A 4-H GIRL AND HER JOURNEY TO... TOP OF THE CLASS By Sharee LaRue
Oh, where to start with Cross Country Ranch, a prominent powerhouse in the Northwest Barrel Racing Stallion industry that is rapidly making its presence known across the US? With founder and owner, Scottie Johnson, that’s where.
THE BEGINNING
Ms Johnson was born in Tucson, Arizona, “We always had horses including “that” pony from hell, which I started out on,” said Johnson. She eventually moved on to her mother’s horse, Tall Win, which was extremely well broke. “Mom heavily preached light hands, and Tall Win taught me that light hands are all I needed, as anything more and he C H U R C H , S C O T T I E , Z E U S , J A N E T A T C C R would overreact. To this day, I love to use the lightest hands I can whether it’s a mare, youngster, or stallion.” Johnson’s grandmother Flossie started a women’s riding club in Tucson called the Saddlebags and that combination is how Johnson got her first horse, Arthur. In junior high, the family ventured into competition. Johnson joined 4-H competing in western pleasure, showmanship, and trail classes. 4-H and gymkhana provided her with a taste of speed events like barrel racing, poles, and other games. “Up until then, our main pastime was focused on daily trail rides. We had amazing riding country in the wide-open countryside of the Catalina Foothills. We rode along streams, raced down the washes, and high tailed it down the open dirt roads.” “I found walking boring, and I loved to lope everywhere! I often got in trouble if Mom found out that I’d gotten my horse too hot, so I did my best to have my horse cooled out before I got home. I couldn’t help it... I just loved to race and the exhilaration of galloping. Horses were freedom to me.” Johnson’s second horse was a solid appaloosa named Diablo. “He was the first horse I trained on my own.” Diablo was sold to help fund her college education in which she was striving to be a veterinarian. “It was the adult thing to do but I was really mad at mom, as I loved him so much.”
GRANDMA FLOSSIE
ARTHUR & JOHNSON AT A 4H SHOW TALL WIN, JOHNSON, HER MOM, AND THE HELL PONY
THE RACETRACK DAYS
After college, she stayed tied to the horse industry by joining the fast-paced lifestyle of the track. All inspiring jockeys start on the end of a pitchfork and that is exactly what she did. After paying her dues, she moved on to galloping horses and then on to be a jockey. She raced mounts at Longacres [Seattle, WA] and Portland Meadows [Oregon], Exhibition Park [British Columbia], Canterbury Downs [Minnesota], and a few Northwest bush tracks [racetracks where local horses race]. She later moved on to be a trainer, which is at the top of the track food chain focusing on tracks in Salem and Portland Oregon. At one point her training stable featured 12 horses.
16 Working Horse Magazine Winter 2023
