Longevity, Finesse, and One Million Dollars

NRHA Professional Craig Johnson is on the verge of achieving a dream: he's just a few dollars shy of becoming the 12th rider in NRHA history to earn more than a million dollars in prize money. To date, his earnings total more than $990,000, and counting, with recent wins in the Open Futurity at Blainville, Quebec and the All American Quarter Horse Junior Reining Championship. Odds are, he'll pass the pivotal mark over the next few weeks.

But Craig keeps that in perspective: "I'm most happy that I've been competitive throughout my career-I've been competing in reining for more than 30 years. Plus, it's rewarding to have worked with many different bloodlines and types of horses. A lot of the time, what I'm most proud of is being able help horses-even those that aren't of the highest quality-achieve their potential and be competitive in the show pen."

Craig is one of a handful of NRHA competitors who have spent his entire career in the spotlight, first winning the NRHA Open Futurity in 1983 at age 24 on Lucky Bay Glo. At that time, he'd been an NRHA competitor for just 2 years. He won the big event again in 1985 on Sparkles Rosanna. Since then, has been a familiar face in the NRHA Futurity Finals. Other wins include an NRHA Open Derby Championship, 2 Super Stakes wins, 8 AQHA World Championships, and 6 APHA World Championships. Representing the United States in international team competition, he has earned 3 Gold and 2 Silver medals. Individually, he has earned 3 individual Silver Medals and 1 Bronze medal. He's been paired with such legendary horses as Lenas Gyrator, Smart Chic Olena, Steady Tradition, Marthas Mega Jac, Talk About Smart, Who Whiz It, Sailing Smart, Smokin Chic Olena, and Northern Enterprise.

Now based at Santa Hill Ranch in Campbell Hall, NY, Craig is clearly looking to the future, continuing to excel as a world-class competitor and expanding his teaching activities, particularly through clinics.

"I learned from exceptional horsemen," he says, "and I want to pass on what I've learned to the next generation." Indeed, Craig notes that his longevity in the sport gives him a competitive edge today "When I first started in reining, reining horses were the ones that were too slow for barrels or too fast for pleasure. In those days, we experimented a lot and learned to get the job done on horses that frequently weren't naturally able to do the maneuvers. Today, I still love to try things and experiment. We have so many really nice, natural horses, but sometimes there's a little something that I try that makes things better. And everything I learned on the not-so-nice ones helps me today."

His experience also gives him an edge in another way, too. He adds that, today, "I think a lot of horses are discarded that could make really nice horses but may need just a little more work. I'm willing to put in the time and make a really nice horse."