Stephanie Johnston has been a fixture in her father, Dennis’ stable her entire life. Stabled at Fraser Downs, in British Columbia, the 28 year-old recalls spending her summers as a youth traveling to racetracks throughout Alberta with her dad. In February she would also be excused from the classroom for an annual racing trip where she would spend a week with her father racing the stock in Edmonton. “I have always been my dad’s ‘go-to’ when it comes to the horses, as I was the only one in the family that liked the horses and it meant extra time for me to hang out with dad,” recalls Stephanie.
In an industry with so many successful individuals, it is easy to pick a horse person to look up to and seek for guidance. Stephanie credits her dad as being her role model in the game, “his skills with the horses are so natural. Although I’m biased, his talents are undeniably great. I look to him for any question I have of anything that I’m not 100% sure about.”
Stephanie includes her uncle Ray as a mentor in the industry as well. “My uncle Ray has taught me the importance of consistency and to always put 100% into every horse,” says Stephanie. “Ray is old school. He has so many old remedies, tried and true tricks he loves to use.”
“You can learn a lot about horses if you stop and listen to the people around you. There are multiple ways to do something and not everyone is going to do it the same way, but if you stop and pay attention, you can combine all the different ways of doing things and come up with your own version.”
In 2015, Stephanie decided to apply for nursing school. She vowed to keep a foot in the door at the barn as she pursued her education. With her love for harness racing and her drive to complete her nursing degree, Stephanie decided that working with the horses in her dad’s stable would aid in paying the bills for her post-secondary education. Now graduated from the nursing program and working in the field, Stephanie is still actively involved in the day-to-day activities in the Johnston Stable, “On my days off I still like to go to the barn and help my dad when I can. So far I have been able to plan my days around being able to help at the barn.”
“The beautiful part about working at the stable with my dad is that some of the same skill sets I have learned while working with the horses, I have been able to apply to nursing. There are certain horses that test me and I have to take a different approach which is non-verbal. This has helped me as a nurse as I’ve learned to read gestures from people, just as you have to learn from the horses.”
“National Caretaker Appreciation Day is a great idea. It’s an amazing opportunity to not only bring awareness to caretakers but also to the industry. The caretakers are consistently behind the scenes keeping the barn in check and making sure the horses perform at their best- it’s amazing to see recognition for that”.
Three racetracks that didn’t have summer harness racing seasons will host National Caretaker Appreciation Day events during the weekend of October 5 - 7 to recognize caretakers racing at their tracks.
Fraser Downs, in co-operation with Harness Racing BC in Surrey, B.C. and The Raceway at the Western Fair District in London, Ont., will host events on Friday, October 5 while Flamboro Downs near Dundas, Ont., will have its event on Saturday, October 6.
Earlier this year, during the weekend of July 20-22, racetracks and associations across the country participated in the inaugural edition of National Caretaker Appreciation Day.
(A Trot Insider Exclusive by Christina Gillis)