By Lily Weinacht
Dusti Boyd of Kersey, Colo., just discovered her love for barrel racing within the last year and a half. The 13 year old has grown up watching her mom run barrels, along with their friend, Laura Lambert, but her own addiction to the event didn’t strike until 2014. Since then, Dusti started competing in the CJHSRA, and won her first buckle this year at the Rowdy’s Hope in Motion barrel race in Eaton, Colo.,, even switching to online school so her schedule is more flexible for practice. “Last summer, I started loping the barrel pattern on a reining horse and then I wanted to advance to an actual barrel horse, so for my twelfth birthday, my parents gave me a barrel horse,” Dusti explains. “I just finished my first season of junior high rodeo, and it was a blast!”
Barrel racing is currently her main event, but Dusti is also interested in pole bending. “My parents are very big supporters of my rodeoing,” says Dusti. “If my mom is running her horses, then my dad will take me to my rodeos. Laura Lambert is also a big supporter. I train with her, and when I was having some trouble with my barrel horse at the start, she helped me better my riding and become a better barrel racer.” She adds, “I love the adrenaline of barrel racing and how hard everyone competes – and how hard my horses work. You have to work for the win!”
The Boyd family makes their home about 30 minutes from the nearest town. Dusti has a 14-year-old brother, Wylie, as well as three older sisters that live in Louisiana, Aimee, Chloe, and Sarah. While one of her sisters rodeoed for a time, Dusti and her parents, Glen and Shelly, are the most passionate about the sport. Glen grew up competing in roping and steer tripping, and he continues to rope at home. The Boyds have several horses and dogs that keep life lively. Shotgun, an eight-year-old Quarter Horse mare, is Dusti’s mount in the barrel racing. “She’s a big powerhouse!” says Dusti. “We had a lot of trouble in the start and I was ready to give up, but Laura and my parents pushed me to not give up on her, and it paid off. She’s won me a lot of money!”
Halfway through her school year in 2014, Dusti decided she wanted to try online school, which would give her more flexibility to practice and rodeo. She is now a seventh grader with Keystone Middle School, and particularly enjoys science and working on experiments. The remainder of Dusti’s time is spent riding with her friends, who also rodeo, or playing with her dogs, Shay, a cowdog, and Zeus, a Border Collie/Corgi mix. “Zeus knows a bunch of tricks – rollover is her best one,” says Dusti.
As she jumps boot first into her second season of junior high rodeo, Dusti has big plans. “I have a little buckskin named G.G. that my mom helped me start on barrels last spring,” she says. “I’ll hopefully be able to work with her all winter and spring and she can be my rodeo horse next summer – I think she’ll be a good rodeo horse for me.” Dusti competes in several Mile Hi barrel races, as well as Run for the Bonus, but the CJHSRA rodeo in Elizabeth was one of her favorites during the season. “I had really good runs there, and the arena was fun,” says Dusti. She finishes, “When I was growing up, everyone made barrel racing look so easy. It was kind of a shocker when I got started – it’s been bumpy – but barrel racing is getting way better!”
