, however, and he
began to attend a few horse shows. Eventually he
built a small three-stall bam on the property of Mrs.
Frank Blair.
Every evening Jack would close the service station
and head for the barn. A fellow by the name of Bill
Studivant gave him a three-gaited horse, which he
eventually traded for a Tennessee Walking Horse.
Jack made no attempt to show any of his horses but
his interest in this particular phase of the business
continued to grow. In 1959 he went to visit the stable
of Mr. C. A. Bobo in Thomasville, and this stimulated
his interest in the show horse business. Charlie helped
him with his problems and eventually Jack got up
enough nerve to enter the show ring.
Very few people have ever made such a showring
debut as did Jack Johnson. Riding a horse named
SUN’S DELIGHTFUL LADY, owned by Arthur Loew,
Jack won the stake class at Elkin, North Carolina on
his very first ride. From that thrilling moment, Jack
has been "hooked” on trai