​Four men, three horses

America’s first extreme sport live at Chippewa Downs

By Sabrina Hornung

sabrina@hpr1.com

Indian relay races have often been referred to as America’s first extreme sport. On the weekend of September 7 and 8, the relays are coming to Chippewa Downs in Belcourt, North Dakota, one of the two remaining horse tracks in North Dakota.

Though this is definitely not your standard horse race, the feats of horsemanship and athleticism is an artform in itself. It’s all done bareback —meaning no saddles, with teams consisting of four people and three horses for the men’s teams and two horses on the women’s teams.

The hoofbeats alone will set your heart racing.

We had the opportunity to chat with Belcourt-based event organizer and fellow horseman Steve Herman about the ins and outs of the sport, events and what they look for in both horse and rider.

High Plains Reader: Is there a circuit for the relays?

Steve Herman: There is, but I didn't join the circuit. They have a Horse Nations Indian Relay circuit. But a lot of people run in the circuit, but they kind of like our event. Our event is its own. I didn't join their circuit, but they got me on their flier. They will get points for coming to my event, so we got established to where they're gonna get their points as if they're following the circuit.

This is the first year for that, so our event is now sanctioned through the Horse Nations Indian Relay circuit, so they do get points for coming to our event now. So which is going to make it better. We're going to bring in more teams and more participants in the event.

HPR: Oh, that's fantastic. How many, how many teams are you going to have?

SH: Well, I think we're going to go with 20 teams in the men's division, and then we're gonna go with 10 in the ladies division.

HPR: Are there quite a few women who participate in the relays there?

SH: There certainly gets to be more and more each year and there's more and more coming in. They get a little advantage. They get to use two horses, where the men will use three. The lady can get a boost up. You can give them a leg up, so the holder will hold the horse and give them the leg up.

HPR: So the relay teams consist of four people. What do they all do?

SH: Well, you got your catcher that's going to catch the horse when he's coming in. And you got your holder, which is holding the horse that's going to go. The rider gets on and goes. Then you got your back holder holding the next horse. Then when the rider comes in, the catcher catches that horse, the holder gets the rider on. That horse takes off. So then the horse that the catcher got goes to the back holder, and then the back holder will give his horse to the holder and he'll come back again, and same thing. There’s three horses and four people.

HPR: What kind of horses are generally used?

SH: It kind of depends on the track. There is a team, White Tail Express from New Town, they use quarter horses on the smaller tracks. Then when they get to the bigger tracks, they'll use thoroughbreds. It all kind of depends. And then sometimes they look for horses that are sprinters to run on the smaller tracks. And then they got their distance, long distance horses they'll run on the bigger tracks, like Fargo. Ours in Belcourt is a half mile track, it's bigger than the one at the State Fair. That one's only three-eighths of a mile.

HPR: What are the rider requirements to participate in the relays?

SH: They're gonna want to go with the lighter guy. Obviously, you want to carry less weight. They have to be brave, they’ve got to be able to jump. Anything can happen! You see some wild stuff. They’ve got to be strong. I mean, it's hard to ride a horse bareback, especially them guys. They're tired after two rounds and they got to get on that third horse. They're pretty beat, it's hard to hang on. I mean, you're using all your muscles in your body.

HPR: If the race is primarily bareback, is there any kind of tack that is used or required?

SH: They usually just have a bridle, and that's about it.

HPR: Just a bridle?

SH: Sometimes they'll put a halter on, but they have nothing to hang on to other than the mane. On their legs, they'll put vet wrap around their calves and their shoes, and when they clamp on, it's kind of sticky, it'll kind of help hold them on.

HPR: So is there a common desired trait that they look for in a relay horse?

SH: Well, they want more mellow horses. They want them fast, but they also need to be mellow so they'll stand still while the rider gets on them. You can't have a crazy horse, you’ve got to have one that's going to stand there and see the rider running wide open to jump on. It takes some work. They take some practice.

HPR: Are there going to be any other cultural events in conjunction with the races?

SH: Well, I'm working on some stuff right now, trying to get a drum group and we're gonna try to have some dancers this year and also honor our veterans. We're doing it opposite weekend of the powwow. So we're hoping to get them. We're gonna have some vendors and they'll be selling some stuff there.

HPR: Oh, super cool.

SH: We'll have a Chief's Race. The Chief's Race is a half mile race with regalia. Then we'll run a Warrior Race. That's pretty cool. That's where their horse is standing at the finish line, the holder’s holding the horse, and they have to run 100 yards on foot and jump on their horse and go around track. We have a youth relay with ponies for the kids, then we have some 100-yard races for the kids and ponies.

HPR: Is the Chief Race also bareback?

SH: The Warrior Race is bareback, the Chief Race is optional. They can use the saddle or bareback, that's where we usually get the older guys. That one's a mounted start, so they're sitting on the horse and then they take off.

It gets bigger and bigger every year. It's getting very, very popular. We get fans from as far as Browning, Montana and we had a team last year out of Calgary, Alberta. So they come from long ways. I like to see the crowd happy. I like to see the fans happy. It's important to keep these traditions alive, too.

IF YOU GO:

Turtle Mountain Indian Horse Relay

September 7-8, 1-5:30 p.m.

Chippewa Downs Race Track, 4189 96 St. NE,. Belcourt, ND

http://www.chippewadowns.org/