Dusky Lynn Hall is already one of the all-time leading earners in barrel racing at only 12 years old. She most recently smashed the arena record at legendary Cowtown Coliseum in Texas, which long appeared untouchable.
It also won her yet another five-figure payout!
There may not be a more dominant athlete in rodeo right now. Even if Hall does not always win, she is always in contention despite the sizable age gap between her and her fellow barrel racers, and she is making history along the way.
Who is Dusky Lynn Hall?
Hall is a native of Huntsville, Texas. Although she is still four years away from getting her driver’s license, she has very quickly become one of the most impressive rodeo athletes of all-time… while still in middle school.
The barrel racing phenom boasts career earnings of more than $2.4 million, which ranks seventh on the AQHA all-time barrel racing owners earnings list. She has not even celebrated her 13th birthday!
Dusky Lynn Hall grew up around the sport. Her mom and grandma both trained barrel horses. It did not take long for her to announce that she wanted to run barrels on the highest level, skipping right over the junior ranks.
Hall said at five years old that she wanted to compete at the American rodeo and win the million dollar prize. Although that has not happened, yet, she consistently leaves world champions in the dust while placing near the top of the standings.
And her competition is not just other girls her age! Hall is running against a field of 20-, 30- and even 40-year-olds. She still has to attend school while her opponents are out in the real world. It is a huge age gap.
While some people might see Hall’s age as a disadvantage, she and her team see it as an asset. There is even more opportunity to compete at the most prestigious events. She does not face the same pressure to win right now because her career is still so young.
However, that does not mean she doesn’t. Hall stays winning.
The 12-year-old barrel racing phenom set a historic record at Cowtown Coliseum.
Dusky Lynn Hall rode her futurity horse, Tornado Lane, to a time of 12.904 seconds in her second run at the Wild West Promotions Cowtown Cup. It looked like it was going to be enough to win the competition against a talented field of ~200.
And then she returned on a horse named Chasin A Win to beat her own time with a blazing fast run of 12.767 seconds.
Hall was the only woman to go under 13 seconds at the event and set the top two times on the leaderboard. She collected more than $30,000 in winnings on the day. Not too shabby!
Perhaps more impressively, Hall set the arena record at the historic Cowtown Coliseum in Fort Worth, Texas— twice. The previous record was set by Laura Mote at the Women’s Rodeo World Championship with a time of 12.967. Hall broke the previous arena record on her first run. She went back out and shattered her own record on the second.
Cowtown Coliseum was the first-ever indoor arena in the United States that was specifically built for rodeo way back in 1908. It has hosted tens of thousands of rodeos over the last 100+ years. The women’s barrel racing record now belongs to a 12-year-old.