Sherry Cervi and MP Meter My Fame earn prestigious Breeders Challenge Futurity championship, while 10-year-old Dusky Lynn Hall dominated with Derby, Open and Youth titles on two different horses at the Breeders Challenge Championship Finale in Fort Worth, Texas.
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Known as one of the classiest productions in barrel racing, the Breeders Challenge Championship Finale is an event that riders across the country work hard to qualify for each year. The notorious draw party provides a splash of fun in a week filled with tough competition in the John Justin Arena at the Will Rogers Memorial Center every September in Fort Worth, Texas, and helps make the Breeders Challenge Finale a truly unique event in barrel racing.
With its marquis Futurity, Derby and Open Finale, plus a Youth, Senior and Amateur Derby, everyone has an opportunity at impactful paychecks and top-shelf prizes. The Turnpikers Wagon High Stakes Challenge side-pot also gave riders a chance to earn additional money on their runs during the Finale. Plus, the Cowtown Showdown Open 4D jackpot barrel races held in the Will Rogers Coliseum arena provided competition for any horse-and-rider team, not just those qualified for or eligible for the Breeders Challenge.
Futurity Champion Sherry Cervi and MP Meter My Fame
Four-time Women’s Professional Rodeo Association World Champion Barrel Racer Sherry Cervi rode her 5-year-old mare MP Meter My Fame to a total $87,125, winning the Breeders Challenge Futurity Finale in commanding fashion.
Draping the victor’s roses, a tradition for which the Breeders Challenge Futurity has become known, around her special homegrown mare’s neck was a remarkably memorable experience for Cervi.
“That was a really big stage, and there were a lot of really nice horses there,” Cervi said. “The funny thing is that going to the Kentucky Derby has been on my bucket list my whole life. Cory (Petska, my husband) and I got to go with some friends this year, and then winning the Breeders Challenge and experiencing putting the roses over that mare was an unbelievable experience. It’s a night I will never forget. There’s a lot of pressure on the line, and that mare has so much confidence running and is really gritty. I’ve never rode a horse like that with her style before.”
The victory marked “Principessa’s” second futurity title of the year — she won the Better Barrel Races World Finals Futurity in April and finished as reserve champion at the Royal Crown in Buckeye, Arizona, in January, as well as placed at nearly every futurity in which she has ran. Prior to the Breeder’s Challenge, Principessa’s EquiStat lifetime earnings stood at over $97,000.
“The fact that she’s out of ‘Stingray’; it’s just really, really cool that I get to ride Stingray’s babies,” Cervi said of Principessa’s dam, her unforgettable rodeo mare MP Meter My Hay, a two-time WPRA World Champion and EquiStat earner in excess of $1.1 million. “She’s been nice all year and so consistent all year and placed at almost every place I took her. Those good horses give you confidence, and you just have to stay out of their way and go into competitive mode. I just wanted to make sure not to override her or train on her.”
The duo started their week with a 15.550 in the Open Finale for third and $8,925. A time of 15.642 in the Futurity Semifinals placed fourth and earned their spot in the 30-head Finals on Saturday. There, as the last runner to go, the mare clocked her fastest time of the week, a 15.541 to win the Breeders Challenge Futurity Finale for $78,200.
“My first run in the Open was the most flawless run. My second run was my first run in the Futurity Semifinals, and I was really nervous, and I don’t know why. I try to control my emotions and nerves, but I really wanted to make it back to the short round,” admitted the EquiStat earner of more than $2.1 million. “I sent her by the first barrel a little, but she worked good. My third run, I knew that it’s your one run in the Finals, it’s really tough and there’s some horses that have made some really good runs. I drew No. 30, so I was bottom of the ground. But it was meant to be, and she worked really good.”
The mare by all-time leading barrel racing sire Dash Ta Fame is yet another successful sibling to prove the cross on Stingray. Ryann Pedone earned more than $139,000 and a National Finals Rodeo qualification on stallion Feel The Sting. Cervi has her rodeo mare MP Ray Of Fame (“Money May”) with over $72,000 and still counting in money won. She’s also futuritying another full brother, 5-year-old stallion MP King George, this year, too.
