Over the weekend of September 23 -26, Horse Nations Indian Relay Council, ended their season with all the top Indian Relay teams have converged on Casper, Wyoming to name the Champion of Champions.
What is Indian Relay Racing you say??
Teams are made up of a rider and 1 mugger, 2 holders and 3 horses. They come from many different Nations and a large area of geography including Wyoming, Montana, Washington, Idaho, North Dakota, South Dakota, Oregon and Arizona. The GOAL: Displaying their bravery and horsemanship skills as they battle for the honor of being called the Champion of Champions after a long weekend of qualifying and putting it all on the line.
They work as a team, each team member required to do their job with precision in the midst of a rough and tumble free for all. Riders can end up on the ground, hanging on for dear life or knocked right off their horse. Muggers stand in the starting box waiting to catch a horse running directly at them at 15-20 mph. Holders, need to have the new horse pointed in the right direction and as out of the way of traffic as possible. It can be a bit wild and woolly, but completely mesmerizing and crazy exciting.
Next summer, there will be another set of competitions. This past year, these teams competed in Hardin, MT; Buffalo, WY; Crow Agency, MT; Pine Ridge, S, Dodson, MT; Ogden, UT; Grand Island, NE; Pendleton, OR; Ft. Pierre, SD and finally, Casper, WY.
I had a great time and will be looking forward to next year’s slate of relay races. Please follow them at https://horsenationsindianrelay.com/ on the internet and https://www.facebook.com/search/top?q=horse%20nations%20indian%20relay%20council on Facebook.