AMATEUR AGED GELDINGS

TUFF AT LAST BRINGS JEFFREY JOHNS HIS FIRST AMATEUR WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP.

BY CANDACE DOBSON, FIELD EDITOR

Jeffrey Johns stepped into the AQHA World Championship Show arena for the first time, and walked out a world champion with his 9-year-old gelding, Tuff At Last.

The sorrel gelding known as “Tuffy” is a veteran at the World Show. This is his fourth world championship, and he has three AQHYA world championships to add to his résumé.

“He’s one of a kind,” Johns said. “It’s pretty rare for a halter horse to be that old, and look as he does.”

AQHA President, Frank Howell presents Johns and Tuffy with their championship ribbon.

Tuffy played it cool during the class, but Johns said he was little nervous to be in the World Show arena.

“It’s kind of nerve-racking because they don’t line you up behind each individual judge any more, so you don’t know where you’re at,” he said. “You just had to hold and wait.”

Johns is originally from Paradise Valley, Arizona, and is a sophomore business major at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas. He juggles his school work with horses and spends a lot of time on the road, traveling to shows. The 20-year-old also competes in trail and western riding.

Tuffy will make his bid at another world championship during open week with Johns’ trainer, Bob Kail, of Clements, California.