“It’s been fun competing on full siblings the same age. I had never rode a Dash Ta Fame until I’d gotten a horse from Dena Kirkpatrick, and his name was Easily Dashed. Then I rode Atlas Peak, and then ‘Arson’ (Dash Ta Diamonds),” Cervi said. “All three were different, but I learned early on that those horses know their jobs, and once they’re trained, don’t overtrain them — just keep them in shape. When I started training Money May, and then [Principessa and King George], I was grateful that I knew about those horses and that you just teach them the pattern.”
Cervi has dedicated her life’s work to rodeoing professionally. This year, with a futurity horse like Principessa on the trailer, rodeos took a backseat to futurities — a first for the Marana, Arizona, cowgirl.
“This year was a lot different. Having a [futurity] horse that’s competitive helps a lot, but the depth of good horses is deep. It was really cool to go to the big futurities and compete with them and watch those horses and stay so consistent,” Cervi said. “There’s a couple of really good weeks [of rodeos], like Hermiston is over the Royal Crown in Rock Springs, so it’s different for me to turn out of rodeos for futurities — usually it’s the other way around.”
Principessa did get some limited rodeo seasoning out West during the summer run of pro rodeos. Cervi was careful to prioritize the big-money aged events.
“My goal this whole year was to go to as many futurities as I could, which is the most I’ve ever been to for me personally in one year,” she said. “I was out there going to rodeos, but I would stop to go to futurities. I ran her at a couple rodeos in slack this summer, and she definitely is mentally ready and can handle it, but I didn’t want to put too much pressure on her, especially since rodeo ground can be tough to learn to run on, and she really uses herself. I got her qualified for the Breeders Challenge early on, so that was always my goal to come back to Texas in September.”
Capitalizing on her goal at the Breeders Challenge was an emotional moment for Cervi, especially since Principessa is the product of several generations of her father Mel Potter’s storied breeding program.
“When you walk back out of the arena at Fort Worth, you go down that long alley, and there’s nobody back there. Walking back, I teared up. I was so elated and had plenty of time to get myself together, and my dad was the first one I called. My husband was there with me, and I called my dad and finally got to tell him that we won first. That was a really cool phone call. I told him how much I’d won, and he called me back later that night like, ‘Wait, so how much did you win?’” Cervi recounted with a laugh.
Cervi’s greatest thank-you goes to one of the horses most special to her and her dad — Stingray.
“For me, it’s about Stingray and how grateful I am for what she’s done in my life. She continues to bless it daily. It’s really cool watching Feel The Sting’s colts come in, and now I’m competing against them, too. It makes me happy for Stingray, and I think her legacy is living on and will keep impacting the barrel racing world for many years,” Cervi said fondly. “I also thank the Breeders Challenge; what an amazing event. They go above and beyond to make it first class. The fact that there’s opportunities for seniors, youth and amateurs is helping barrel racing. They’re doing a lot for barrel racing.”
Derby, Open 1D and Youth Champion Dusky Lynn Hall
At the age of 10, Dusky Lynn Hall surpassed $1 million in career earnings after a $103,724 week at the Breeders Challenge. The young rider took home three Breeders Challenge titles and claimed the top three spots in the High Stakes Challenge and the top two spots in both the Open Finale and Youth Finale, all aboard two standout horses.
“She’s so determined. Her bank account just kept growing and growing, and it’d be at half a million for awhile, then $600,000, and when she got over $700,000, she told me, ‘Mom, I’m going to cross $1 million before I’m 11.’ Well, she’ll be 11 in November. Next, she told me ‘Then, I’m going to win the $1 million at The American next year, so then I’m going to have $2 million,” Dusky Lynn’s mother Dusky Hall said with a laugh.
Dusky Lynn’s new horse KD Baby Driver (“Enzo”) earned the Derby title, won the Youth and finished second in the Open 1D Finale, and her trusted partner Jets Letters Ta Abby (“Jax”) topped the Open 1D Finale and finished second in the Youth.
“My goal that week was just to make clean runs and have fun, and that’s what I did and more. All my horses worked really good for me,” Dusky Lynn said.
