Arena Tracks | A Special Breed of Tough

In 2025, the definition of “struggle” is often a dropped call or lack of WiFi signal. The folks of our time have had struggles, for certain, but we are blessed with a soft life compared to those from the 1900s. For example, Lorna Hoffman, the 1953 SDHSRA Co-All Around Cowgirl is a special breed of tough.

Lorna was born on April 2,1936 to Dewey and Faye Hoffman on the ranch they homesteaded near Creighton, SD.  For those of you that haven’t been to this little corner of South Dakota, Creighton is about 20 miles north of Wall.  Lorna and her five siblings attended grade school at the Pleasant Ridge school two miles south of Creighton and she graduated from Wall High School in May of 1954. Lorna grew up loving horses and rode almost everywhere she went. When she couldn’t ride a horse, she broke their milk cow to ride so she always had four feet underneath her.  Often she would ride to her Uncle Lyle’s place about 10 miles on Saturday and ride home on Sunday morning.

Lorna went into the 1953 South Dakota State High School rodeo with big dreams…and two different boots.  Times were tough for everyone and that extended to rural Creighton.  Back then, kids didn’t just run to town for a new pair of boots.  Lorna simply went into the pile of boots her brothers had outgrown, picked out the two in the best of shape, shrugged off the fact that they were different boots and walked off to rope, run barrels and win the All Around.  Much to Lorna’s delight, one of the awards given that year was a brand new pair of boots.  Lorna still has them, along with the Trophy Suitcase she also won.

Lorna’s family didn’t have a horse for her to compete on so she borrowed Jip from Clint Glade of Quinn, SD and qualified for the NHSRA Finals in 1953 and 1954.  In 1953, the NHSRA Finals were held in Rapid City, SD.  It was close, but her parents weren’t able to take her as they didn’t have a horse trailer, so she caught a ride with a couple other South Dakota Legends, Tex Fulton and Willie Cowan.  Tex worked the timed event end of the arena with Willie dominating the rough stock.  Qualifying for the NSHRA Finals again in 1954, Lorna had dreams of attending the big show as it was in Texas.  Paul Berry was taking a load of kids, but Lorna’s folks didn’t feel comfortable sending her that far from home on her own.  When competing in the high school rodeos, Lorna caught the eye of Eddie Bachman who encouraged Lorna to enter the first Faith Stock Show Queen Contest.  She won it in a landslide, being crowned Miss Faith Stock Show.  She still has the trophy for that win as well.

After high school, Lorna wanted off of the ranch and onto a more exciting life.  Her siblings, Hattie and Floyd Hoffman were living in California and off she went to stay with them.  While out there she met fellow South Dakotan, Casey Tibbs and his buddies.  Horse races were often part of the rodeos in California.  At one such event the jocks were complaining about a horse that kept bucking them all off.  Lorna told them she’d ride him for a dollar.  Not only did she cover him, but she also ended up winning the race!  Even with all the excitement in sunny California, Lorna was missing the ranch. Back home she came to marry Lyle OBryan.  The family worked for Baxter Barry and had 5 children, Terry, Tammy, Scot, Shelly and Casey, all of whom grew up horseback, just like Lorna.  Lorna continued to live a varied life, ranching, operating the café in Belvidere and running the front desk for the Sunshine Motel in Wall for 27 years. In the fall of 2023, at 87 years of age, Lorna was still riding with her daughter in law, Jodie OBryan.  As you can see in the pictures, she’s still got a way with a horse.

Grit, grace and a whole lot of moxy makes Lorna one of those folks you just want to know.  She’s lived enough adventures for two lifetimes, all starting in a little town called Creighton.