Janie Johnson is one of the most recognizable voices in barrel racing.
Listen below.
She’s the one fans hear over the biggest runs of the year, from The American to the Calgary Stampede to the NFR. But she never set out to be on camera.
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She grew up on a cattle ranch in Canyon, Texas, the daughter of a world champion saddle bronc rider, went to the University of Texas for film production, and stayed in rodeo because she refused to sell one barrel horse. Kayla Jones caught her before she left for Calgary to trace how a film-school kid became the person calling the barrels.
The short version: a high school rodeo horse that Jordan Briggs trained at 16, a flat “I’m not selling him” to her parents, an NFR internship she landed by just showing up, and a round-four text at the 2020 NFR that put her on live TV with no warning.
The longer version, including the on-air call about Kassie Mowry that the internet came after her for and what it taught her, is in the episode.
If you have ever wondered who is behind the barrel racing runs on Cowboy+ and more every year, this is the one to play. Patreon members get more than 15 extra minutes with Janie on the behind-the-scenes of packing, prepping, and calling bad situations live.
About the guest
Janie Johnson is a rodeo broadcaster and producer whose voice anchors barrel racing coverage on the sport’s biggest stages. Raised in Canyon, Texas, in a rodeo and cutting-horse family, she earned a film production degree at the University of Texas, kept barrel racing as an independent to hold onto her horse, and worked her way from an NFR internship to producing to the on-air chair. She called her first barrel race live during the 2020 NFR at Globe Life Field.
A few things you’ll hear
• Why keeping one high school rodeo horse, trained by a teenage Jordon Briggs, is the reason she never moved to California for film
• How a round-four text at the 2020 NFR put her on live TV calling the barrels with about five seconds of warning
• Why she now preps by talking to every barrel racer individually
• What doing junior high rodeo taught her about getting out of her own way on camera
Sponsor — A Cut Above Buckles
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