Dusky Lynn Hall is putting on a show once again in the barrel racing realm, this time at the World Championship Junior Rodeo in Guthrie, Oklahoma, with two recent additions to her barn.

The million-dollar sensation, Dusky Lynn Hall turned heads once again when she brought out JH Firewater Honor and Chasin The Win to the Lazy E Arena during the World Championship Junior Rodeo and went to the lead in the average on her combined efforts in qualifying rounds 1 and 2.

Aboard JH Firewater Honor—“Louis”—she won the first round with a 16.947-second run. In the second round, she switched to Chasin The Win—“Spit”—to clock a 16.753, totaling 33.700 seconds on two runs and earning $775.

Both Louis and Spit are new to her program, but thanks to her mom Dusty’s keen eye and some metaphorical elbow grease, Hall is lighting up the Lazy E Arena with her lightning-fast four-legged teammates.

Louis on the Loose

For her first-round WCJR draft pick, Hall chose Louis—the 2018 palomino gelding by Firewaterontherocks and out of Packin Honor Jet, by Packin Sixes.

Louis started his training with Chris Coffey before going to Brandon Fortney and Kristen Roby. He became a sentimental pick for another family before making it into Hall’s hands.

 “[Fortney and Roby] sold him to a little teenager girl who lost her horse,” Hall explained. “Then, when she got out of barrel racing – they sent him to Julie Murphy [in Louisiana]. Julie Murphy is the one we went to go see to go and buy Louis.”

As expected—as Hall’s mom is known for her outstanding picker when it comes to horses —Louis has been successful from the start.

“Louis – my mom found him, and we went to try him – I literally set the arena record on him at the place we went to try him at,” Dusky Lynn said. “He’s been a great horse for me.”

Louis and Spit have some similarities within the barrel pattern, but Hall said she makes a few changes to her strategy for each horse.

“I kind of have to give [Louis] more shape to the first barrel. Then I kind of have to check a little more to the first barrel and I have to check a little bit to the third barrel. But other than that, [Louis and Spit] are very similar.”

Hall plans to run Louis in the semifinal round on July 25. Thanks to the WCJR format, she’s already qualified for the finals.

Spit Spat

In Round 2, Hall ran Spit—a 5-year-old sorrel gelding by Chasin Aces N Fame and out of The Lion Queen, by Highly Visible. On the top side, he’s closely related to Taycie Matthews’ standout mare Fame Fire Rocks—“Poprocks”—who passed the $500,000 LTE mark in May 2025.

Spit was started by a young woman in Georgia, Smila Johnson, and ran as a futurity horse at 4. He came to Hall by way of Jeanette Nelson.

“We got [Spit] in shape, got him looking better, got his feet done, got him into the vet,” Hall said. “Then I ran him at Bryan [Texas] – my first ever run – he literally outran Wally.”

Wait…Who’s Wally? Read about Aint Seen Famous Yet Here.

“Well, that’s not entirely true,” Hall’s mom, Dusky added with a laugh. “Wally’s stop isn’t always great, so I think she pulled up a little before the timer. But he’s proven himself over and over.”

While the debate rages on, both mother and daughter are leaning toward Chasin A Win getting the call for the Semifinals.

Lessons Learned

Horses teach without words, and Hall’s new mounts are giving her lifelong lessons—especially in patience.

“Spit has taught me I have to work for it,” she said. “He was nervous when he got him. So, I literally just had to take very, very slow steps, just getting him to stay calm. And now, he’s perfect!”

“Louis is very chargey, he likes to go. When I’m on him, he’s like, ‘This is my rider—I’ve got to go!’ If I get on to him and try to, like, slow him down, it’s just a fight. He’s taught me to keep my hands down, stay collected.”

Long Road Ahead

For those unfamiliar with WCJR, it may seem odd that Hall already knows which horses she’s running in both the semis and finals.

At the WCJR, the top two fastest times from each round, the top six in the average, and two from the buyback round move to the semifinals.

From there, the finals include the top eight from semis, the WCJR Open Timed Event aggregate winner, and the WCRA Division Youth 2025 leaderboard leader—which is Hall.

The WCJR presents an opportunity for Hall to be a kid, just hanging out at the youth rodeo with her peers in the safe environment of the Lazy E Arena. For a youngster who’s had every type of pressure applied at every major stage, the WCRA’s Division Youth gives her the perfect balance to learn to mesh with her new horses, while being able to have fun and compete in the pole bending.

In the youth poles, Hall won Round 1 with a 20.335, advancing to the semis. This is where it should be mentioned that she also won the first round of the pole bending at the WCJR with a 20.335, advancing her to the semi-finals in that, too, on the fan favorite pony, Copper.

“I don’t get to run poles on my pole horse very much. It’s kind of, just, a fun youth rodeo here”

Keep up with all things WCJR all week long in the barrel racing and pole bending at BarrelRacing.com, thanks to WCRA Division Youth and the Lazy E Arena.