Dougie Hall: A Desire to Inspire!
Browning
Written by Cyd Hoefle
Photography by Jackie Jensen and contributed by Dougie Hall
I don’t do it for pride or because I want attention. I do it because I’m so happy.
- Dougie Hall
Dougie Hall does not mince words. He’s brutally honest, cuts to the core, and says it like he sees it. But his quick laugh, heartwarming grin, and the twinkle in his eyes make it clear he’s speaking from his heart, and he truly cares.
Those familiar with Dougie know him because of one or more of his successful careers – an up-and-coming Saddle Bronc rider, a successful horse trainer, and a motivational speaker. Dougie refers to his rodeo career and his horses as his passion, but believes his true, God-given gift is in encouraging others.
Raised in Browning, Montana on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation, Dougie is the youngest of three children and spent his carefree youth surrounded by family, horses, and wide-open spaces.
Among many things, the Blackfeet Reservation is famous for its Indian Relay teams which have won national races around the country. Dougie fondly remembers his father and uncle raising horses for their relay team. Weekends were spent attending fairs and rodeos nationwide and horses became engrained in his life.
“I always felt blessed growing up on the reservation,” Dougie said. “We weren’t rich, but we made do with what we had, and we had lots of horses. Fast horses. My uncle and my dad were in an Indian Relay almost every weekend and they were good, so I grew up being an Indian Relay brat. It was just what we did.”
At fourteen, Dougie lost his mother in a drunk driver accident. It was a pivotal point in his life which began the trajectory to where he is today.
“I told her, ‘I’m not going to tell you goodbye, Mom. You’re the best mom in the world and I love you.’ It was so hard. I think about her a lot. I miss her.”
“We’d gone up to Glacier to get my sister from church camp,” Dougie recalled. “I remember the night as being really a great family time. My mom and dad, my sister, two cousins, and myself. We’d had a fun dinner in Glacier teasing each other, happy to be together, and were headed home.”
It’s only 20 miles from Glacier to Browning and as they drove the short distance, Dougie remembers his mom singing along with the radio. No one could have been prepared for what happened next. A drunk driver swerved across the center line and collided head on with the Hall’s truck.
“It happened so fast,” Dougie said. “I was riding in the back with my two cousins. Mom, Dad, and my sister were up front. All the sudden, I hear my sister yelling ‘NO!’ and I peeked around my dad and saw headlights coming right at us. There was nothing we could do.”
Dougie’s mother, the most critically injured, was flown directly to Seattle where she was placed on life support. He remembers his last words with her before she died.
“I told her, ‘I’m not going to tell you goodbye, Mom. You’re the best mom in the world and I love you.’ It was so hard. I think about her a lot. I miss her,” he somberly said.
Dougie credits his mother for saving his life that night as shortly before the accident, she reminded him to put on his seatbelt. This wasn’t the first life-saving miracle in the mother-son relationship either.
“Mom was a registered nurse at the Browning IHS. On the day I was born, she was still working; she hadn’t started her maternity leave. As it turned out, she had a ruptured uterus and needed an emergency c-section. Neither of us would have made it if she hadn’t been working at the hospital the day she went into labor. It was a miracle,” Dougie explained.
Loved and respected in the community, the tragedy of her death was hard on everyone, especially Dougie, who fell into a deep depression. He remembers staying in bed for days on end, begging God to let him die, too.
“One day I’d been lying there, filled with sorrow, and my uncle came in. ‘Dougie,’ he said, ‘this is enough, it’s time to start living again.’”
He challenged Dougie to ride one of the horses he was using to move cows that day. All fresh horses, he told him they would each pick the horse the other would ride. It was enough to perk the interest of the young teenager. His uncle chose an outlaw horse known to buck, and sure enough, the horse took to bucking and Dougie held tight. He was distracted enough to momentarily shake off his depression.
“I remember Uncle Winslow cheering and I was holding on for life. I felt alive for the first time since my mom died. I was scared at first and then it was fun. That horse spooked life back into me. It was a changing moment. I had been praying to God to take my life and now I was scared for it! You have to let go of things,” he said. “If you don’t, it’ll eat you alive.”
By sixteen, Dougie was riding bucking horses.
