Dusky Lynn Hall may not have been born on a horse, but she got there as fast as she could. Riding her own pony at the tender age of 8 months old, Dusky Lynn was competing by herself before she was 3 years old, running a decent set of barrels by the time she was 4, and laying down 20-second pole bending runs as a 6-year-old. For Dusky Lynn, there seems to be only one way to live life — wide open. 

Dusky Lynn’s mom, Dusky Dawn, says her daughter has had an affinity for fast horses and barrel racing for as long as she can remember.

“She’s fearless,” Dusky Dawn shared. “She is not afraid to go fast. She’s never said to me, ‘Mom, I’m scared.’ I was always the parent telling her to slow down, but by the time she was 4 years old, she was whipping her pony and saying, ‘Mom, I need a faster horse!’”

Dusky Dawn says in addition to Dusky Lynn’s bold approach to riding, the 8-year-old cowgirl from Huntsville, Texas, has a talent that can only be described as God-given.

“She has a really good feel,” Dusky Dawn explained. “I don’t have to tell her what to do — she can adapt easily to whatever the horse needs without a lot of instruction. I don’t have to say, ‘Pull here. Check there.’ Somehow, she just knows. You can’t teach that.”

Despite Dusky Lynn’s natural abilities, Dusky Dawn says keeping the horses in peak competitive condition takes a team approach.

“I tune on her horses every week,” Dusky Dawn shared. “She’s good at telling me what she feels when she’s running them, but I like to make sure they’re staying soft and listening. It really takes a huge team of people to do what we do — it’s 100% a group effort.”

The Halls’ team approach has proven wildly successful for Dusky Lynn — she made a clean sweep in the Youth at April’s Ruby Buckle event, qualified for this year’s Breeders Challenge Championship Finale in the Open, Youth and Derby, and won five saddles at June’s Youth Rodeo Association Finals. The tough little cowgirl from Texas — weighing in at a mere 48 pounds — has also held her own against some of the best in the business, placing sixth and ninth at The Mega barrel race in Jackson, Mississippi, and amassing too many other placings to count. 

Dusky Lynn recently returned to the Ogden 8 & Under World Champion Barrel Race in Sweetwater, Texas, from August 12–14 to claim a second consecutive win in the Ogden 8 & Under championship class, making a clean sweep in Rounds One and Two on Add A Dash and turning in a 16.729 in the finals round on The Red Maserati to best a tough group of up-and-coming barrel racers. Not one to be outrun in any company, she added wins in the Youth and Open to her impressive collection of victories.

While there’s no doubt Dusky Lynn is fiercely competitive, she says her favorite thing about the sport she loves so much isn’t about winning at all. 

“I just love loving my horses,” Dusky Lynn shared. 

Still, Dusky Lynn admits she has goals she’s working toward — the most pressing one is a chance to run at The American Rodeo. 

“She really wants to run at AT&T Stadium,” Dusky Dawn said. “We try hard to keep her grounded, to encourage her to be a normal child who plays with her friends and does the same things they do, and I never want to take that away from her. But she does have things she wants to achieve — she has big dreams, and she definitely has the drive to take her there.”

Ogden 8 & Under Champion

  • 1D—Dusky Lynn Hall on Add A Dash (17.007, 16.872), The Red Maserati (16.729), aggregate 50.608, $221

Ogden Saturday Open Divisional Winners

  • 1D—Dusky Lynn Hall on VF Eysa Famous, 16.754, $858
  • 2D—Becky Dillard on Shesa Hot Loop, 17.254, $735
  • 3D—Christi Lehew on So Im A Famous Chic, 17.755, $490
  • 4D—Christine Heady on My Expectations, 18.754, $368

For complete results, visit ebarrelracing.com.

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