Czech Junior Johana Vasaryova on Standing at the Intersection of Life and Horse Sport

Focus

F.O.C.U.S.

For youth riders growing up in horsey families, a career in riding and sport seems a given. They are nurtured around animals and get easier access to ponies, horses and riding than most. With the support of a horse driven family in one's back the road to a competitive career, in which hard decisions concerning money and time management are taken, a path toward seems easier, but it can also work stifling at times.

Many youth riders, particularly when they come of age round the age of 18, stand at a cross road: continue with college/university after high school, go for a professional career as a rider, or try to combine both involving many balls to be juggled. At the same time, boy/girlfriends come into place and a social life blooms, expanding their horizon of what life has to offer.

Seven Years of Youth Sport

The 18-year old Czech junior rider Johana Vasaryova is one such rider standing at this intersection of what life has to offer.

Johana has grown up with her mom Hana Vasaryova as main inspiration. Hana runs her own sales and training facility "DS Pelikan" 40 kilometers from Prague. Before that she worked at Hof Kasselmann, trained with Ingo Pape, and rented a small stable near the German border before establishing her own business in the Czech Republic in 2007.

Johana and mom Hana at the 202' CDI Olomouc

As a youth rider Johana has competed at five European Championships as a children and junior rider on two different horses: Firestone and Bona Dea. Her international career began in 2019 on horse Hannah Montana (by Hendrix x Brentano II), but she also competed ponies Darmey (pedigree unknown) and horses Filipa (by Fidertanz x Sandro Hit) and Silky Moves (by Starnberg x Furst Heinrich).

Expanding Horizons

The European Junior Championships in Le Mans in August 2025 marked Johana's last international start after which she took a new direction in life, albeit with horses still involved.

After Le Mans Johana went to Canada as an exchange student. She attended one semester at a high school in Saanich on Vancouver Island, Canada. From August till January she was immersed in Canadian school life and its education programme, meeting peers, making new friends, and expanding her horizon.

"Stelly’s High School, where I was going to was so different than the school system in Europe," Johana told Eurodressage. "All the teachers were so nice and opened to explore your future. I was living in a small house with my host mom and her dog and another student from Mexico. The family was really friendly and the mom was cooking so well every day."

"I was there for five and half months, from the end of August to the end of January," Johana added. In the class room she took notes in both Czech and English to study, while outside of school she built a network of friends and developed a social life, going for beach walks, attending hockey and American football games, celebrating Halloween and Thanksgiving, going kayaking. She even got a tattoo, the Canadian maple leaf, on her bicep to remember this chapter in her life.

"In the beginning of the exchange I didn’t want to be there, because for me is really hard to make friends and nobody was there from the Eastern Europe," Johana confessed. "I had to start talking with the other students in my classes and then I made so many friends; they mainly were from Germany so when they will come back home we will hang out."

For Johana the chapter in Canada was a big confidence building one. "I learned so many things; how to rely on myself and I only found that out there for the first time in my life," she admitted. "I have never ever been so confident and happy than there." It has been a life-altering experienced for her. "Now I can start again living my life and enjoy every single minute with my loved ones," she said, having returned home to Europe.

New Environments

While Johana was in Canada, her horse Bona Dea, an 11-year old Westfalian mare by Brisbane x Weltissimo, was shipped to stallion station Beckmann in Germany, where Friederike Kampmeier took over the training.

Since her return from Canada, Johana has been going back to school at home, finishing her last year of high school. At the same time she commutes to Germany by plane, every two weeks.

"We moved Bona Dea there so we could be trained by Sebastian Heinze," Johana explained. "It’s kind of a complicated (situation) but it is worth much this way and we’re growing every time when I'm there."

With Bona Dea at the 2024 European Junior Championships

When asked if this is an in-between situation for fresh inspiration, Johana replied that, "I don’t think that this is just temporary. I feel that this is the right way how to push myself more forward. I left everything here because I felt really unmotivated and now i have happily all my motivation back. I needed to get out of our stable."

In January Johana had to say goodbye to two horses, Firestone and Silky Moves, who both passed away a few weeks in between.

"For me it is still really hard to see two empty boxes," she admitted. "In Germany i’m learning so many new things and im really thankful that this can work. I’m super hungry to compete again even if it is in the Young rider category, which is new for me and Bona). I really missed the competition so for each one from now I will get everything that i’ve got."

Johana and Bona Dea rode their first Prix St Georges test at the CDN Hamminkeln on 27-29 March 2026 getting their feet wet at a new level. They scored 63.470% but will be back for more.