“I was a late bloomer,” he laughed. “I didn’t weigh much, but I really loved riding.”
His uncle was a bronc rider and Dougie emulated him, taking advice, and working hard. He was good enough to capture the attention of the University of Montana-Western and received a rodeo scholarship to attend college in Dillon. During the five years he was there, he accumulated two bachelor’s degrees and two associates degrees in business administration, natural horsemanship, and equine management, all while competing on the rodeo team.
“My ultimate goal is to be the first guy from Browning to qualify for the NFR. I also hope to have a bucking horse I raised at the NFR someday,” he said. “That would really make me happy.”
“College was good for me,” Dougie said. “My coaches in Dillon were great people. I could ride, but I had no style. They taught me that.”
It was during college that “the light started flickering,” for Dougie and he began “kicking every horse he rode.” As a junior he made it to the College National Finals and today he is an athlete in the PRCA.
“My ultimate goal is to be the first guy from Browning to qualify for the NFR. I also hope to have a bucking horse I raised at the NFR someday,” he said. “That would really make me happy.”
In what has become signature for Dougie and made him a crowd favorite at rodeos, his war whoop and Indian dance are praised after every good ride. Once the buzzer sounds, the 6’2” man spends a few minutes letting out his excitement.
“I don’t do it for pride or because I want attention,” he explained. “I do it because I’m so happy.”
And that happiness seems to be contagious as Dougie expands his motivational career, which has taken off this year. Several years ago, he began attending the renowned Veater Ranch Bronc Riding School in California.
“I met a lot of 90-point people there,” he said, referring to a great score for a ride. “There’s a positive energy there among people taking different paths on the way to the top.”
It was one of the Veater Ranch media personnel who saw potential in Dougie as a motivational speaker.
“He told me I had a lot to say,” he laughed. “He said I have a gift and when I talk, people listen. ‘Video yourself and put it on social media and see what happens.’ So, I did.”
In May 2021, Dougie began creating short motivational videos which quickly gathered a following as the young man humbly shared short takes discussing whatever was on his heart meant to encourage, inspire, and lift up his listeners. Self-filmed, Dougie is often seen on the back of a horse, in his truck, or sitting in his home.
“I just try to be authentic,” he said.
One of Dougie’s missions is to embolden listeners to avoid alcohol.
“There’s a lot of addiction in my family and on the reservation,” he said. “But nothing good comes from drinking. Alcohol relationships are not healthy. Most times you either die from it or break out in hand cuffs.”
As a young child his mother made him promise to never touch a drop of it and Dougie has kept that promise.
“I’ve seen it ruin too many people and too many dreams,” he said.
His segments, usually a minute or less, reveal his character as he shares heart-filled stories of his life, most often with a connection to horses, rodeo, reservation life, family, and most importantly to Dougie, inspiration from God.
Rigorously authentic and mature beyond his years, the 28-year-old tackles a diverse number of topics. Some days it’s great advice such as to HALT, an acronym for not making major decisions if you’re “Hungry, Angry, Lonely, or Tired.” Other days he suggests a change in attitude, “Take a dose of TRYACTIN,” he says with a laugh, “‘try acting like a man.’”
He doesn’t dance around, he honestly shares his own failings and how he handles them. He entices people to make wise decisions about who they associate with, because “you’re only as good as the company you keep. Surround yourself with eagles and you’ll learn how to soar.”
Some days his quips are short and to the point, peppered with slang or a few curse words and often quotes from his Uncle Mouse, who he claims, has made the biggest impact in his life. He words are relevant for students whom he encourages to stay in school, rodeo contestants on a streak of bad luck, and people suffering from everyday life struggles.
His segments have led to speaking engagements around the state, a gig on which he hopes to capitalize.
“I’m not an expert, I’m just a survivor,” he said, hopeful people will learn from his experiences.
“You need to make every moment count,” he continued. “Life can be over in the snap of your fingers. The most important tool you’ll ever need in this world is yourself, so take care of yourself.”
Through all of the segments, it is obvious that despite heartache, disappointments, and setbacks, Dougie finds good in all things and truly enjoys his life.
As he says, “by letting your own light shine and enjoying your life, you unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.”