In this Aug. 22, 2015 file photo, Taylor Jo Johnson, 6, of Adna, competes with her pony, Iceman, at the Bulls and Barrels event at the Southwest Washington Fair in Chehalis.
In this Aug. 22, 2015 file photo, Taylor Jo Johnson, 6, of Adna, competes with her pony, Iceman, at the Bulls and Barrels event at the Southwest Washington Fair in Chehalis.
Six-year-old Taylor Jo Johnson pulls her pony, Iceman, to position him for a photograph at her family's home at Adna on Thursday. Johnson and Iceman competed in eight rodeos in 2015, winning 15 belt buckles and two saddles.
Taylor Jo Johnson, 6, sits on her pony, Iceman, at her family's home in Adna. Taylor Jo competed in eight rodeos in 2015 and won the Northwest Junior Rodeo Association's All Around Buckaroo Cowgirl award in November.
Taylor Jo Johnson, 6, of Adna, is seen with her pony, Iceman, Thursday, at her family's home. Taylor Jo and Iceman competed in eight rodeos in 2015, winning 15 belt buckles, two saddles and other tack. The Northwest Junior Rodeo Association also named her All Around Buckaroo Cowgirl in November.
Taylor Jo Johnson, 6, of Adna, stands with the prizes she won competing in rodeos in 2015 on Thursday in her family's barn.
Taylor Jo Johnson, 6, of Adna, sits among some of the prizes she won riding her pony, Iceman, in rodeos around the state.
Taylor Jo Johnson, 6, of Adna, holds up a saddle she won.
Taylor Jo Johnson, 6, of Adna, waves as she rides in a parade on her pony Iceman.
Taylor Jo Johnson may only be 6 years old, but her spunk and speed took her to the top in her rodeo age group in 2015.
The Adna girl and her oversized miniature horse, Iceman, took home 15 belt buckles, two saddles and the Northwest Junior Rodeo Association’s All Around Buckaroo Cowgirl title during the last rodeo season.
At the year-end banquet in November, Taylor Jo also received awards for her events — second place in dummy roping, first place for California stake racing and first place for goat tail undecorating.
Taylor Jo’s mom, Sarah Johnson, said the rodeos are competitive, and while Taylor Jo won California stake all year, as the season progressed the other riders closed the gap between her finish time and theirs.
“By the end of the season it was like half a second between. It was very competitive,” Sarah said.
But even though the kids are competitive, they’re friends, Sarah said.
“They were more excited sometimes to get together to see each other and play than they were about the actual competing,” Sarah said.
Taylor Jo began doing rodeos when she was 2 years old, with her mom leading her through events. She comes from a family of horse lovers.
“(I) grew up with them, and had them forever,” Sarah said. “Taylor doesn’t know any different.”
The Johnson family traveled to eight rodeos in 2015, including the Bulls and Barrels event at the Southwest Washington Fair where locals may have seen her decked out in pink cowgirl gear to match Iceman, who was partially painted pink.
Sarah said at Bulls and Barrels Taylor Jo qualified as one of the four peewees in barrel racing and then won the event.
“That was a fun one. It was dark outside and the lights were on … the crowd just went crazy,” Sarah said.
Next year, Taylor Jo will have the opportunity to regularly run barrels.
Along with traveling throughout Western Washington and caring for Iceman, there is also a yearly entry fee and entry fees at each rodeo.
Her parents say the cost and time is worth it as Taylor Jo not only learns and improves as a rider, but also learns sportsmanship, makes friends and enjoys riding.
Taylor Jo also had three sponsors in 2015 to help with the rodeo fees — Les Schwab in Centralia, the Chehalis Livestock Market and the Farm Store in Chehalis.
Sarah and her husband, Patrick, also invest time and travel in their 10-year-old son Lane’s sports.
To some, the work involved in caring for a horse — feeding, watering, mucking stalls, and grooming — might not be fun, but Sarah said Taylor Jo is always helping every way she can, whether its with Iceman, the family’s other two horses or their other animals.
“Sometimes she over helps,” Sarah said, laughing.
Taylor Jo’s success has come with a lot of training and toughness as well; in the spring and summer, Taylor Jo rides and practices nearly every day.
Even though Taylor Jo has taken some tumbles while riding, she gets right back on Iceman.
“One time she fell in an arena, and she got dirt in her eye,” said, Lane. “So she took a bottle of water, dumped it in her eye, got the cap back on and started (riding again).”
This coming rodeo season Taylor Jo will be competing in the peewee division, which is ages 6 to 8. Kids are divided based on their ages at the beginning of the year.
Taylor Jo told The Chronicle she’s not nervous about competing with older kids.
In the buckaroo age group, 5 and younger, Sarah said about eight to 10 kids compete at each rodeo.
As the age groups get older, there’s typically more riders; peewees had about 20 kids last year, Sarah said.
As Taylor Jo grows, she will eventually have to find a new horse to ride because she’ll outgrow Iceman.
Sarah said she thinks Taylor Jo may start competing on her horse for some events this coming season.
Even though Taylor Jo is outgrowing the pony, the family is very grateful for Iceman, who they purchased from a friend.
“He is a huge part of our family,” Sarah said.
