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Laura Johnson stared riding at the age of 11 at
ClayHill Stables with Emmy Prettyman. She learned at a young age horse management
and care skills by working off her pony’s (Sajel’s) board and by, practically, living at the barn. Laura showed with ClayHill locally and rated in hunters and equitation.
After moving with her family to Willowbend in high school, Laura began showing her Arabian stallion, Gwydson, on the
Arab Show Circuit. They qualified for Nationals three years in a row and placed
in the top ten on the east coast in both hunter and western pleasure.
Laura is
a CHA Master Instructor and Clinician. She has directed several CHA clinics since
2000. She stared teaching in 1984 when her family moved to Willowbend. They began the stables with just a couple of school horses and have grown to twenty-five. “My goals have always been that my students go away from each lesson having learned something, challenged
but not over faced, and wanting more. Riding needs to be fun. Goals need to be set but may not always be ascertained by the end of each lesson. If something is not working, try something else: end successfully and on a good note. Little successes are just as important as great ones.”
Currently
Laura runs Willowbend’s lesson program, teaching and coaching full time with our other instructor, Emily Merkel. During the fall and winter months, Laura keeps busy coaching the show teams along
with teaching our regular lesson program. Through out the summer she runs the
Summer Camp program, takes adult and children riders to show, and still teaches full time.
Laura is known by her students as a coach and a friend, someone
they can talk to and joke with, and someone who is always there coaching and cheering for them. These qualities have earned her “Coach of the Year” honors for the NCEL teams three times,
and runner up three times, since the award was first given in 1998.
In addition to all of her work
at Willowbend Laura started Sunset Ridge Farrier Services several years ago.
Emily Merkel is
a CHA certified riding instructor and has been at Willowbend Farm for nine years. Currently
she co-coaches all 4 winter teams with Laura, teaches lessons, coaches at shows and events, and rides her horse Brownie as
well as the other horses and ponies in the Willowbend family. She is a true horseperson
with no fear of a pitchfork or a 4am wake up call for a horse show.
Emily started
riding almost 20 years ago at the age of 7. “I spent my first decade of
riding at Loftmar Stables where I learned all of the basics of riding and horse care (my mom thought mucking stalls for lessons
might deter me from wanting to make this into a career but she was wrong). In
1997 I switched to Willowbend Farm and life has never been that same. Laura encouraged
me to become CHA certified and allowed me to begin teaching at summer camp.”
From there
Emily went off to college at Boston University where she rode for their IHSA team with Holly Hill Stables and earned a B.A.
is Biology. Additionally she has traveled to Australia where she was the assistant
manager and trainer at a boarding stable in Perth. For the last three years Emily
has been permanently back at Willowbend, teaching, coaching, and riding. Emily
spends a great amount of time watching and learning from other riders and coaches, particularly Laura, and always is working
to fine tune and enhance her skills and a rider and a coach. “I believe
that understanding how your position and balance affects your horse is the key. It
is all about simple physics. My goal for my students (and myself) is to be soft
and balanced so they can form a positive working relationship with their horse. The
point of riding is to learn to communicate with your horse and enjoy the results of that partnership.”
Emily’s students benefit from her experiences and insights. With her riding and scientific background she bring a lot of information into the
ring with her. Willowbend is very lucky to have someone of Emily’s caliber
onboard.
Emily was the runner up for
Coach of the Year for the NCEL B League in 2011.
| Emily and BJ, Winter '97 |
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Anita and
Lawrence Johnson own Willowbend and live on the premises. They bought Willowbend
in 1984 to follow the dream of having their horses in their back yard. Little did they know that it would ever get where it
is today.
Anita “Mrs. J” has ridden and shown for years. She
is a registered nurse so her medical background comes in handy when needed. She
is very active in the community making sure to help preserve the rural tier for the benefit of equestrian activities. Lawrence “Mr. J” is a certified Orthotist and great chef. Everyone always
feels very welcome and is made to feel a part of the family at the Johnson’s house. If you ever need a friend or someone
to talk to Mrs. J is always there.
Our highly talented Equine Staff includes:
Cloud (aka that black and white paint), Eddie (aka SUPER ED!!! aka best horse on the planet), Amir (Mr. I don't jump
- but I'm great at everything else), Orphan (aka Speedy - an ironic nickname), Penny (a wonderful old gal), Spunky (name says
it all), Summer (SLOW DOWN!!!), Tess (that wacky pony), BJ (Mr. Grumpy Pants), Piper (Mrs. Grumpy Pants), Hunter (mini-Budwieser),
Bud (thank you Joyce and Bob!),
And our working boarders (who we would be lost with out):
Spike, Cinnamon, Mickey, Rose, Cedar, Desi, and Boomer
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