INDEPENDENCE - The wind blew the brown hair under Cassie Johnson's baseball cap as Reba, a 12-year-old quarter horse, sped to a trot.

As the horse's hooves landed in a muffled tone on the soft, brown earth, Johnson grasped the reins, which are covered in Reba's "bling" - turquoise rhinestones.

Easing Reba around big, blue barrels on a brisk April morning is good practice for this weekend's Iowa High School Rodeo at the National Cattle Congress in Waterloo.

But even if one didn't exist, even if Johnson weren't meeting up with riders from across the state - a group that has become like family - she would still be out riding.

"I don't think I'd have the confidence I have now if I didn't have her. She's part of me, I guess, I don't know," she said.

A junior at Independence High School, this will be her third summer with Reba. The problem, Johnson finds, is that summers never seem to stretch long enough in Iowa.

"Winter's been really hard on us. I just work and try to stay busy and not depressed (about not riding)," she said.

Her classmate and friend, Kara Christensen, will be riding her cousin's horse at the competition because her horse, Mariah, suffered a laceration to her leg.

Separating an owner from her horse is no small thing, and it has caused quite a bit of anxiety for Christensen.

People often drive across the country to find an animal they connect with: Her cousin's horse was the fruit of a journey from Kansas to Arkansas and - finally - down to Texas. In the end, her cousin tried more than 10 horses.

For Johnson, the search was less extensive, if only by accident.

"I had a lot lined up to try, but I just liked her, and she was my first one," she said.

Johnson takes comfort in Reba's calm demeanor and predictable nature. But that's not to say the horse will behave like that with everyone.

"There are horses nobody can get along with, then one person gets on and connects with them," she said. "The first time I rode Reba we just connected."

At this weekend's competition, Johnson and Christensen will attempt to wind and weave their horses through obstacles as fast as possible.

The competition is a formal affair steeped in tradition. Riders must wear neatly pressed uniforms: blue jeans with a collared shirt tucked in and a cowboy hat firmly on the head at all times. Because the horses run "full out" at top speed, girls sometimes use bobby pins and generous amounts of hair spray for the big day.

"My hat is glued on all day," Johnson said.

The obsession is well justified. If a hat falls off during competition, the rider receives no points.

"This girl last year would have made it to finals, but her hat flew off, and she was disqualified," Christensen said.

Contact Jens Manuel Krogstad at (319) 291-1580 or jens.krogstad@wcfcourier.com.