By Hope Sickler

Eleven-year-old Chayni Chamberlain may be the youngest athlete in the Elite Rodeo Association, but she has already proven she can fiercely compete with the best in the business.

Sitting No. 2 in the ERA standings, Chamberlain is 162.50 points behind two-time American champion barrel racer and National Finals Rodeo qualifier Lisa Lockhart, who is leading the pack with 2,525 points going into the World Championships in Dallas on November 11-13.

Watch the inaugural ERA World Championships LIVE Nov. 11-13 on FloRodeo and the FloSports Roku & Apple TV 4


Chamberlain's breakout moment came when she won RFDTV's The American semifinals, held in Forth Worth back in 2015. She immediately drew the attention of every rodeo fan across the country when she rounded the cloverleaf pattern aboard her big gray gelding Flo, outrunning the very best barrel racers in the industry.

Not even a teenager yet, Chamberlain is considered to be the youngest athlete to have competed for the $1 million purse when she advanced to RFDTV's The American in Dallas after her win.

Chamberlain resides in the cowboy capital of the world, Stephenville, Texas, with her parents and brother. She only started running barrels four years ago, but it didn't take her long to get to the top. Her main sidekick, Flo, a 15-year-old gelding who was passed down from her grandmother to her mother and now to her, has established a partnership with Chamberlain that only a few barrel racers ever get to experience.

The chemistry between the dynamic duo is almost instantly seen from the stands as Chamberlain and Flo work in unison to blaze the barrel pattern.
Aside from her meteoric rise in barrel racing, Chamberlain is also a great role model for younger athletes who are working toward dreams of their own.

Watching Chamberlain compete with iconic barrel racers such as Fallon Taylor and Charmayne James will give the upcoming generation of barrel racers the ambition and motivation to chase their own dreams.

After winning the last event of the tour before the World Championships, Chamberlain heads into Dallas with a hopeful, positive outlook as she competes over three days for a shot at her first world title.