Jacqueline Johnson of Newport Beach was selected as the recipient of this year’s California Thoroughbred Foundation scholarship at Western University of Health Sciences. She is a third-year student in the College of Veterinary Medicine.
Growing up in Southern California, she rode horses from age 6 and developed a desire to become an equine veterinarian early on. Her enthusiasm and determination to be an equine surgeon impressed the CTF board members who interviewed the applicants.
Ms. Johnson earned a B.S. degree at the University of Georgia and worked at several hospitals in Georgia. She served externships at Hagyard Equine Medical Institute, Lexington, Ky., and equine hospitals in New Hampshire, England, and Italy.
Saying that she has “a special place in my heart for the Thoroughbred,” she competes with her own two horses, one a Thoroughbred.