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EHV-1 Comeback Leads to RODEOHOUSTON Super Series 3 Barrel Racing Victory

Just a few months after one of the most terrifying diagnoses in equine medicine, this duo claimed a massive win.
Teal Stoll|
Graham and Trump at RODEOHOUSTON
Graham and Trump at RODEOHOUSTON | Photo Courtesy of RODEOHOUSTON

When an outbreak of EHV-1/EHM hit the barrel racing community particularly hard in November 2025, things changed in an instant for many horse owners. Some of the best teams in the industry had recently competed at the Women's Professional Rodeo Association (WPRA) World Finals and, within days, found their equine partners hospitalized.

There are four forms of Equine Herpes Virus 1 (EHV-1), causing respiratory infection, neonatal infection, abortion, or neurological signs. Equine Herpesvirus Myeloencephalopathy (EHM) can be caused by the neurological form.

For performance horses, lasting neurological deficits are particularly concerning, as some horses never recover enough to be ridden again, let alone compete. Amidst the devastation of the numerous horses that had to be euthanized, owners held onto hope that they would be able to take their beloved teammates home.

At RODEOHOUSTON, two of those horses ran down the alley of NRG Stadium. Hello Stella carried Sharin Hall in Round 1 of Super Series 3, an emotional moment that had looked impossibly far away just a few months ago.

The other, Dupont First, carried his rider, Sydney Graham, to a Super Series Championship.

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The Comeback

The rider holds her horses head in an embrac
Sydney Graham embracing Trump while in ICU | Sydney Graham Professional Barrel Racer

Dupont First and Sydney Graham had plans for 2026, and they were not about to let go of those dreams.

The sorrel stallion by Duponte and out of First Fervor by First Down Dash began to catch attention on a national scale when he and Graham banked over $52,000 at Ruby Buckle East in 2025. Just a few months later, things took a drastic turn when Trump tested positive for EHV.

After three weeks of hospitalization, Trump was released to go home. Graham rushed to pick up her beloved boy.

A little over a month after Trump was released, he and Graham headed off to the National Western Stock Show & Rodeo in Denver, Colo. Proving that the terrifying diagnosis and uncertain days were just a bump in the road, Trump came back right where he left off: winning.

The team picked up over $9,000 in Denver. Currently ranked No. 26 in the World Standings, Graham and Trump were locked in for Super Series 2 of RODEOHOUSTON.

Running the second-fastest time of the entire rodeo so far in Round 2, the duo earned a round win and checks in Round 1 and Round 3. They finished as the Super Series 2 Champions, with $5,500 in earnings and advancing to the Semi-Finals.

Now, the duo head into the Semi-Finals of RODEOHOUSTON and prepare for the next six months of the professional rodeo season.

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Teal Stoll
TEAL STOLL

Teal Stoll is a lifelong Wyomingite from a working ranch family of several generations. Both sides of her family have deep roots in rodeo, as contestants and stock contractors. Teal grew up horseback and actively competes in rodeos and barrel races. She has degrees in both business and accounting, which she uses operating her own bookkeeping service. Teal enjoys spending time with her horses, training colts, and maintaining her string of athletes. When she isn’t at the barn, she can be found reading, doing yoga, or on her paddle board at the lake. Teal lives with her fiancee and a plethora of animals, because she can’t say no to a displaced critter with a sad story. When she isn’t on the road running barrels, she spends her time helping with day to day operations on the family ranch.

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