EVANS CITY — Forget about soccer and in-line hockey.

Seneca Valley graduate Shawn Johnston played both sports in high school. But he was destined to be a harness racing driver.

Johnston, 18, of Evans City, picked up his first career victory Aug. 4 when he guided Crafty Friend to the winner's circle at the Clearfield County Fair.

The race was part of the Pennsylvania Sire Stakes.

“When you're racing in that series, you're up against some tough competition,” Ken Weingartner of the U.S. Trotting Association said.

“Roger Hammer is racing in that series and he won the Hambletonian, pretty much the Super Bowl of harness racing.”

Johnston won his second race Monday in York, again driving Crafty Friend.

“My father's been doing this his entire life, so I grew up with it,” Johnston said. “This isn't just a hobby to me. This is my job. This is my career now.”

His father, Gary Johnston, stopped racing in 2008, but has more than 50 career wins. Johnston's brother, Aaron, has been racing for eight years and owns a number of wins, including two this year.

Shawn Johnston made 18 starts last year and had 22 starts this year before realizing victory.

“It was good to get that first one and get it off my back,” he said. “I've always felt comfortable on the track, though. I race three or four times a week and knew that win was going to come.”

Johnston primarily competes at The Meadows. His family owns 11 horses presently and has produced numerous winners.

One of the family's horses, Tremor Hammer, is a 6-year-old filly with more than $100,000 in career winnings.

“Our horses have done well,” Johnston said. “We've got another one that's won more than $40,000. We buy the horses as yearlings and train them.”

The Johnstons race their own horses on the track, but drive horses for friends as well. Johnston said Crafty Friend is a horse belonging to “a close family friend.”

Once the family buys a yearling, the training process takes six months to a year to complete. Horses can compete in harness racing as young as age 2 and as old as 13.

“As long as their bodies hold up and the horse stays healthy, they can race,” Johnston said. “But all horses are different. You don't mistreat them and you don't give them a schedule they can't handle.

“Training a horse is a process. We take care of them and they respond.”

Johnston said the first step is getting a horse used to the harness and having a bridle in its mouth. For two months, the horse is taken for a jog around the track.

“When the horses are ready, we let them pass each other while jogging, get them accustomed to the feel of racing,” he said.

“After a while, we get into timing them. You can tell when one's ready to race.”

Johnston estimates he races three or four different horses a week.

“Drivers vary in success when they start out,” Weingartner said. “Some people get wins on their first try. Others, it takes a long time.

“The Johnston family has done very well.”

Johnston plans to go to college, study business administration and have his own stable of horses someday.

“My dad and brother give me a good amount of advice,” Johnston said. “I like driving, but I've got a lot to learn.”