As a three-year-old James Edward “Jamis” Johnson would sneak out of the family ranch home and down to the barn where the horses were, setting a tone for the rest of his life. He has always had a love of and a way with horses.
Johnson attended school in Casper at McKinley Elementary and Natrona County High School, where he was graduated in 1961.
Always interested in working with horses, he spent time on the family ranch and became a horse trainer. He trained the World Champion roping horse for Jimmy Grieve in Oklahoma City in 1966 and has spent decades training cutting horses and cowboying. He worked on and trained horses for a number of ranches including the 3 J Livestock/Johnson Ranch, the Dumbell Ranch, Sanford Ranch, Taylor Ranch at Kaycee, and the Tom Sun Ranch.
Among his awards are a Legacy Award from the Central Wyoming Cutting Club and Masters Champion in 1994 from the Wyoming Cutting Horse Association. He has won over $100,000 in lifetime earnings from the National Cutting Horse Association.
Johnson runs the family ranch and supports his sons Justin and Jhett, themselves award-winning cowboys. He also paints and has been known to play the guitar and sing.