After a five-year hiatus from competitive mounts, veteran jockey Trevor Johnson is back in the saddle this Sunday, October 5, 2025 aboard Yorkist.

Trained by Collin Ferguson, Yorkist is declared to compete in the fourth race, a maiden condition event for native-bred four-year-old over 5 furlongs (1,000m) straight.

“I last rode in 2020,” Johnson recalled, his voice carrying the weight of a pause pressed by circumstance rather than choice.

“I did have something on my stomach that was burning me. The doctor said that it was acid reflux. It took me around three to four years before I could feel good again,” he emphasised, underscoring the endurance test that had sidelined him.

But treatment arrived, and with it, clearance from the doctor. The burning sensation quelled. And for Johnson, that green light wasn’t just medical — it was a green light to passion.

“I got treatment for it and I am good now, ready to do back what I love. The doctor cleared me, I don’t feel the stomach burning me again and so decided that I am going to take another run at them,” the 66-year-old Johnson told the Jamaica Observer’s The Supreme Racing Guide.

Stepping back into the irons felt like coming home for Trevor.

“I feel very good to be riding again. I feel good getting back in the saddle again. Retirement is not an option right now. When the time is ready, my body will tell,” he said.

Trevor’s journey with horses began way back in 1979. Decades in, he’s carved a jockey’s path with humble metrics — “I don’t win a lot of races, maybe around eight career wins but I am grateful for everything,” he said.

With prospects of training stretched uncertainly ahead, riding remained Trevor’s thread to purpose.

“I had tried the training thing,” he said, exploring alternatives beyond the saddle, “but they told me that the training programme will not start for a while, about two to five year’s time because they just graduated a batch recently.

“And so the riding thing was all that left. I had no chance but doing that because I just [didn’t] want to stay around the place and doing nothing. That would look bad for me,” he explained.

JOHNSON…I feel good getting back in the saddle again.