Dusky Lynn Hall had a record setting weekend in Arizona collecting $34,442 thanks to her team of horses.
The Xtreme Barrel Races provide big money opportunities to barrel racers of all ages and skill levels at state-of-the-art facilities. The Xtreme Million Queen Creek race was the largest Xtreme Mini Million race Burns Events has had with more than 1,500 runs over three days and 209 contestants taking home a check. The race was structured with three performances paying out daily as well as combined for the Mini Million and additional sidepots.
“We are proud to have been a small part of increasing the value of barrel racing,” Danna Burns-Shaw of Burns Events said. “Our family has been involved in equestrian sports for over 60 years. My father, Dan Burns ran the local riding club and put events on clear back in the early 1960s. You could say our family are ‘hard wired producers’ from watching all the generations before us.”
Mini Million 1D Champion Dusky Lynn Hall and Aint Seen Famous Yet
Records were made to be broken, and two young talents did just that in Queen Creek. On Thursday — the first performance of the race — Jordynn Knight and Heza Swift Spyder broke the arena record with their 14.975, collecting a $3,576 check for winning the performance.
Anyone who has kept up with recent results knows Dusky Lynn Hall and Aint Seen Famous Yet are a dominant team no matter the stakes or setup, and the Xtreme Million Queen Creek barrel race was no different. In Friday’s performance, Hall and “Wally” ran a 15.426, good enough for a $517 check for ninth place. Just a warmup for the prestigious pair, they ran a 14.880 on Saturday, breaking Knight’s short-lived record at Horseshoe Park. Hall’s run won Saturday’s performance and $3,097, and was the fastest time of the event, winning the Mini Million 1D and an additional $7,845. Their run from Friday won fourth in the Mini Million 2D for another $4,361.
“He was really nervous in the back,” Hall said about their run on Saturday. “He didn’t really feel like amazing, but he just went out there and worked his best.”
The striking palomino gelding knows he is talented and often portrays that in his day-to-day personality.
“He’s very grumpy,” Hall added. “If there’s any other horses that are by me and I’m petting someone else he will try to fight them, because he wants all the attention to himself. And he thinks he’s the king of everybody, and he basically is.”
Wally and former owner and trainer, Amelia McCumber won just under $467,000 together before Hall took the reins. Now, Wally has $730,000 in EquiStat reported lifetime earnings, and counting.
“It means the world to me to see Wally happy and winning,” McCumber said. “I turned down a lot of offers on him over the years, but the thought of a child running him for the remainder of his career really appealed to me.”
McCumber trained and futuritied Wally while balancing a full-time career as a Physicians Assistant in family medicine and the emergency room.
“Wally changed my life in so many positive ways and opened a lot of doors for me,” McCumber said. “I prayed a lot leading up to the decision to let the Halls try him and after watching Dusky Lynn ride him for just a couple of minutes, I immediately knew it was meant to be.”
Wally has earned nearly $205,000 with Hall just in 2024 and has kicked off 2025 with multiple wins. McCumber was excited to see Wally run on stages she was unable to get him to, living in Nebraska and working full time. She said his futurity year started slow as it was difficult to do much up north until late spring, but she knew early on that he was special, despite his quirks. A more watch-y horse, she said he’s the type that will always need expos and arena time, even at 11 years old.
“He was a very watch-y and cautious horse, he still is,” McCumber explained. “I would say his biggest change is being he is more protective and patient with Dusky Lynn. I have watched her climb on him bareback hanging off the side of a barrel and he just stands there. I think the most beautiful thing about children is how trusting and confident they can be. When you’re riding a less confident horse, a fearless little girl who rides you with complete confidence is exactly what a horse like Wally needs.”
Wally is no stranger to Xtreme Million events, having won more than $145,000 from Xtreme Barrel Races alone, taking high earner honors at the first three Xtreme Barrel Races with McCumber, and now two races jockeyed by Hall.
Although Wally stole the show, Hall found her way to the pay window on multiple mounts. Her other palomino gelding, Troublenvrlooksogood (First Down French x Tatango Twist Te x Triple Twist Te) ran a 15.234 that placed second in Friday’s performance for $2,068 and eighth in the Mini Million 1D for an additional $1,856.
“He’s my leftie,” Hall said. “He came from Erica Nelson and he just has been such a blessing for me. I ran him at Globe Life Field, and he’s just been such an amazing horse for me.”
Hall also jockeyed a third palomino in Queen Creek, 2014 stallion Frenchmansmagicmike (Frenchmans Guy x Dashing Katye x Dash Ta Fame), owned by Tonya Wiertzema. They ran a 15.282 to secure another $4,695 check for second in Thursday’s performance and 12th in the Mini Million 1D. Their 15.346 was good enough for ninth on Saturday, earning $651.
While her palominos showed out in Queen Creek, Hall also rode 2014 brown gelding Rakin In A Fortune (Tres Fortunes x Rakin In The Bets x Rakin In The Cash) who added $1,455 to her race earnings with a 15.461 to place fourth in the Mini Million 2D.
“He came from Lisa Kisner in Kansas, and we struggled with him,” Hall admitted. “He’s more straight bodied than my other horses, so he likes to go straight into (the barrel) and straight out, instead of up and around like my other horses.”
Hall left the race as the high-money earner, taking home $34,442. Close behind her was Jordynn Knight with $24,850 won between her two mounts, Heza Swift Spyder and 2019 gelding Runnin Ron (Tres Seis x Love Shack x Holland Ease).
This article was originally published in the March 2025 issue of Barrel Horse News.