Dusky Lynn’s week started in a big way with a 15.484 to win the 240-head Open Finale for $18,593 on Jax and finish second with a 15.536 on Enzo for $14,875. A solid 15.766 on Enzo in the Open Derby Semifinals secured the duo a spot in the Derby Finals. Already qualified in the Youth Finale, Dusky Lynn ran her horses in the Youth class and rolled her Youth time of 15.428 on Enzo to win the Derby Finals against the best of the best for $48,875, also winning the Youth Finale for $3,187. Jax clocked another fast 15.477 in the Youth to finish second for $2,550.
“Enzo was easy and smooth and went out there and did his job. Jax is always wanting to go, and there’s never any slow in him. He was ready to go in the alleyway, and it was blind to the first, so he took off and went out there and worked his job, too,” Dusky Lynn said.
“Jax got a lot of momentum going to the first barrel in the second run. She really nailed the first barrel on Jax, which is sometimes hard to do, because he is so fast,” Dusky Hall added. “He’s not hard, but he’s strong and so stout.”
Jax was trained and ridden by Ashley Schafer to more than $127,000 in EquiStat reported earnings as a futurity and derby horse, highlighted by the 2019 Pink Buckle Open championship. He joined Dusky Lynn’s arsenal in early 2023 and now boasts lifetime earnings in excess of $217,000.
Enzo joined the Halls’ barn this summer from former owner Lindsay Hoffman. It was an instant fit for the young jockey. Trained by Carlos Renato, Enzo and Dusky Lynn immediately went to winning, placing top of the 1D out of around 900 entries at the All American Youth, and then the pair won the Cornhusker Derby in Nebraska before coming in hot to the Breeders Challenge.
“I asked Carlos when we got back if he could come help us. She was winning, but I thought we could tweak it and put an adult back on him for a tune-up. He rode him again the night of the draw party and showed her a few things, and then she won the Derby on him,” Dusky Hall said. “We’ve owned him two and a half months, and she’s won over $100,000 on him.”
Above money or titles, achieving success means more to the Halls and is a platform that young Dusky Lynn hopes she can use to inspire other youth.
“I want to promote youth and small riders to chase their dreams and never give up,” Dusky Lynn said.
“We want her to be a good human, first of all, and cheer on her fellow competitors and be happy with whatever the outcome is,” Dusky Hall continued. “We try to keep her humble and grounded. At the end of the day, she’s just a 10-year-old little girl like others.”
The Halls thanked Carrie Deck for the Equiscope as well as Carlos Renato, Sarah Waguespack and Lisa Cline for helping during Breeders Challenge, in addition to Dusky Lynn’s sponsors: Master Saddles, SaddleRight, Succeed, Signature Stall Mats, Good Juju Products, Badwater Tack, Fastest Time Wins, Rodeo Rhymes, Cold Creek Equine, OE Nutraceuticals, Outlaw Equine, MVP, 100X Equine, TLC Animal Nutrition, EquiFlow Recellerate, Seminole Feeds, Western Dove, Metrix Logistics Group, Healthy Equine Therapy, If Branded Clothing, Equine Flair Strips and TOML.
Cowtown Showdown Champions – Will Rogers Coliseum Arena
Thursday Warm-Up Race
1D: Stephanie Fryar/Karl Lee/15.258/$567
2D: Fallon Forbes/Pockets Fulla Pozzis/15.811/$498
3D: Kathy Rush/JL Fire And Desire/16.287/$359
4D: Kristine DeBerg/Streakinblondelegacy/16.773/$290
Friday Open
1D: Taylor Gessley/TS Bully Frosted Fame/15.145/$1,767
2D: Cambrie DeLaune/VF Leo Stinson/15.647/$1,552
3D: Grace Meyers/August Lighting/16.150/$1,122
4D: Deb Christy/Roc Chalk Jayhawk/16.655/$907
Saturday Open
1D: Addie Davis/Credit Me Valiant/15.264/$2,208
2D: Dale Long/Last Chance Ta Heaven/15.773/$1,930
3D: Brittany Pierson/Guyko/16.264/$1,374
4D: Jenna Beck/Lucky Rebel/16.767/$1,096
This article was originally published in the November 2024 issue of Barrel Horse News.
