By Nicholas Oakes
Every week Mark Johnson is proud and nervous at the same time. His stomach gets rolling, and he’s hoping his little girl gets around safe – but he know’s he has to keep it together because his daughter is certain of what she wants to do with her life: drive race horses.
“It feels overwhelming,” Mark says about watching his 21-year-old daughter Samara drive. “It’s like seeing your daughter win an award at school or something.”
Even though she’s only small, Mark believes she has the talent.
“All my kids are talented but she chose to go to horses because she loves them.”
“I’ve always wanted to be a driver. Always,” says Samara.
The notion really struck home when she was 16 living with her mother in Ottawa.
“It just hit me, this is what I want to do.”
So she moved back to Bailieboro, Ont., and now does most of her racing at Kawartha Downs. She’s learned a great deal from her father (806 driving wins, $1,684,912 in purses).
“He takes the horse into consideration more than the purse money. That’s how he drives and that’s how I like to drive.”
Driving horses in Canada is dominated by men and it frustrates Samara because she knows she can compete.
“It’s difficult because the guy driver’s don’t think I’m capable of driving.”
Her first win was in a Mildred Williams female driver’s event at Woodstock Raceway, aboard Getbehindanything in her second lifetime drive.
At first Samara was slightly confused.
The horses trainer was giving Samara instructions on how to use earplugs and she still wasn’t quite sure what the idea behind them was.
“Oh,” said a bewildered Samara, “so where do I pull them?”
“Wherever you think,” the trainer said with a shrug.
Going behind the gate, Samara’s nerves were pumping again as she tried her best to keep the potentially hot mare off of the starting gate. Getbehindanything sat in the four hole but up the backstretch the front end began to tire – due to a parked out Kris Hie – and Samara had some luck handed to her as she shook loose. At the head of the stretch she pulled the earplugs and the mare paced away.
The pride and joy of the Johnson stable is Strong Clan trotter Samaras Wonder (1:56.3, $180,000). Samara loves the horses personality.
“He knows he’s good. He’s very, very smart. He knows how to open doors – he can get himself out of anywhere’s.”
But Samara’s current hopes lie in Thunder Road weanling Sam I Am – out of her first horse I Believe In You.
“He’s got the look of a champion. He’ll be one to look out for. Hopefully he won’t just look pretty and do nothing.”
On her spare time, Samara likes to just chill – writing songs, singing, and playing video games – but horses are the focus.
“I just like being around the horses I guess. Getting to be around them is what it’s all about for me.”